While all of the other recipes we actually made ahead of time so we could share pictures along with the recipes, Erin and I decided against actually making a turkey ahead of time. However, we wanted to share some great links we found to help you in making your turkey and also some ideas and suggestions for getting a great deal on a turkey.
Buying a Turkey
Most stores are running sales on turkeys right now so it's a great time to buy turkey. The rule of thumb is to buy a bird that is as many pounds of meat as persons you are expecting to be at your Thanksgiving meal. So if you're planning to have 15 people at your Thanksgiving dinner, you'll want to buy a turkey that is somewhere around 15 pounds. I'm sure you could squeak by with a few pounds less, though, without anyone noticing.
Check around to all stores in your area before buying to see which store has the best deal. Many stores also offer a discount or even a free turkey if you spend a certain amount in one transaction the week of Thanksgiving or the week before Thanksgiving. These deals are great to take advantage of, provided you will actually already be spending that amount of money.
Cooking a Turkey
There's a great step-by-step photo tutorial from The Pioneer Woman here on roasting a turkey. And here's lots of helpful information on roasting a turkey from Butterball–and there's even an instructional video you can watch.
If you're having a smaller gathering for Thanksgiving and want to keep it simple, you might consider just doing turkey breasts in the crock pot. Click here for detailed instructions on how to do that.
Looking for something a little out of the ordinary to do with your turkey? You could consider deep-frying it or grilling it.
Making the Gravy
You can make gravy with the pan drippings (see recipe here) or with the giblets (see recipe here). If you've never made gravy before, check out The Pioneer Woman's photo-rich instructions here.
Stuffing: Do You Really Need It?
Okay folks, here's where my simplistic nature comes into play: I don't really think stuffing is a must. I mean sure, most folks serve it as a sort of obligatory part of the Thanksgiving dinner every year, but if you're trying to keep things easy, it is something you could skip.
Now I know some of you are probably thinking I'm nuts. If so and stuffing is something your Thanksgiving menu would not be complete without, then by all means go for it. I'd say to save yourself the trouble of actually stuffing your bird and to just make a pan of it on the side. Use your family's favorite recipe (if you have one), find the boxed mixes on sale and spruce them up a little, or try out The Pioneer Woman's recipe here (her recipe looks great but isn't very budget conscious).
I'd love to hear from you: What are your best ideas for buying an economical turkey? How do you usually cook your turkey? And do you consider stuffing an essential Thanksgiving menu item?
Up next: Our Sweet Potato casserole and Make-Ahead mashed potatoes
I’m with you on the stuffing. Prefer to save room for other calorie laden things-:) My mom however insisted I serve so Stove Top it is-:)
Same here on the cranberry sauce, I make a cranberry jello salad. So un gourmet but everyone loves it!
We love Emilee Barnes’ roast turkey recipe! I love easy, no fail recipes and the turkey is always moist!!! My husband hated the white meat before trying this! Great for a beginner cooks!!!
I wrote about it here! http://homejoys.blogspot.com/2008/11/easy-roast-turkey.html
And we love stuffing! You can find my recipe on my blog also!
Actually, I think stuffing and dressing are two different things. We serve dressing down here in Alabama, and it’s a must have! We bake a large pan of corn bread and crumble it up, add some torn peices of bread, chopped onions and celery, spices such as sage (I like lots), parslay, etc., mix well with chicken broth and bake! Mmmm Mmmm good! Tastes nothing like stuffing and is very moist when cooked correctly. And frugal! We sometimes serve at other times of the year and mix in some cooked, chopped chicken. My mom makes the best!
When I made Stove Top, my family revolted!
There would be mutiny in our family if there was no stuffing on Thanksgiving! What other day of the year are you supposed to make stuffing?
I like to make stuffing into little balls and bake in a muffin tin because I like it toasty rather than soggy. 🙂
Change of plans: I wasn’t going to make a turkey breast this year for DH and myself, but I just got back from Publix and looked at the turkeys. I found a small frozen Publix brand young turkey at $0.69 a pound that was only $5.28 for about 7 1/2 pounds! I couldn’t believe it, because the small size really stood out in the freezer section. There was only one that small. What a blessing in disguise… I’ve never bought a whole turkey before since I’m just serving 2 people total. I made a Butterball turkey breast last year. I saw turkey breast today at $2.99 per pound and they were quite large and, well, expensive. On top of such a good find I was able to use a $5.00 off $40.00 purchase coupon, so you could say I got a turkey for 28 Cents!!!!!
I had been planning on making the filet mignons from the Omaha Steaks deal that I bought for $8.98. You guys probably remember THAT deal with the free Omaha Steaks burgers that never came…
I buy a turkey breast also- much more economical. Or some years we just have chicken instead of turkey. I love the side dishes too!
my husband likes to brag that he can eat anything. he loves all food! but the first year we were married he found one thing that he could not eat. my mom’s stuffing! we have been married 6 years and a thanksgiving does not go by that he doesn’t remind me how bad it is. (i actually like it though!) so we go to my mom’s for lunch and his mom’s for dinner so he can get his mommy’s stuffing!
I think it is a matter of perspective. I can’t imagine Thanksgiving without stuffing or mashed potatoes, but couldn’t care less about sweet potatoes, yams, or green bean casserole.
My husband has to have stuffing – but thankfully Stove Top or any will do! 🙂
When we had a small Thanksgiving a few years ago (only 1 child willing to try turkey), I made a frozen turkey breast – it turned out perfect except there wasn’t enough drippings to make gravy. Gravy is still my nemesis! 🙂
Dressing is an essential part of our Thanksgiving meal. My mom makes it her way (of course), and then later in the week, I make a pan my MIL’s way just for dh. I like them both.
I’ve heard of folks having mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving. That’s the dish that I think is weird. LOL
Oh my goodness. Thanksgiving without stuffing…it is frugality carried too far! My parents get up EARLY on Thanksgiving to make two varieties of stuffing, each variations of the same recipe in mom’s very old Betty Crocker cookbook. It is FABULOUS and simple to make. My parents dry their own bread for it, too, which makes it extra lovely. My MIL makes Stove Top in a separate pan, and it just makes me want to cry. 🙂 I love the smell of the stuffing getting started. I also can’t imagine cooking it outside the bird, food poisoning or not! Ha! I have the same very dangerous addiction to raw cookie dough!! And I’ve lived all these years to tell about it…cackle, cackle, cackle! This has been a fun one, thanks!
Stuffing is a must. I scored free stuffing at the store last week when I bought beef and chicken stock on sale (and with coupons) so that’s free for us. I also got a free turkey awhile ago when I bought a ham. We grilled that turkey and eventually made stock with it.
A really easy pan gravy is flour and butter in a pan to make a rou (not sure on spelling….) I use Wondra flour, but you could use regular, just watch out for lumps. Then add the stock of your choice, chicken, beef, turkey, whatever and let it boil down. I did this when my husband grilled our turkey with chicken stock so there was gravy with mashed potatoes and it was a hit. I make this gravy alot.
I have also had my turkey deep friend (YUM!) and we have used our George Forman rotissiere for turkey breasts (also YUM).
I grill our turkey every year in my Weber charcoal grill. It leaves my oven free for everything else and the cleanup is a breeze. Plus, no need to baste the turkey. It always turns out super-moist from grilling.
I’m not a big fan of stuffing either, so unless my husband asks for it I don’t make it. 🙂
Stuffing is the BEST part! It is my 6 year olds favorite food and we eat it every couple of weeks year round. It’s not expensive and so easy to make!
For about 5 years now I have gotten a free turkey thanks to Shop-rite!! Their promotion has you spending $300 during Oct and Nov and you get to choose a ham or turkey. It works out to be just about the amount I spend as I shop there every week. I get the biggest one I can find as left overs are great and a huge help in the few weeks after thanksgiving.
My mom always made stuffing from scratch but as an adult, I find it just as easy (and tasty) to use a boxed stuffing. One of the companies (can’t remember which one) had a .55 off coupon a while back and I’m getting mine this week while it’s on sale for about 75 cents!
Dressing/stuffing is a good “filler” and as much a part of tradition as the turkey for most people. I got some boxes for free earlier in the season that I might “dr.-up”, so its no big expense. I think I will save my drippings and make gravy, too. Instead of a big turkey this year, we are doing a $10 turkey breast (on sale for 1.59/# at Food City this week). It costs more, but I am not crazy over turkey-especially for days, weeks, months after. It seems too dry to me after the first day or so! Because my sides are inexpensive or came from stockpile, I am spending a little more to get cornish hens (coupon in the new All You Mag) in addition to the turkey breast. This will provide variety, and minimize mess and leftovers (we are so stockpiled now I can’t fit much more in freezer). And I just like chicken more than turkey. So I guess what I am trying to say is
1. its okay to not be as frugal during a holiday dinner-although you can if you want to or need to.
2. its okay to break tradition or stick with it (if my husband likes it I’m happy)
3. when you have alot of small children, its okay to take shortcuts because time is sometimes just as hot a commodity as $. I would rather go sit and enjoy the family than feel I need to go back to the kitchen for another hour and pick meat off the carcass after spending time cooking and cleaning up dishes. “Wow, what a great meal, but has anyone seen Mom?…”
Gotta have stuffing (or dressing), it’s so yummy! And, it’s one of the cheapest parts. Use day old, dried at home bread from the Bakery outlet. Carrots, celery and onions are the cheapest veg. I saute those in butter (I only use real butter, I’ll scrimp and watch sales to get it), then mix it with the bread cubes, a few cups of broth, an egg and salt & pepper. Easy, classic and yum.
Stuffing is a very improtant part of our dinner. To me it is very cheap and we make it in the crock-pot. I but a frozen turkey and always buy a bigger one than I need to use for other recipes later.
Yep, you’re definitely in the minority there. Stuffing is DEFINITELY the best part of Thanksgiving and the first leftover to be gone. Besides, it’s cheap — it’s just made out of stale bread and whatnot.
We can’t do without the stuffing and it has to be in the bird. lLast year I lined the cavity of the turkey with cheesecloth and when I took the turkey out of the oven it was so easy to cleanly remove the stuffing. Stuffing is such a great way to use up all the bits and ends of bread from my freezer.
I am a certified chef and food safety expert, and I can tell you that you should NEVER bake the stuffing in a turkey! The center of the bird never gets hot enough to bring the stuffing up to the proper temp to kill bacteria, unless you absolutely obliterate the turkey itself. Poultry, as we all should know, is a source of salmonella (among a lot of other food-borne pathogens), and if you put raw stuffing into a raw bird, it absorbs the juices and is at risk for cross-contamination, a very big no-no. A restaurant would never risk this, it is much too easy to make a customer sick. So you have a choice; have a nice, juicy turkey with stuffing on the side, or tainted dressing, or WAY overdone turkey. Educate your guests about WHY you are making it on the side, and they won’t mind. If you’re feeding it to older family members or very young ones, they may have weaker immune systems; don’t risk it. Listen to Crystal, do it ON THE SIDE! If you decide not to take her advice, please do some research online first to determine safe procedures and temps. Good luck!
Buying a turkey off season when you see them on sale works very well! It’s always nice to know that you have one in the freezer once the Holiday seasons rolls around and you are feeling strapped for cash!
Yes, stuffing (dressing really since I don’t like it in the bird; can’t get past the possible bio-hazard) is essential for me. Although I’m quite happy with Stove Top or the store brand boxed mix so it’s a pretty inexpensive essential.
O.K….I think you are nuts….lol. All of the sides are my favorite part of Thanksgiving. Especially, the stuffing. To save space, I make it in the crock pot and it turns out just like you make it in the bird. Here is the recipe I use: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Slow-Cooker-Stuffing-2/Detail.aspx. Now me, I could do without the turkey, who knows, maybe I am nuts…lol. Thanks for the tips!
Honestly, I think you can have a full pledge thanksgiving meal on the cheap. No need to cut corners. Stuffing is one of the cheapest items. Old bread (if we have hotdogs and we have 1 bun leftover, I throw it in the freezer just for this purpose) a little seasoning, you can use older celery does not need to be crispy fresh, I stir fry the giblets to put in the stuffing, you must put in the bird if you want it to taste even better. All the food used to make thanksgiving meals goes on sales and coupons come out. I don’t spend a penny more on my food budget the week of thanksgiving, and I usually save the week after because of the leftovers. Just like any food, the more work you put into it the more $ you save. Make your own pies, your own cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes are cheap, a can of green beans to make green bean casserole. Sweet potatoes, everything is cheap.
I buy a much bigger turkey than I am going to need. They are on sale so I want to “stock up”. You don’t have to eat all of the leftover turkey right away. Freeze it in 1 or 2 cup portions. Then it is ready to throw in a casserole or soup when you need it. It also pays to stew the carcass. You can either make soup or freeze the broth for later use. I freeze it in 1 cup portions in freezer bags. Again, this makes it ready to use in casseroles later on. I am the queen of making a chicken or turkey go a long way. Just ask my family!
Stuffing cooking inside the bird is a must. It just does not taste the same if it isn’t.
The grocery store I shop at had a special that if you spent x amount you got a free turkey. And it was before your coupons, so I dug through my coupons and went shopping. I added alot to my stockpile without spending a ton and got a free 17 pound turkey.
It is just me and my 2 children (including one who doesn’t like meat), so I buy the smallest turkey breast I can find. I paid $7 for one this year. I always cook it in a Reynolds oven bag, and they turn out moist and beautifully browned. I don’t like stuffing, so I have never made it and therefore don’t miss it. Now Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie? THAT would be a disaster! 🙂
Hey… we no longer have a “BIG” Thanksgiving feast. In fact, Thanksgiving is simply a longer meal than normal for us. Our biggest cutback has been the turkey. Why should I buy a huge 10 pound whole turkey, and then have a whole bunch of it go to waste, because let’s be honest… who really wants to eat leftover turkey for 2 or 3 weeks?
So, instead, I buy a turkey breast. It’s just the right amount for our small family of 2 adults and 2 (picky) kids. We still have leftovers, but they last a week. No one will eat stuffing, so we don’t make it. This year, we actually sat down and made a menu. Turkey, mashed potatoes, garlic broccoli, applesauce (for the 3 year old), and rolls. Everyone had a say. It looks to be a great day for us.
Hugs,
Melinda
I always buy the largest turkey I can find for the least per pound. After we have sandwiches the next day, I chop most of it up, separate it into portions and freeze it for later. It is usually cheaper per pound than I can get even the cheapest chicken leg quarters. And you can use it in pretty much any poultry dish. Tetrazzini and turkey pot pie are some of our favorites.
As far as the stuffing, I’m the only one who does like it so I usually fix a very small amount in our crockpot. If it isn’t something that everyone eats, I would suggest halfing the recipe or even quartering it.
Food and family has GREAT turkey information, including serving suggestions, cooking times, ingredients, etc, here: http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/Entertaining/HolidaysEvents/Thanksgiving/Turkey101.htm
I must comment on the stuffing part: We make Stove Top stuffing in the bird because it tastes WAY better that way, and stuffing the bird before putting it in the oven only takes a couple of minutes, so it’s completely worth it! I have been looking forward to seeing stuffing deals posted on here (I’m new to couponing so I still need lots of help), so I hope that even if you choose not to use stuffing, you’ll still post great deals on Stove Top!
Thanks for these posts – I enjoyed today’s and I look forward to reading what you post for the rest of the week. I’d also love to see the breakdown of your Thanksgiving budget when it’s all said and done so I can have something to go by for Christmas.
Thanks for taking the time to do this!
I’m getting my turkey free this year by renewing my local newspaper subscription. Jen
I use a Reynold’s Turkey Bag every year – perfection! And I’m not going to say there would be mutiny & bloodshed if there was no stuffing at Thanksgiving, but there would be a definite rumble of disappointment!!
One trick I discovered a few years ago has made my last minute Thanksgiving prep ever so much easier. Making gravy is not difficult–but it comes at just the wrong time, when thing are coming out of the oven, last minute heating of rolls and cooked veggies, people getting drinks… and the stove top is crowded and it doesn’t seem like you have the room or the time to do it right. And I LOVE gravy, so I want to do it right.
You can buy turkey wings ahead of time, and very cheaply too. I get four to six wings, depending how much gravy I want. I just start looking for them a few weeks before and keep them in the freezer until I have enough. You can make a great turkey stock anytime before Thanksgiving, flavor and thicken it as you would your ordinary gravy, and keep it in the freezer. Just heat it up right before dinner, stirring in some nice hot drippings, and it’s as good as any gravy ever.
Then I save the rest of the stock and drippings from the turkey to make extra gravy the next day–because I like gravy on my leftovers too!
Family Circle ran the turkey wing gravy recipe a few years ago, but really you can just play it by ear.
I love stuffing, but always make it separately. Stuffing the bird does require a longer cook time than unstuffed. If it’s not thoroughly cooked, you can get foodborne illness from consuming the stuffing. I speak from experience: I’m an epidemiologist at my state health department!
All year long I shake crumbs from empty bags of bread into a freezer container. Always have enough crumbs to make stuffing (a must have at our house) by the time Thanksgiving rolls around. After years of scrubbing stuffing pans, I decided to wrap the majority of the stuffing in aluminum foil and bake it in the oven beside the bird. I toss the foil after baking. Not the most environmentally friendly plan, but it works for me to do it that one day out of the year. (Is it WFMW?)
I got enough points for a free turkey this year from the grocery store. I buy a big one so I have a lot for leftovers. I find that other that the bird, most of the ingredients are not expensive ones in the entire thanksgiving meal. old dry bread for stuffing – you could be saving it and freezing it through november. Potatoes for mashed potatoes are cheap, green beans are one of the cheaper veg! Canned pumpkin is always on sale this time of year. Given that usually all the guests contribute something, it really isn’t very expensive for the one feast of the year.
That being said, making your food instead of buying prepared (like you suggest with the gravy) is cheaper and tastes better (usually!) and not using many decorations or making them on your own makes sense.
We call it dressing in Oklahoma and I can’t imagine not having it! We never use the box stuff though. As for the turkey my mom or grandmother in law always has made it. This year I am carving pre-cooked turkeys for my daughter’s school of about 100 for their dinner Friday. Any tips on slicing it after it’s cooked?
We love stuffing too. But one of the things I do (when I host) is ask every guest “What dish would is just not be Thanksgiving without?” Because everyone has a different “must have” Thanksgiving dish. Mine is green bean casserole. Anyways…if you’re having a gathering, it’s a great question…and you would be surprised, many people say the same thing…so once you have that list, you can significantly cut the menu without cutting anyone’s idea of the perfect Thanksgiving feast.
My husbands work gives him a turkey each year! Usually it is a 20-25 lb bird. Can’t get any more economical than that!
DaHubby gets a turkey from work each year and ours from 2007 sat in the deep freeze until this past summer when we smoked it on the grill – for a church picnic!! LOL It was awesome and I would prefer it that way to deep fried or roasted any day!
And, while stuffing is a must for only me and I’m the only one who eats it in this household, I’m happy with a box of Stove Top! LOL
An easy way to cook the turkey is with those Reynolds Turkey Cooking Bags. My family has used those for years… at least since I was a child. And now I use them. It makes the oven roasting part of turkey cooking very easy. No need to worry about basting the bird and checking on it over and over. Plus, there is less dry white meat on the turkey. And we always make giblet gravy as well.
As for stuffing – take it or leave it. My husband could care less about it. But I think it wouldn’t be thanksgiving with out it. One thing we do though is make a box/bagged version of it with chicken broth added to it. It gets as moist and tastes like it was in the bird. But none of the hassle of actually stuffing the bird.
A GREAT alternative to a full turkey is the Oven Ready Jennie-O turkey breasts in the freezer section. They are around $10 but I have found $5 off coupons on tearpads at several stores recently. For example, the best deal I found was to grab a tearpad coupon at Kroger and buy the breast while at Walmart, where it was 2 1/2 pounds for about $9…so $4 for me! I made one of these last week to see how many it would feed and I got 5 good size servings (seriously, GOOD size, my husband ate 1 of those servings for dinner and 2 for lunches! lol) out of it. Knowing that we won’t eat as much turkey on Thanksgiving (b/c of all the other amazing stuff!) as we did last week I figure I can buy two of these and it will feed the 14 people I am hosting.
Here’s my FAVORITE part!! These things come ready! You take it out of the freezer bag, poke a few holes in the wrapper, put it in a pan and stick it in the oven, ta dah! And it tastes AMAZING. And it took a fraction of the time that a whole turkey would take. 🙂
Hope this helps someone!!!
I usually roast my turkey in the oven – yummy! Stuffing is a must for our family – but, when I’m in charge – I’m all for a separate pan rather than stuffing the bird.
Rachel, I am with you. My whole family from mom to 2nd cousins have got together since I was little (I am now pushing 52) and we have always divided up the meal. Someone is assigned to bring one thing each year. It keeps one person from having the expense of a whole Thanksgiving dinner. I am usually in charge of the sweat potatoes. Oh, and in my family, Thanksgiving without dressing, well, I won’t even mention that this was brought up!! :~) Sharon
Stuffing is a favorite here. We usually doctor up the Stovetop mixes, though. It takes very little time to make and is very affordable! We are a family who likes lots of side dishes.:-)
I’m cooking a ham this year but I usually just buy one of the turkeys on sale as cheap as I can find it. Looks like $.60 a pound is about the lowest price around here so far!Seems high to me. In years past, I’ve spent around $.30 a pound.
I got my bird on sale at Safeway$0.27 per pound if you spend $25. So I got a 23 pound turkey for less than $7!! I am going to have 10 people, so I should have tons of turkey left to cube and shred for enchiladas and casseroles I’d normally put chicken in. I use Alton Brown of the food network’s turkey cooking method–love it! Stuffing is a MUST for my peeps though I could take it or leave it. I assign it to be brought by a guest who cares about it–I would just make Stove Top Stuffing from the box!!!
I usually get just a turkey breast because no one in my family eats the dark meat. I pay more per pound, but there’s less waste. The best part about using just the breast is that you can cook it in your crockpot! I put it meat side down and add (maybe) one cup of water. By putting it on the night before, it’s always perfect by noon when we have lunch!
Blessings–
Dana
OK, my hubby said I had to comment that it wouldn’t be Thanksgiving dinner without the stuffing. It is his favorite part! I personally can go without – I have never cared for it, but he doesn’t like the yams, which are my favorite!! I’m thankful that we do a potluck style Thanksgiving so that no one person is left with the work or the expense!!
:o) Rachel
We can’t do without stuffing in this house….I’d be hung. It has to be a specific stuffing too…..our second year of marriage I went all out and made a Roasted Garlic and Sausage Stuffing (in a pan, not the bird). I’ve never been able to leave it off the menu ever since.
Finally I got the nerve to make the giblet gravy….so easy and so DELICIOUS! If my mom were alive, she’d be proud!
Speaking of crazy turkey ideas, have you ever heard of cooking your turkey in a compost heap? Crazy but true! http://www.mirabilis.ca/archives/001186.html
I’ve heard 1.5 pounds per person. I’d be afraid to skimp much less than a pound per person, bare minimum. Besides, the “how many things can I make with leftover turkey” recipes are part of the fun of Thanksgiving! And often much cheaper with the turkey that you are already buying anyhow than with the chicken called for in most recipes. Make turkey white chili, turkey enchiladas, etc.
And to do without dressing?? Sacrilege! 🙂 I don’t stuff my turkey, just bake it in its own pan, but either way, the average stuffing/dressing is anything but expensive to make. And we’re talking Thanksgiving, here. Live a little and don’t skimp TOO much.
This year I bought 2 of the Honeysuckle Whites that King Soopers had on sale for $8 . Dear hubby always cooks Thanksgiving dinner and stuffs “Tom” with the BEST, couldn’t skip it, stuffing! He really is a master and I am so spoiled. This year we are roasting one with stuffing and he is trying his hand at frying one! Can’t wait!
I can’t imagine Thanksgiving without stuffing/dressing. It can be made economically using day-old bread, chicken stock, celery, onion and poultry seasoning. To really save money, make your own stock using the giblets that come in the bird. Then bake the stuffing in a pan. Yummy.
Ok – I’m with you on how easy it is to make gravy…a little drippings, giblets four and milk and you’re all set.
But making the stuffing in a separate pan? {shudder}
Well, we tend to shop the commissary, and they usually have competitive prices on the turkeys. Frozen is the cheap way to go, of course. “Fresh” turkeys (so quoted because it’s possible they USED to be frozen!) cost so much more! I roast my turkey…I found this great recipe from Alton Brown (Food Network) that calls for an overnight brining. It’s so easy…and in the 7 Thanksgivings I’ve been using it, everyone has commented on how flavorful and moist the turkey’s been. Now I’m jinxing myself 🙂
About the stuffing…I don’t like it but my husband and his family would gasp in horror if I didn’t make it!
We buy Tofurkey roasts, a vegetarian alternative to turkey. It’s cheap, quick, pre-stuffed and actually quite delicious. You can find them at most health food stores or in the health food section of some grocery stores.