Thanksgiving is a day for football, family, friends and most importantly: food. So whether you’re hosting the big dinner at your humble abode or heading to the in-laws, you need to come up with something delicious. Here are some recipes to accompany your turkey or satisfy your sweet tooth after your hefty meal — and they’re all under $5.

Baked Mac and Cheese

This rich side dish will leave you scraping the pan for more. Plus, if you’re bringing it as a guest, you can just pop it in the oven before the hostess serves dinner.

• 2-3 cups elbow macaroni ($1)
• 15 oz. can cheddar cheese soup ($1.50)
• 6 oz. grated cheddar ($2.50)
• 15 oz. milk
• Pepper
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 3 tbsp. bread crumbs

1. Cook pasta according to package directions and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, add soup to the milk slowly until fully mixed. Add cheddar and black pepper and stir well.
3. Stir pasta into mixture and pour into a casserole dish.
4. Top with melted butter mixed with breadcrumbs
5. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes.

Sweet Potato Casserole

This turkey day classic is easy to make and easier to eat!

• 5 sweet potatoes ($2)
• 10.5 oz. package miniature marshmallows ($2)
• ½ cup brown sugar
• ¼ cup margarine
• 2 tbsp. orange juice
• 2 pinches ground cinnamon

1. Slice and peel the sweet potatoes and boil in water until tender.
2. Blend the drained sweet potato slices in a bowl until creamy. Stir in the rest of the ingredients except for marshmallows.
3. Spread mixture into a 9×13 baking pan and sprinkle marshmallows over top.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F until golden brown.

Pumpkin Bread

All you need for this is a little time and a lot of spice. Your guest can serve this with dessert or save it for breakfast the next morning.

• 15 oz. can pumpkin ($1.50)
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2/3 cup water
• 3 cups sugar
• 3 ½ cups flour
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 ½ tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. nutmeg
• ½ tsp. cloves
• ¼ tsp. ground ginger

1. Mix together pumpkin, eggs, oil, water and sugar until well blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt and spices.
2. Stir dry ingredients into pumpkin mixture until blended.
3. Pour mixture into three greased 7×3 loaf pans and bake at 350 degrees F for 50 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin pie-it’s a classic. Enough said.

• 15 oz. can pumpkin ($1.50)
• 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk ($1.50)
• 9 in. pie crust ($2)
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• ½ tsp. nutmeg
• ½ tsp. ground ginger
• ½ tsp. salt

1. Whisk together pumpkin, condensed milk, eggs, spices and salt until smooth.
2. Pour mixture into crust and bake 15 minutes at 425 degrees F.
3. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees F and continue baking 35-40 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Apple Pie

This home-made crust is a little time consuming but it tastes great-and it’s sure to impress the in-laws.

• 6 Granny Smith Apples ($2.00)
• 3 cups flour
• 2 ½ sticks chilled butter
• 6-8 tbsp. water
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• ¼ cup cornstarch
• 1 egg

1. To prepare the crust, cut two sticks of butter into the flour and mix until dough resembles coarse meal.
2. Add the ice water and blend until dough can be gathered into a ball (you may need to add more water until you get this effect). Divide the dough in half, flatten into disks and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for one hour.
3. In the meantime, peel, core and slice apples thinly.
4. To prepare the filling, whisk together the sugar, cinnamon and cornstarch. Add the apples to the mixture and toss until they are completely coated.
5. On a floured surface, use a rolling pin to roll out one piece of dough into a circle 11 inches in diameter. Fold the crust in half, then in quarters. Place the point of the crust in the center of a 9-in. pie plate and carefully unfold. Trim excess dough, leaving about ¾ inch hanging over the edge.
6. Spoon the apple filling into the pie and sprinkle with slices of the remaining ½ stick of butter.
7. Roll out the second piece of dough in similar fashion to the first and place on top of filling. Trim excess then crimp the two layers together.
8. Cut several steam slits into pie. Brush with egg and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 20 minutes at 300 degrees F. Reduce heat to 350 degrees F and bake for an additional 30 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

Photo credit:  eXis

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