Going out shopping for Thanksgiving fixings
tonight? Or planning ahead for other big upcoming family meals? I could not
believe that Walmart managed to come up with their Walmart’s Turkey Dinner for
Eight Under $30. It includes:
·
12 lb. Fresh Hen or Tom Turkey
·
1 10” Pumpkin Pie
·
1 750 ml. bottle of Oak Leaf Wine
·
2 boxes of Stovetop Stuffing Mix
·
4 lbs. of sweet potatoes
·
1 pkg. Sara Lee Dinner Rolls
·
4 cans of Green Giant canned vegetables
(select varieties)
·
2 boxes of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese
·
2 cans of Ocean Spray Cranberry Sauce
And
to think I was about to pay that much for my Turkey and pie at my local grocery
store. To add culinary creativity with the included ingredients, Walmart teamed
up with Food Network star Melissa D’Arabian] to create unique twists on holiday
dishes using the above ingredients. Melissa just won season five of The Next Food Network
Star, and gets her own cooking show on the Food Network starting mid-day in
January. Her specialty? A $10 promise: four people, ten bucks, one
delicious meal. I had the chance to interview Melissa yesterday and came away
impressed with her money saving tips along with creative recipes. My favorite
she shared with me: her no-bake stuffing.
Unbelievable
No-Bake Stuffing
Prep Time: 25 min
- 15 roasted garlic
cloves reserved from roasting turkey
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 3 packages stuffing mix
- 2 cups water
- 1/4 cup juices from
roasted turkey
- 3 slices bacon, chopped
- 1/2 cup butter
- 2 medium onions, finely
chopped
- 1 bunch of celery,
finely chopped
- Salt and pepper
In a large
sauté pan, cook bacon until it becomes translucent. Add the butter and the
onions and cook until onion is soft, about five minutes. Add celery and cook an
additional five minutes. Meanwhile, squeeze out the soft flesh of fifteen of
the roasted garlic cloves. In a blender or food processor, blend garlic flesh
with 1 cup of the chicken stock until smooth. Add the garlic stock, the
remaining stock, the roasted turkey juices, and water to the sauté pan. Once
mixture begins to boil, toss in dried stuffing mix, remove from heat, and cover
for five minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Fluff and serve.
Here’s her take on this recipe: “I
love this stuffing- it’s no bake, but because of layers of ingredients, it
has a real depth of flavor. I only have one oven, so I need to be creative, as
my oven’s working overtime! I used to go crazy rotating things around! Here’s
what I love about this stuffing recipe:
1.
Roasted garlic instead of the turkey – imparts mild flavor
to turkey, also really changing flavor of garlic- to sweet, nutty whole diff.
flavor
2.
Take pulp from garlic puree with stuffing- so layer of
Turkey
3.
Saute just a bit of bacon with celery and onions- adds
really rich but not overly salty or heavy depth – hint of bacon makes stuffing
seem homemade
4.
Lastly, because it’s no bake – you can make later in
process, adding Turkey flavor from the run off juices of your turkey
5.
All no bake, but richness- conserves oven space and stuffing
start to finish is 10 minutes
She
shares more at: Holiday Meals
For
everyday meals, I asked Melissa what the tricks were when it comes to protein,
as this often proves the priciest part of my family meals and the most
expensive item on a dinner plate. Her tip? Shop manager’s discounts that appear
every week in your local grocery store. Created to lure customers into the
store, these “loss leaders” offer amazing deals (usually 50% off of more) on chicken,
beef and pork. And stock up! Buy a few of each special, and make it part of
unpacking your groceries to get out freezer bags and freeze individual dinner
size portions. But wait- there’s more Melissa tells me! When a 5-pound package
of ground beef goes on sale, she cuts it into 6 slices, and you “gain” an extra
pound- never noticing the slightly smaller size portion in your meal.
So
why all the savings? Well, in addition to budgets being tight, Melissa feels
everyone should be able to enjoy delicious meals with family and friends, and
use those savings for other important things. As Melissa shared with me, “I love this challenge- and want to save you money to feel great,
and still treating yourself and family well, nourishing body and soul.”
Clearly, we’ll have to tune in to learn more. In the meantime, the
$30 thanksgiving meal from Walmart… well…
It’s a “bah-gain!” Happy Thanksgiving!!
Comments