What are you having for Thanksgiving dinner?

[Matata]

I'm on my way - what time's lunch?

Noonish. What time's Thanksgiving dinner and should I pack for cold weather?

 

[Lookinagain]

It will just be my daughter and I and she wants traditional
so
Turkey (but I'll just buy the breast since a whole turkey would be way too much)
Stuffing
Garlic mashed potatoes
Brussels sprouts with bacon and blue cheese
sauteed garlic green beans

Not sure what I'll make for desert; maybe tiramisu or chocolate bread pudding with ice cream.

 

[lambskin]

I crunched numbers today. The local grocery store chains offer a complete t-day dinner which serves 6-8 people for $75. An 8-12 pound cooked turkey, quart of turkey gravy, 3 pounds mashed potatoes, 12 oz cranberry-sauce, 28 oz stuffing, 12 dinner rolls, 1 pie( pumpkin or sweet potato). I then calculated how much it would cost to make this with the same portions by scratch. I used all sale prices for the ingredients and added a buck ( low-balled estimate)for existing pie spices, celery and onion, salt &pepper and flour and other incidental cooking ingredients I already had on hand , and cost to run oven. It came out to $50. So technically the cost of labor(not profit) to duplicate this is <$25 to reach the $75. When you divide the ’catered’ cost of $75 with the average of 7 people [they said feeds between 6-8 people] it is $11 per person and around $8 for the home made meal. Of course the traditional family taste is not there( for example my stuffing, cranberries and gravy are legendary) but I have to start the shopping weeks in advance to catch various sales ( now butter, flour, pie ingredients etc are super cheap) and start cooking and baking the day before up until the homemade pan dripping gravy is finished and we sit down to feast.This labor is probably(at least) around 12 hours. ( I even make my own toasted bread cubes and grow organic sage for the stuffing).So the labor cost of the catered meal of <$25 gives me about ~$2.00 an hour? But this time is skewed as it includes my preparation of 6+/- additional side dishes which is not included in the catered meal but are family traditions. So the timing aspect of this is off. I am just ball-parking the numbers. Of course during all of this, I have to clean the house and set the table…but I love to do it and I enjoy every morsel and my portions are way larger for more leftovers and care packages for relatives.

 

[mrs-b]

@bludiva and @seaurchin -

Thank you so much! I am thrilled beyond words. I can name on the fingers of one hand the EXTRA HUGE high points of my life. This is one of them.

At 61, I am finally OFFICIALLY becoming a mother! The state is finally recognizing what my girl and I have always known; we're family. And I'm her mom - yaaaaaaay!!