What do you need in the world other than food and friends? One keeps you alive and one makes life worth living. Add a colorful splash – preferably in the form of bright green peas, fiery red paprika, and still-falling-snowflake white whipped cream – and you will be on top of the world.

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.

Rachel Chemerynski is a self-proclaimed “Healthy Chick.” Fresh out of college, she loves eating healthy while still enjoying the foods she’s grown to love and strongly believes that not only can others eat healthy, but they can do it without fearing food and still save a buck or two.

If there’s one thing I love to do, it’s to cook. I have piles of recipe books stacked on my shelves and an intense addiction to Food Network. But it’s a passion that takes time and money. A lot of recipes call for an insane number of ingredients, many that require a special trip to the market — not to mention hours of chopping, filleting and sautéing. With two jobs and a ton of term papers to write, it’s not something I have much time – or cash – for anymore.

Let it be known that I am 100% gourmet. I taste wine for a living and spend my days making videos and writing articles about wine and which foods to pair with it. If you come to my house for a dinner party, it would be embarrassing for me to do anything less than impress you.

Of course, right now, we’re all in a recession, and at any given point – perhaps when you’re counting the days between your rent check being cashed – you might be in a personal depression. However, when I’m fiscally down, I still get a big pick-me-up from being around friends and sharing gourmet food with them.