Food and Garden Dailies started as a way to record my family's favorite recipes. It has come in handy many times when I'm asked for a recipe. I simply email a link to the blog! But I couldn't just stick to recipes. The kitchen is tied to the garden in so many ways...and so I let you into my ever changing garden as well.

If you're interested in my all-time favorite recipes, check out this post first: My Favorite Recipes

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

The Cost of Thanksgiving Dinner

Pin It So, how much does a made from scratch Thanksgiving dinner cost? I was surprised to see how much the price of Thanksgiving dinner varied ($115/8, $148/5, $200/5, $200/20, $120/5 $70/11, etc.) when I saw the responses on a message board I frequent. I added my 2¢....estimating our dinner (which should serve 8, with ample leftovers in turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes) cost me about $60, which is what I spent on groceries today. Considering I bought some extra food (like cereal, salad, etc.), and I have some staples at home that I'm using for Thanksgiving, I am pretty certain this is a good estimate. That's pretty darn good, I think....$7.50/person + leftovers.

Now...to break it down and see how close my estimate was:
  • shelled walnuts (1 C) .88
  • plain low fat yogurt (16 oz) 1.58
  • Granny Smith apples (6) 2.23
  • broccoli (1 1/2 pounds) 2.33
  • salted cashews (1/3 C) 1.02
  • 2 pie crust shells (As a shortcut I use Pilsbury refrigerated pie crust, but you can make your own) Homemade this year: 1.50/flour, 1.00/butter, 1.00/shortening, .50 (other)
  • chicken broth (2 cans) 1.82
  • ground sausage (1 lb) 2.99
  • celery (1 C) 1.58
  • onion .50
  • fresh parsley (1/4 C) .48
  • herb seasoned stuffing mix (8 oz) 1.48
  • turkey 13 lbs/2.42
  • potatoes (for baking) 1.98
  • 1/4-1/2 pound ground soy “sausage” 2.99
On hand:
  • dried sage .25
  • dried thyme .25
  • olive oil 1.00
  • dried rosemary .25
  • bay leaves .25
  • ground marjoram .25
  • salt .25
  • black pepper .50
  • cinnamon .75
  • apple pie spice .50
  • butter, salted 3.00
  • sugar 1.00
  • flour 1.50
  • cornmeal 1.00
  • light brown sugar .75
  • baking powder .50
  • baking soda .25
  • canola oil .75
  • milk .75
  • soy sauce .75
  • white wine vinegar .50
  • garlic .25
Grand total: $43.53! Wow. That comes to $5.44/person, with generous leftovers.

Keeping the cost down, I did get the cheapo frozen turkey that was only 19¢/pound, with a $50 purchase. Had I chosen a fresh turkey, my cost would have been .99/pound, adding about $10 to my total...still very inexpensive.

Now....if I'd bought one of the turkeys my friends raise, that would've added another $50 to the bill.

So, my low is about $44, and my high (with the fresh free-range turkey) would've been $90.

(The only things not included in my cost are wine and cranberry sauce (my mother in law's making that). So add $4, for the sauce, and $30 for the wine.)

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