Jump to content

Buffy's Commentary

  • entries
    275
  • comments
    1,403
  • views
    51,358

$50 my ass


HerNameIsBuffy

2,373 views

I read an article today that the average cost of Thanksgiving to feed 10 people is just over $50.  In what universe?

Here's my list of non-negotiable stuff or there is no holiday.  Granted some stuff I already have but in my quest to have one freaking holiday where I don't need to send someone to the store I make the entire list and go from there.

Notice no beverages except milk  that's a different list.  

And not doing crab puffs this time because man-child the younger went vegetarian and he loved them so because I'm a decent person I killed it from the menu.  

This is pretty basic.  Two kinds of stuffing, cranberries, potatoes...nothing fancy.  If others can do similar for $50 then please post and show me your ways.  Otherwise I'm just going to do what I do every year and throw away the receipts.

 

  • Turkey
  • Ham
  • Brown Sugar
  • Honey
  • Cloves
  • Poultry seasoning
  • Ginger
  • Nutmeg
  • Oranges – seedless
  • Bread for stuffing
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Celery
  • Mild breakfast sausage
  • Onions
  • Breadcrumbs – plain (2)
  • Lots of eggs
  • Chicken broth
  • Chicken livers
  • Periogi
  • Crescent rolls
  • Yams
  • Potatoes
  • Gravy
  • Cranberry jelly cans – not whole
  • Fresh cranberries
  • Orange juice
  • Flour
  • Butter
  • Butter shaped like a cow 
  • Imperial
  • Cream cheese
  • Vegetable oil
  • Half and half
  • Asparagus – canned
  • Cauliflour whole/fresh
  • Cocktail rye
  • Liverwurst
  • Chicken in a biscuit crackers
  • Other crackers
  • Cheese if you want it
  • Spinach (2 frozen boxes)
  • Sour cream
  • Greek yogurt plain
  • Mayo
  • Parm cheese
  • Shallots
  • Garlic
  • Canned pumpkin – or just get a pumkin pie
  • Pie crusts – Pillsbury refrig section if you ger the ones in tins precooked I’m going on strike
  • Other pie – cherry, dutch apple, or blueberry – nothing creative
  • Cocoa powder
  • Coconut
  • Sugar
  • Milk

 

 

 

 

  • Upvote 4

19 Comments


Recommended Comments

Destiny

Posted

That statistic is HORSES. JUST our turkey, and we got a small one, was 19 dollars. I CALL BULLSHIT!

  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
catlady

Posted

 We're serving nine and probably spending around $100 not counting the turkey.  That includes appetizers, dessert, and wine; and is split between three households.

I'm counting the turkey separately because while we could get a standard frozen 25-pounder for $12.50 (stores in our area have had 49cents/lb sales for the past ten years or so), my sister opted for straight-from-the-farm this year which was several times more.

I guess we could have done it all for $50, but we would have had to go strictly with basics and have no leftovers.

  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
Palimpsest

Posted

My shopping list was about a quarter of that.  I'm feeding 6.

Very serious question:  Why, in the name of the FSM, would you want to buy canned asparagus? 

The liverwurst and chicken livers also make me wonder a bit.  What do you do with them?

  • Upvote 5
Link to comment
HerNameIsBuffy

Posted

2 hours ago, Palimpsest said:

My shopping list was about a quarter of that.  I'm feeding 6.

Very serious question:  Why, in the name of the FSM, would you want to buy canned asparagus? 

The liverwurst and chicken livers also make me wonder a bit.  What do you do with them?

Canned asparagus is my daughters favorite food - bar none.  Couldn't keep it in the house unhidden when she was young as she's eat it for snacks before the holiday.  I much prefer real asparagus now that I've learned to roast vegetables but it's one of those kind of awful things left over from my childhood that I still have a weird fondness and nostalgia for at the holidays.

liverwurst goes on little cocktail rye for me to eat while cooking :) .

chicken livers go in what my family calls German dressing because it was my grandmothers recipe from her family in Germany  (not clever at naming things in our clan.). Base of beaten eggs, breadcrumbs, finely chopped then sautéed chicken liver, and nutmeg.  When it comes out of the bird it's firm like a meatloaf kinda...sliced and it hands down my favorite food.  

Its not for everyone but if there is one food that is home and family to me it's that stuffing.

Ive never seen this anywhere and looked at one point to see if there was a name but couldn't find anything.  Maybe she made it up when food was scarce and you had to stretch?  

And mini me will pick at all the chicken lovers before they go in because she loves them so much so have to make extra for her to eat straight...little weirdo.

  • Upvote 8
Link to comment
HerNameIsBuffy

Posted

Ooh I like the polish chicken recipe - bookmarked that for later.  

Siimilar, but I think the texture would be off as mine is much more like a leberknodel -liver dumpling.  In fact minus the chicken livers it is my fast dumpling recipe.  When I have more than can fit in the bird which is always I roll them in balls and boil in chicken broth like dumplings.  Think much firmer matzo ball.

great, now I want matzo ball soup.

i meant to prep tonight but have done nothing.  Zilch.  Tomorrow should be fun.

Oh @Palimpsest asparagus thief strikes again.  she stopped home for an hour or so while no one was home and now I'm missing a can.  She can't help herself and I don't think there is a 12 step program to get her off the asparagus.

  • Upvote 5
Link to comment
MarblesMom

Posted (edited)

We are only feeding 5 adult eaters.  I think I spent a tad over $100.  I got an 11 lb turkey for $13.  Someone is bringing a salad and a dessert- the rest is just turkey, gravy, mashed taters, yams, stuffing, rolls, canned cranberry.

I would have gladly spent another $100 to have someone else clean the house, though...

ETA to add we also will have pickled herring as a munchie option, along with black olives.  (The herring is new to my world, but I am rolling with it.)

Edited by MarblesMom
  • Upvote 5
Link to comment
Palimpsest

Posted

@HerNameIsBuffy,

I just reread my questions and I'm sounded really rude.  Sorry!

Oddly, and completely unrelated to you and FJ, the subject of canned asparagus came up over our TD dinner.  Everyone at the table made gagging noises as we had all had it forced upon us as children.  Your daughter must be keeping canned asparagus makers in business single-handedly. :)

I'll skip the liverwurst except as a last ditch effort to get pills down dogs, but the chicken liver recipe, minus the bread crumbs and with the addition of a dash of brandy, sounds like a pâté recipe I have made in the past.  I love it but no-one else will touch it.

Well, we survived the holiday without any quarrels.  We have lots of leftovers and I'm putting my feet up today.  No Black Friday shopping for me.

Hope everyone else enjoyed themselves.

 

  • Upvote 7
Link to comment
HerNameIsBuffy

Posted

@Palimpsest I didn't think you sounded rude at all - and if she's keeping them in business I'd like a kickback.

Little thief admitted to her burglary.  She should be declared incorrigible and locked away from society, but too cute for jail so I let it go.  I'm such an enabler.

 

  • Upvote 3
Link to comment
BlackberryGirl

Posted (edited)

I honestly refuse to look at the receipts for Thanksgiving. I won't. When BlackBerryBoy and I were just starting with this change in careers, and money was super tight I would buy non perishables for Thanksgiving year round. Some stuff I would freeze. some I put away.  Now, though, I put on a feast and fuck the cost.  He has a good job, we are near retirement and we've earned it. we fed 8 this year (and 6 for supper tonight) yesterday  DIL brought a pie, kids other gramma brought cake and cheesecake.

Turkey.. 22 pounds for about  $11.00 

Stuffing, $ 5

veggies for crudites  and cooked  $10

nice cheeses $15.

special local ring bologna $13

soda and cider $20

pie crust mix and apples $5

pumpkin pie $6

rolls $8

bread bowl   $15

crackers $7

broth $3

cream $8

butter $4

cranberries $2

olives $2

potatoes $5

whipped cream $3

I dont count flour, spices, milk, regular bread,  coffee, creamer. since we would eat that anyway.  We don't drink alcohol so that is a big expense we don't have. so  about 130$  give or take. virtually everything is on sale though, except the ring bologna and the cheeses. by the way, I LOVE canned asparagus, and it is a go to snack here.  Mom grew it in her garden and I could never stand fresh asparagus..  Give me the soft spears that  can make lovely soup if you like.

 

 

Edited by BlackberryGirl
  • Upvote 4
Link to comment
PreciousPantsofDoom

Posted

Canned Asparagus! Well that takes me right back to my parents parties when I was a kid in the 70s. I LOVED the little cocktail sandwiches my mother made by rolling up a little piece of brown bread around a spear of canned asparagus and a bit of cream cheese.  Haven't thought of those in years. 

And, yeah.  $50?  Where the fuck are these people shopping?  

 

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Cartmann99

Posted

@HerNameIsBuffy, do you have a really big table, or do you do your dinner buffet-style? Your menu is bigger than mine, so I was curious how you did it at your house. :pb_smile:

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Maggie Mae

Posted

On 23/11/2016 at 2:56 PM, Destiny said:

That statistic is HORSES. JUST our turkey, and we got a small one, was 19 dollars. I CALL BULLSHIT!

We've never paid for a turkey. Nor have my parents. Mom always got one free from her employer, probably because the company was too "profit-driven" to do annual bonuses, thought I don't know that for sure. SO gets one every year now from his boss. And I'm sure if I told my boss I didn't have a turkey, she'd be like "oh, we'll give out free turkeys this year as part of an employee retention program" or something. 

All that to say: wow, I had no idea that turkey would be so pricey. How big was it? 

 

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo?

Posted

Many of the stores in my town will give a 10 to 15 pound turkey for free if you spend enough on the same shopping trip, so my sister tells me our turkey was free this year. (She can easily hit the required purchase amount when all 6 of her family members are home and eating everything in sight.) I guess some people might prefer a different variety than the free or discounted turkey, so that wouldn't work for everyone.

One of the big manufacturing businesses here gives their employees free turkeys or hams, but many of the employees turn around and donate theirs to the food bank. (With cameras from the local news filming while they unload their group donation.) I hope none of the employees feel "guilted" into donating because so many of their co-workers do. I only ever had 2 turkeys  :turkey::turkey:given to me as a work bonus, but I mostly worked for small businesses with small profit margins. 

Link to comment
louisa05

Posted

My mom fed six. Her turkey was free from points on a frequent shopper card at her regular grocery store. The total bill for her groceries for the day was $63. That does not count my bringing tow kinds of veggies, one pie and dinner rolls which was probably another $15 or so. Add back the price of the turkey and the total was probably around $100. 

The only way they are getting an average of $50 is including people who cook for one or two people and don't do a traditional meal. We stayed home last year and I probably spent about $25 to have a totally non-traditional (and last minute--bad weather prevented us from traveling) dinner. 

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
lawfulevil

Posted

Maybe they're averaging in little kids. My niece and nephew ate a small slice of ham, a deviled egg, a roll, and a slice of pie apiece.

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
LadyCrow1313

Posted (edited)

I could see (maybe) getting a bunch of food things cheaply at Aldi's or Wally World, but all of the above for only $50? Maybe 100 years ago, perhaps, but certainly not nowadays; well, maybe unless you grow/make everything yourself, perhaps?

Shop Rite has a promotion a few times during the year that if you buy $X amount of groceries, then you can earn either a free turkey, ham, lasagna or Tofurkey. I think that's a cool thing, & I wish more stores would follow suit.

ps: I think that $50 my ass needs to be added as a post count title  ;) 

Edited by LadyCrow1313
  • Upvote 1
Link to comment

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Posts

    • Lady Dondarrion

      Posted

      3 hours ago, KWLand said:

      i think she announced it’d be Amaree,

      My guess was Arrow Canaan on the Baby Names Thread. Her boy names follow an ACC pattern & don't have cutesy spellings. Since there's not much with the aforementioned pattern, that's what lead me to my guess.

    • KWLand

      Posted

      1 hour ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

      I don’t think she announced it on her social media yet. I think she might’ve let it slip when ordering something with the baby’s name on it.

      Gotcha.  I don’t follow her but see reddit posts about her and couldn’t remember where I saw the name.

      If it is Amaree, it’s the first “non-noun as a name” name for awhile, right,  I can’t remember them all—anchor, armor, anthym, aynjel, are the four I remember that are other words.  Then andre, arissa (is is anissa?), anniston (i will never be convinced it’s not after jennifer anniston).  So I’m missing 3.   

      Anyway, lucky kid gets a normal name if it’s amaree 

    • RebeccaRay

      Posted

      Norma Roberts is engaged. Both sure on his name

    • FilleMondaine

      Posted

      Something made me look up the Boyer Girls on FJ, and there was a post in the previous baby thread, so I couldn’t quote—sorry!

      I saw that Brigid is now a doula, with Brijeedoula. And wouldn’t you know it, she has another insta called evespromise. That handle is…like, was Eve really into birthing babies, or is ‘promise ’ a try-hard sublimation of ‘curse’? For a fundie Christian, the handle actually sounds threatening!

    • JermajestyDuggar

      Posted

      14 minutes ago, KWLand said:

      i think she announced it’d be Amaree,

      I don’t think she announced it on her social media yet. I think she might’ve let it slip when ordering something with the baby’s name on it.

      • Thank You 1


×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.