Thankful for coupons! (+ how you can give to others this season!)

Some of you have questioned whether you can buy “real food” with coupons … and if you can actually make a meal with some of the odds and ends that we get super cheap each week at the store. I am here to prove you can buy “real” food and make a meal out of the food you get super cheap too!

We had Thanksgiving at my in-laws house so I didn’t end up with all the turkey leftovers (which I love!).  I knew I would want some leftovers so I bought a turkey anyways when they were super cheap ($0.59/lb. at Publix!) and planned to cook it a few weeks after Thanksgiving.

I cooked our turkey today with some of the dishes you would have at Thanksgiving.  But get this, I made everything for less than $12!  Everything was not all bought in one week but over time, as it was on the sale for the lowest price AND I had a coupon (which is how you really maximize your savings!)

Here’s the breakdown:

Turkey - $8.55

Crescent rolls - $0.50 (Kroger sale last week)

Green bean casserole - $0.39  ($0.14 green beans, FREE French Fried Onions, $0.25 Cream of Mushroom soup)

Sweet Potato Casserole - $0.99 ($0.99 3 lb. bag of potatoes bought at Aldi, butter/sugar/nuts already on hand)

Corn - $0.14

Stuffing – $0.50

Gravy – FREE

Total $11.07!!

(I had $0.25 Nestle cookies that we would have had for dessert, but we were STUFFED! :)

So 2 of us ate tonight, I fixed 2 lunches for my husband, took 4 servings of everything to my mom, and still have a huge container of turkey that I plan to use make 2 pot pies and will probably still have leftover after that!  So $11.07 provided 8 servings of everything, plus I will make 2 pot pies that will serve 10-12 people.

So, remember the next time you are out shopping and you find ingredients for super cheap, there are people out there that could use a Thanksgiving basket or Christmas meal basket.  You could easily pick up 1-2 extra of everything that you are buying for your family (add in a cake mix and frosting for dessert – usually around $0.50 after coupons) and either donate it to a food shelter or find a family in need at your church or somewhere else.  $12 is not a lot of money to provide a huge blessing to someone!  You couldn’t buy/do ANYTHING for $12 that will make you feel as good as you will by helping/giving to someone else!

Use your blessings of coupons to help someone in need this holiday!