Thanksgiving Dinner For Under $30
The Daily Meal sat down with Coupons.com savings expert Jeanette Pavini to talk turkey, Turkey Day that is. Pavini gave us her best tips and tricks for turning 30 dollars into a complete Thanksgiving meal the whole family can enjoy.
Coming in at a mere 27 dollars and 78 cents, Pavini was able to make all of the fixings including: turkey, buttermilk biscuits, stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, green beans, creamed corn, and pumpkin pie. She owes her success to a few simple tips, which of course includes using Coupons.com at the grocery store to look for the best deals.
Also, Pavini says, "Price matching can apply to turkeys too. Check if your store will match a competitor when you bring in proof of price." This philosophy extends to rebates as well.
Other secrets to an inexpensive Thanksgiving meal include decanting inexpensive bottles of wine according to Pavini. This way, you improve the taste and your guest won't be the wiser.
To make your own super-saver Thanksgiving meal this holiday, check out Pavini's additional tips for saving big at the grocery store this Thanksgiving shared below:
Turkey
Use a meat calculator to determine how much turkey you actually need. For example, six adults and four kids can get away with eight pounds of turkey. We added two pounds so we'd have leftovers. If you're cooking for just a few people, consider buying just the breast. Frozen turkeys typically cost less than fresh, and are a great option as long as you give it plenty of time to thaw. You can save per pound when you buy the store brand. Look for stores offering savings on Coupons.com, or promotions like 50 percent off your turkey when you spend 25 dollars in the same shopping trip.
Buttermilk Biscuits
Refrigerated biscuits are the perfect compromise between convenience and taste. They are so fresh, yet so easy to make. Plus, we love them because we can almost always find a coupon for them at Coupons.com. We got enough to make 16 biscuits. Use the leftover to make turkey breakfast sandwiches the next morning.
Stuffing
We found a great deal on twin-pack of boxed stuffing but you may not need to spend anything at all. Dig into the depths of your frozen food stash and see if you have any leftover rolls or sliced bread like the often neglected end pieces. Thaw it out for Thanksgiving and use this bread hodgepodge to make stuffing.
Cranberry Sauce
Cranberry sauce is often the source of debate – What's better? The nostalgia of canned? Or the taste of homemade? Since your table is likely divided anyways, we say go with the cheapest. Compare the unit price between fresh, frozen, and canned cranberries. Then, factor in available coupons on Coupons.com and buy the least expensive. Are you nervous about making cranberry sauce from scratch? Don't be. It's a three-ingredient wonder: water, sugar, and cranberries.
Mashed Potatoes
This is why you need you read the grocery ads that come in your mail every week. Looking through ads, we found a 15-pound bag of russet potatoes for two dollars and 99 cents at a grocery outlet. That's just 20-cents a pound! If stored properly in a cool dry dark environment, potatoes can last two to three months. For two dollars and 99 cents, you've got enough potatoes to get through the entire holiday season.
Green Beans
Frozen fruits and vegetables are still full of nutritional value because flash freezing preserves the nutrients. Compare prices in the fresh and frozen aisle and go with the better deal. We had a coupon from Coupons.com on Green Giant vegetables, so we shopped in the freezer aisle.
Creamed Corn
The Green Giant veggie coupon from Coupons.com was for four bags of frozen vegetables. Since two bags of green beans were plenty, we decided to put those savings towards an additional dish: creamed corn.
Pumpkin Pie
Pre-made pumpkin pies are affordable, but make it at home and you can cut the cost by 50 percent. Plus, you can now brag that it's homemade. We used a canned pie filling and pie crust mix to save on time and ingredients. As for the topping, whip the leftover heavy whipping cream from the creamed corn dish and you've got the perfect pie topping for no additional cost.