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Cut costs on holiday meals

Prepare a wonderful meal for your family and guests for $5 a person

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By Susan Dalzell, Contributing Writer 12:22 PM Saturday, December 17, 2011

While the idea of sitting down to a large, lavish meal this holiday season sounds festive and wonderful, the reality of planning and paying for such a meal leaves many of us feeling a bit more like Scrooge than his generous nephew.

If you are the host, you don’t have to break your piggy bank to present your family with the perfect ham — or turkey or lamb or roast beef — dinner this year.

Erin Chase of Centerville has a few ideas — and a lot of recipes — that can help.

Chase specializes in $5 dinners that families can prepare every day, but says that even when preparing more elaborate meals it is possible to stay frugal. Chase is the author of The $5 Dinner Mom Cookbook (St. Martin’s Griffin, 2009) and The $5 Dinner Mom Breakfast and Lunch Cookbook (St. Martin’s Griffin, 2011). She is also the creator of www.5dollardinners.com, where she provides tips, recipes and advice for creating inexpensive meals.

Even Chase admits that a total budget of $5 for a holiday meal is unrealistic. Instead, she sets herself a goal of spending $5 per person. “Rarely have I not been able to do that,” she said.

The trick is enlisting help. Chase isn’t shy about asking her guests for a little assistance and says you shouldn’t be either.

“Plan what you want to make, see how much it will cost, and then ask people to bring things to help shave the cost down,” she said.

As host, you’ll probably handle the main dish and a few side dishes, but others can help fill in the gaps.

If $5 per person is still too much for your budget, consider altering your plans a bit.

“Even for less money — $2 to $3 — you can plan for a light brunch or maybe a cookie exchange,” Chase said.

Once you’ve set your budget and created your meal plan, sit tight and resist heading out to the stores.

“The best thing to do is wait until the week of the holiday,” Chase said. “That’s when the staples of holiday meals go on sale. Go any earlier and you will probably end up paying more.”

For this meal, it’s also worth shopping around a bit, even if you typically buy all your food from one grocery store.

What follows are a few of Chase’s favorite holiday recipes, all of which can be prepared for less than $5. For more ideas, visit Chase’s website. In addition to recipes, she also is currently posting coupon links twice a week for traditional holiday ingredients.

Maple Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Prices to look for: $1.99/lb or less for fresh, $.88-$1 per 12-16 oz bag for frozen

Ingredients

2 12 oz. bags of frozen Brussels sprouts

3 Tbsp maple syrup

3 Tbsp olive oil

Few dashes of salt and pepper

Directions

1. Cook the frozen Brussels sprouts first as directed on the package, then drain the water and pat them dry. (If using fresh Brussels sprouts, wash and pat dry. Pick off any yellow leaves. Steam in a steamer for about 4-5 minutes. Pat dry and proceed to #2.)

2. In a medium size bowl, whisk the maple syrup and olive oil. Toss with the dried Brussels sprouts. Season with a little salt and pepper.

3. Place into a small roasting pan or shallow baking dish and roast at 400 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving.

Golden  Raisin-Apple Stuffing Cups

Ingredients

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 small red onion, chopped

3 celery stalks, chopped

6 granny smith apples, peeled, cored and chopped

2 cups vegetable or chicken broth (turkey broth if you have it)

About 1 1/2 cups golden raisins (1 box)

6 cups homemade or store bought cube stuffing

1 tsp poultry seasoning

Salt and pepper

2 9 inch pie crusts - homemade or store-bought

Directions

1. Add oil to large saucepan and sauté the red onion and celery. After about 3-4 minutes, add the chopped apples and broth. Let cook another 4-5 minutes.

2. In a large bowl, toss the golden raisins and bread cubes. Toss the cooked apples, celery, onions and broth with the raisins and bread cubes, until all the bread cubes have soaked up the liquid.

3. Cut the pie crust into large circles ... large enough to fill the better part of a regular size muffin tin. Press them into a greased muffin tin. Scoop the stuffing into the crust and press down firmly.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, or until stuffing begins to golden on top.

Roasted Butternut Squash with Maple-Pecan Topping

Ingredients

1 2 lb-ish butternut squash

2 Tbsp maple syrup

1 cup pecans, chopped

2 Tbsp butter or (dairy free) margarine

1/3 cup maple syrup

2 tsp cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease the bottom of a glass baking dish with cooking spray.

2. Peel, seed and dice the squash. Place the squash in the greased baking dish and toss with 2 Tbsp maple syrup.

3. Roast in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes, or until all squash pieces are fork tender.

4. While the squash is roasting, prepare the maple pecan topping. Run a knife through the pecans. Or use chopped pecans.

5. Melt the butter or margarine in a small skillet. Stir in the maple syrup, then stir in the cinnamon. Add the chopped pecans and let simmer for 3-5 minutes. Until ooey-gooey.

6. Place the Maple Pecans onto a piece of wax or parchment paper and let cool for 10 minutes, or more. Chop lightly if needed before adding to the roasted squash.

Almond Pecan Pie

Cost $3.85

Ingredients

Homemade Crust

1 cup all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon salt

1/3 cup shortening or butter

2-4 Tablespoons COLD water

Filling

4 eggs

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup maple syrup

4 Tbsp butter, melted

1 Tbsp vanilla

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cup pecans

3/4 cup sliced almonds

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

1. To prepare homemade pie crust, place flour in mixing bowl; add butter and cut in with pastry blender. Add salt and then add COLD water 1 Tablespoon at a time. Mix and toss ingredients together with a fork until dough ball forms. Place in plastic wrap or Ziploc baggie and put into the refrigerator while you make the filling.

2. To prepare filling, whisk the eggs, brown sugar, maple syrup, melted butter, vanilla and salt together in a mixing bowl.

3. Whisk.

4. Stir in the pecans and sliced almonds.

5. Once filling is prepared, take the dough ball from the fridge and place on lightly floured surface. Using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out the crust dough into a circle at least 12 inches in diameter and gently fold pie crust into quarters. Move the folded pie crust from the counter to the pie plate. Unfold in the pie plate. Pour filling into pie shell. Flute edges in your favorite design.

6. Place pie crust shield over the top or use foil to make a shield to keep the crust edges from burning or turning dark brown while baking.

7. Bake at 375 degrees for 40-50 minutes, or until filling has set.

8. Let cool completely on cooling rack. Refrigerate.

9. Serve cool with whipped cream or warm with vanilla bean ice cream.

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