Traditional Thanksgiving Dinner on a Budget

Whether Thanksgiving for your family means celebrating the harvest, giving thanks for the blessings that your family has received during the year, or just relaxing on a day off of work with a football game and a huge meal, Thanksgiving dinner is traditionally a major part of this American holiday. But this year, according to CNNMoney.com, Americans will be scaling back Thanksgiving dinner in deference to the still-cruddy state of the economy.

My family celebrates this holiday every year with a huge, traditional Thanksgiving dinner, but the recipes we use don't cost us an arm and a leg. If you're looking for inexpensive Thanksgiving recipes to try out this year, you don't have to skimp. Take a look at the following Thanksgiving menu below, complete with cheap Thanksgiving recipes.

Roast Turkey Breast with Gravy
The turkey is typically the most expensive aspect of Thanksgiving dinner, so if you can pinch pennies here, you'll have a cheaper Thanksgiving dinner all around. If you think that since you're in charge of cooking Thanksgiving dinner, you're required to buy a traditional 26-pound bird, think again. If you're feeding a smaller crowd, or catering to folks that prefer light meat to dark, try cooking a turkey breast or two instead. This turkey breast recipe from FoodNetwork.com serves six.

Ingredients
One 6-pound fresh turkey breast, on the bone, rinsed and patted dry
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 stalk celery, cut into 2 inch pieces
1 small carrot, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
2 small onions, peeled and quartered
1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
3 cups turkey or chicken broth, homemade or low-sodium canned

Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Rub the turkey all over with the butter, including the cavity of the breast. Season generously with salt and pepper. Scatter the vegetables on the bottom of a roasting pan just large enough to hold the turkey. Set the meat breast-side up in the pan. Roast for 2 to 2 1/2 hours or until an instant read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the roast registers 160 degrees F. Transfer the turkey to a cutting board and tent loosely with foil for 30 minutes. (The breast temperature will continue to rise to 170 degrees as it rests.)

Pour any pan drippings into a degreasing cup or small bowl. Reserve 3 tablespoons of the fat discarding the rest and add the juices to the stock. Add the reserved fat to the roasting pan and place on a burner over medium high heat. Scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Stir in the flour and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Whisk in the stock and continue to stir. Bring to a boil and cook until thickened, about 3 minutes. Strain the gravy, discarding the vegetables, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Carve the breast and serve with the gravy.

Recipe Credit: Food Network Kitchens

Great Grandmother's Stuffing Recipe
If you go the turkey breast route, you won't have that little paper bag of giblets to make traditional dressing with. Try this delicious take on stuffing from About.com guide Linda Larsen that combines savory and sweet for delectable results.

Ingredients
10 slices oatmeal bread, dried overnight, then cubed
2 Winesap or Haralson apples, peeled and chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 cup raisins
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup cold water

Preparation
Combine all ingredients except butter and water in large bowl and toss with hands to mix. Sprinkle melted butter and water over dressing, tossing with a fork to combine. Use to stuff 12-14 pound turkey.

You can also place this stuffing in a casserole dish, drizzle with some chicken or turkey broth, cover, and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Uncover and bake 15 minutes longer. 8 servings

Recipe Credit: About.com

Green Bean Casserole
This casserole has been a staple of our holiday get-togethers for as long as I can remember, right next to the Candied Sweet Potatoes (coming up next). Cheap and easy to make, with consistently delicious results, you can find my family's recipe here.

Candied Sweet Potatoes
This sweet potato recipe (found here) is sweet enough to serve as a dessert. This recipe is a traditional favorite in my family and there's never anything left of it after Thanksgiving dinner, except a little bit of marshmallow stuck to the side of the pan.

Homemade Biscuits
Just because these biscuits are easy enough for every day doesn't mean I put the recipe away on special occasions. This quick and easy biscuit recipe comes from my favorite vintage cookbook and can also be found in my article, Great Fall Meal: Homeade Beef Stew and Biscuits from Scratch.

Old-Fashioned Pumpkin Pie
No Thanksgiving dinner is complete without a thick wedge of pumpkin pie, topped with whipped cream. Would you like my family's top-secret recipe? Sssh... it's on the back of the Libby's Pumpkin Pie filling can.

Ingredients
1 (9 inch) unbaked deep dish pie crust
3/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 eggs
1 (15 ounce) can Libby's® 100% Pure Pumpkin
1 (12 fluid ounce) can Nestle® Carnation® Evaporated Milk

Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Combine sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves in small bowl. Beat eggs lightly in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Gradually stir in evaporated milk. Pour into pie shell.

Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees F.; bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate. (Do not freeze as this will cause the crust to separate from the filling.)

Recipe Credit: AllRecipes.com, Libby's Famous Pumpkin Pie recipe