Thanksgiving! (For $30?)

I did all my prep way ahead of time, and all I have to do is take meat/milk out of the fridge and mix it with everything else. All the pans and serving dishes are out and ready. Aside from baking the actual things, I'm done. No measuring except for one cup of milk, and no real veggie chopping except for the potatoes. I'm looking at about 10-15 minutes of work. The rest is oven time. This is my first hosted Thanksgiving. I'm 21, and I did it for $30 for all four people.


There was the turkey. I use legs only because I LOVE dark meat and make ham, too. Also, I'm not patient enough for a whole bird with one oven rack of fail. That was $3 for the meat and another $2 for the veggies/sage and another dollar for the chicken stock I'm cooking it with. I have it here, defrosting (did this a month ahead of time) on the kitchen sink. The green is the oil from the sage I simmered with chicken stock and a bunch of cheap veggies. I'll cook those together then use the extra sexy broth instead of water for the stuffing. Baking bags were extras in the pantry and I only used them to defrost easier and shove more in tiny pans.




There was the ham. Bone-in butt is the most expensive, but it came out to $15. Cooking it as is. We're crazy and love both turkey and ham.





Potatoes... $1 at most. Potatoes. Seriously. Cut them up, boil them, mash with milk and butter, salt and pepper.



Stuffing's $2. Pictured with it are the extra veggies I didn't simmer with the chicken broth being added in to freshen up the stovetop.


The biscuits come out to probably 50 cents. Not even counting those. Recipe in old post.




$1 for cranberry sauce. I only have two cans because I'm a dork and love the jellied stuff. I COULD make the real stuff for about the same price, but I love canned stuff.



Dessert? $1. 1 can of pumpkin and various other things I had sitting around. Pumpkin muffins of win have a recipe on here too.



The alcohol I'm calling purely optional. Let's call that $7 for mine, $2-3 for beverages for everyone.




The gravy will be milk, flour, and drippings. $0.

Turkey: $5
Ham: $15
Potatoes: $1
Stuffing: $2
Cranberry Sauce: $1
Biscuits: $0.50
Muffins: $1
Drinks: $3

Total: $28.50

Let's call it $30 for neatness and margin of tax/extras you might not have.