Christmas can be a tough time of year on many families financially.  Demands on food banks and other local organizations that provide Christmas Baskets can be staggering.  What I have created is a few recipes to help you enjoy a nice Family Christmas Dinner for $10.00. No need to break the bank, it is just a way to make the most of that Christmas basket or keep you on budget while you make those family memories over a tasty home cooked meal!

The only thing that I will take for granted with these recipes is that you have some basic ingredients in your pantry.  If not, a fast trip to a bulk food and spice shop should only cost you a couple dollars more if you buy what you need.  You should already have:

–          Salt

–          Pepper

–          Sugar

–          Butter

–          Flour

–          Ketchup

–          Mustard

–          Vinegar

–          Olive Oil

 

Turkey Meatloaf with Beet Ketchup.

The goal of this is a $10.00 meal that can feed 3-4 people.  As is, this was just under $10.00. Keep in mind, for a couple extra bucks you could add a can of potatoes or make your own mashed potatoes to beef up the dish.

1 pack of ground turkey

1 can of mixed vegetables (carrots, peas, beans)

½ cup bread crumbs

¼ cup onion (diced)

1 garlic clove (minced)

1 can of red beets

½ cup ketchup

2½ tbsp vinegar

2 tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

 

Pre-heat oven to 325oC. Open can of mixed veggies and wash thoroughly in a colander under the tap with cold water.

In a bowl, mix together turkey, mixed vegetables, bread crumbs, onion and garlic with salt and pepper to taste.  Form into a loaf shape.

Place on an ungreased sheet pan and let bake for about 90 minutes (internal temperature, if you have your meat thermometer handy should hit 160oC). To prevent the loaf from cracking, place a small oven safe pan filled with water on the rack below.

Drain and wash beets under cold water.  Place in a food processor with ketchup and vinegar.  Blend until smooth.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Serve with sliced meatloaf.

 

Baked Ham with Roasted Spaghetti Squash, Brussel Sprouts and Black Beans & a side of Corn Pancakes

Watch for the sale on Ham!  A $5.00 ham is the best case scenario to keep this as a full $10.00 meal for 3-4 people.

1 ham (you could use ham steak as well)

½ cup yellow mustard

1 medium sized spaghetti squash

1 can of black beans

1 medium sized onion

12 brussel sprouts

1 can cream corn

1¼ cup flour

2 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp butter

salt and pepper to taste

 

Preheat oven to 400oC.

Cut spaghetti squash in half and remove inside seeds and strands.  Jab at it 10 times with a fork and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Slice the onion once in half and peel the outer layer away.

Place peeled onion half inside squash cavity and place squash in oven for 20-25 minutes.  Rotate squash 90 degrees and bake an additional 20-25 minutes (flesh will pull easily away from shell).

In the meantime, remove ham from packaging and rinse under cold tap water. Set aside to dry.

Peel outer layer from other half of the onion and slice thin.  Use these slices to line a sheet of foil.

Use your hands to massage the mustard across the entire ham surface.  Season with pepper only as the ham will already be salted from the original curing process.  Place mustard coated ham on top of sliced onions on the foil and wrap it up tight.  Place on a baking sheet in the oven for 40 minutes.

Remove Squash and onion.  Place onion in a food processor and puree until smooth.

Mix ¾ onion purée with cream corn, sugar and flour in a bowl to create corn bread dough.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Mix until it resembles thick pancake batter and fry with a bit of butter in a non-stick pan (watch for surface bubble to know when to flip the pancake)

Add the remaining ¼ of the onion puree to the black beans and warm in a pot on the stove.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Using a fork strand the inside of the spaghetti squash and set aside.

Using a frying pan, sauté the brussel sprouts until edges start to caramelize.  Add in spaghetti squash strands and cook for 5 minutes more, adding salt and pepper to taste.

 

Orange Soy Sauce Marinated Turkey in a Sour Broth with Bok Choy and Rice Noodles

With this Asian inspired dish you can add or subtract the carrots and mushrooms if it pushes you over budget.  This was $10.01 after taxes and should easily feed 4 people.

1 can chicken broth

1 fresh orange

2 cloves of garlic

1 inch piece of ginger

1 tbsp sugar

¼ cup soy sauce

1 turkey leg and thighs

1 package of rice noodles (I used spinach)

1 pack of baby bok choy

6 fresh mushrooms

1 fresh carrot

salt and pepper to taste

 

Whisk together the soy sauce, juice from the orange, sugar and garlic.

Remove the turkey meat from the bone and place inside the marinade for at least 45 minutes. Turn the turkey and marinate for an additional 15 minutes.  Reserve the skin, pat dry and heavily salt. Set aside.

In the meantime place the turkey bone, in a pot on medium heat with chicken broth, orange remains, and ginger.  Add salt and pepper to balance the flavours.  Let broth reduce and concentrate the flavours (about an hour).

Strain broth to remove all bits and set aside.

Place the turkey meat on a foil lined cookie sheet and broil under direct heat in the oven.  Caramelization should occur on the meat and make sure after you flip the meat it finishes cooking to the internal temperature of 160oC. Add salt and pepper to taste at the end of cooking.

If you feel ambition take those dry and salted turkey skins and place them under direct heat until crispy and golden brown.  Chop the crispy skins and use as a crackling on top of the dish.

Thinly slice carrots and mushrooms.  Wash and coarsely chop bok choy.  Add all vegetables to the reduced broth and cook until carrots and bok choy are cooked.  Once again strain broth but keep the now cooked vegetables.

Boil rice noodles as per package.

Spoon broth into bowl, layer with a serving of cooked rice noodles, vegetables and top with sliced turkey (finish with turkey skin crackling if you chose to make it).

 

Turkey Alfredo with Mushrooms.

The nice thing about this recipe is that you can add whatever vegetables you have handy (watch for specials and look over the discount items).  This recipe as written is $10.00.

½ bag of bowtie noodles (or whatever you have handy)

1 can mushroom soup

1 can of mushrooms

½ red onion diced

2 cloves of garlic (minced)

1 large turkey thigh

¼ cup parmesan cheese

salt and pepper to taste

 

Cook pasta according to package directions. Add mushrooms for last 4 minutes of cooking time. Drain and set aside (but keep some pasta water as it will help with your sauce).

Cook turkey, garlic and onions in skillet over medium heat until browned, stirring often and being careful not to overcook your meat or burn your garlic (it will get bitter).

Add mushroom soup, cheese, and pasta mixture to a pot and heat thoroughly. Serve with additional parmesan cheese and add salt and pepper to taste.  Add your turkey and mix before serving.

 

Roasted Turkey Breast on Lentils with Caramelized Onions

This is a classic method for a traditional turkey dinner.  Best of all it is a $10.00 meal you can build a family tradition around.

1 turkey breast

1 onion

1 clove of garlic

3 tbsp butter (softened to room temperature) + 1 tsp of butter for corn

3 tbsp mustard

1 can of lentils

1 can of corn

salt and pepper to taste

 

Mince and mix together garlic, mustard, 2 tbsp of butter while adding salt and pepper to taste. Coat the entire turkey breast (if the skin is still on rub it under the skin) in the mixture and let marinate in your fridge for 3 hours.

Slice off the cap and bottom of the onion and peel away the layers like flower petals.  Place in water for an hour.

Open the Lentils and wash thoroughly.  Set aside until ready to use.

Place a layer of onions on the bottom of your roasting pan.  Place turkey on top of it and place a 2nd layer of onion on top of turkey breast.

Set oven 350oC to roast turkey skin side up for about 1 hour (internal temperature of 160oC).  Remove turkey and set aside.  Place onions in a separate bowl and in a 3rd bowl turkey pan drippings.  Those drippings should be placed in the freezer for an hour to allow for an easy removal of excess fat and the perfect drippings to make a gravy (fat layer will float to the top and peel off with ease the longer you leave it in the freezer).

In skillet, cook corn in 1 tsp of butter until bright yellow with slight caramelization starting around the edges.  Add some of the pan dripping from the turkey to the corn when you add the lentils.  Sauté until Lentils are tender and warmed completely, adding salt and pepper to taste.

Finely slice the onions once cooled into uniform thin slices.  Add some flour and butter to a pan (stirring briskly) to create a roux for your gravy.  Add pan drippings and stir until desired thickness (add more flour of a bit of water to thicken/thin it out and eliminate all lumps).  Finish by adding onions and heat thoroughly.  Add Salt and Pepper to taste.

Layer lentils on a plate, top with sliced turkey breast, and top with the caramelized onion gravy before you serve your meal.