These quick recipes will help you prepare your Thanksgiving meal.
This series of articles is designed to help families put a frugal Thanksgiving meal on the table.
Start at the beginning: Frugal $50 Thanksgiving Meal
Frugal Thanksgiving Quickie Recipes
These are some quick and dirty recipes that might be useful for Thanksgiving, almost tips. These are like when grandma wrote out something on an index card, your best bet is to look up a “real” recipe if you’re not sure what you’re doing.
Free Stock Recipe:
You can make stock for free, I tell you, freee!! If you are a thrifty cook, you save vegetable scraps (mostly celery, onion, and carrot; ends, stems and peels) you can stick them in the freezer. When you fill a bread bag or have 5 c of scraps, make stock. If you are lucky you have bones from something (even a once-cooked something like rotisserie chicken), and maybe giblets and a neck from a turkey. If you are not you can skip that and make veggie stock. Put your stuff in a pot big enough to have two handles. Cover with water and add a splash of vinegar. Let sit for 30 min. Then cook at a very slow simmer, skimming foam, simmer about 30 min for veg stock, 60 min for meat stock. (Some people simmer the bones for up to 24 hours, then add the veggies 60 min from when you’re done.) Strain, cool, freeze or refrigerate. Square containers are really nice and can be found at the dollar store, or put a gallon zip bag in a margarine tub to fill, freeze on a cookie sheet, then store vertically.
Hot Cocoa for One Recipe:
Fill a mug with water/dry milk/milk. Heat (microwave 2 min). Add 1 Tbl (house spoon will do) cocoa, 2 Tbl sugar. You can add a dash of salt or vanilla. Adjust sugar to taste.
Whipped Cream Recipe:
Whip cold heavy cream some, add a couple Tbl of powdered or granulated sugar, and maybe some vanilla, and whip more until you get whipped cream. Bonus: add 1 Tbl instant vanilla pudding to stabilize.
Juicy Turkey Recipe:
There are lots of tips and tricks, but the best is to stuff the turkey cavity with celery. You can also use some onion, garlic, and carrot, but it must have celery. The turkey will absorb the moisture and some flavor from the veggies. Also your pan drippings will have more flavor.
Chocolate Mug Cake Recipe:
2 Tbl flour, 1 Tbl sugar, 1 1/2 tsp sugar, 1/4 teaspoon baking powder, 1 Tbl cocoa, pinch salt. Combine all. Mix with 2-3 Tbl water/milk in a bowl or mug. Microwave for 40-60 seconds. Let rest for 2 minutes. (Also seen here)
Pumpkin Pie Spice for One Pie Recipe:
1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ginger, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp allspice, 1/4 tsp cloves
Chocolate Graham Cracker Crust Recipe:
1 1/4 c graham cracker crumbs (10-12 crackers in the food processor, or in a ziploc with kids taking a whack at it with the rolling pin), 1/4 c sugar, 1/4 c cocoa powder (omit for regular crust), 1/3 c melted butter. Mix it all up and press into a pie pan.
Thrifty Thanksgiving for Tough Times Series:
Frugal $50 Thanksgiving Meal
From Scratch Thanksgiving Menu
From Scratch $50 Shopping Cart
Store Bought $50 Shopping Cart
Thanksgiving Blessing Bags
Quickie Thanksgiving Recipes
Next: Frugal Dinner Recipes and Costs
Frugal Dessert Recipes and Costs
Price List
Make Ahead Thanksgiving Timeline
Frugal Thanksgiving Links
Thanksgiving Leftover Recipe Links
Thrifty Thanksgiving Pinterest Boards
* Also see our Care Package for the Hard Times Kitchen series
We hope you enjoyed our Thrifty Thanksgiving for Tough Times – Frugal Thanksgiving Quickie Recipes post
Vintage postcard and wallpaper images from Graphics Fairy
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