So, recently, as part of a new partnership, Sam’s Club challenged The Hungry Mouse to make a Thanksgiving feast for four for under $50.
Sound impossible? Not if you’re careful when you shop. (And you know us: We’re always up for a challenge.)
The catch? The main ingredients had to be purchased at Sam’s. The rest of the ingredients are things you’ll find in almost any well-stocked pantry. We had to make a meat-y main course, two sides, and a dessert.
The Angry Chef and I hit our local Sam’s Club on Saturday morning, then scrambled home with a carload of goodies to plan, plot, and cook. (Check out our photo tour of their holiday tasting event.)
In the end, we both agreed that we made out like bandits. We spent just under $50, and I’d say that this dinner could easily serve six. Here’s a peek at what we made.
The Angry Chef’s Whiskey Glazed Turkey Breast
We scored a really plump, bone-in turkey breast with a ton of meat on it. The Angry Chef whipped up a maple-and-whiskey infused compound butter, as well as a really good soy and anise basting liquid. I swear, it was the juiciest turkey I’ve ever had. The turkey was 6.5 lbs, and cost $14.32.
White Wine Braised Stuffed Artichokes
This is a classic stuffed artichoke recipe that you can easily customize with different flavors. The artichokes we found at Sam’s were absolutely huge and very, very fresh. A four-pack was $5.98.
I stuffed them with panko bread crumbs spiked with lemon-zest and Parmesan, then braised them in white wine. Artichokes are easy to cook but fussy to prep, so I’ll also include detailed instructions for cleaning them and removing the choke when I post this recipe this week.
Three-Cheese Mashed Potato Casserole
These potatoes have a long history. Suffice it to say that we’ve owed our good friend DJ Vudu the recipe for this cheese-laden goodness for just about a year. A 10-lb. bag of white potatoes was $4.98.
We even got a very good package of ciabatta rolls (8 in the bundle, I think) for $3.48. Now, you guys know I love to bake bread. These rolls were definitely an acceptable substitute for homemade. The crust was chewy and the crumb was nice and moist.
Old-Fashioned Pumpkin Pie
This is the pie that my grandmother used to make. It will always be one of my favorites.
I used frozen Pillsbury pie crust, and I have to say it was really pretty good! (Don’t lambaste me…you guys know I almost always make everything from scratch. That said, there’s a time and a place for frozen crust, especially during the time-crunched holiday season.) I knocked this pie out in maybe 20 minutes. A package of 8 crusts was $6.98.
Stay tuned: New recipes every day this week!
This is just a taste of what we made—all for under $50. (The total was just shy of that once you added in things like lemons, bread crumbs, etc.)
I’ll follow up this week with step-by-step posts for each recipe. Look for a new post every day leading up to Thanksgiving! First up, mashed potatoes!
*Please note that Sam’s Club compensated me for my participation in this campaign.
