Turkey Under a Dollar a Pound at Giant, Kroger, and Meijer

Turkey prices this week are lower than I've seen in a good while. Nearly every store has a frozen bird priced well under a dollar a pound, and the usual Thanksgiving side dishes are cheap right alongside them. If you shop a few stores, you can put the whole table together for very little.

This Week's Best Deals

• Frozen turkey, several stores: Giant has Shady Brook Farms Frozen Turkey at $0.39/lb, though their sale week runs November 13 through 19, so wait until Friday. Kroger has its own frozen Grade A turkey at 58¢/lb with a digital coupon, and Butterball (10 lbs and up) at 88¢/lb with card. Meijer's Frozen Grade A Turkey is $0.79/lb. Buy a second bird if you have freezer room, because it makes a fine Sunday dinner in January.

• Sweet potatoes at Giant, $0.39/lb: That is hard to beat for something so filling. Roast them, mash them, or bake them whole. Lidl also has them at $0.49 for a 1 lb. package.

• Gravy mix at Lidl and ALDI: Lidl's brown gravy mix is $0.19, and ALDI's Stonemill Brown Gravy Mix is 48¢. Gravy is the thing you always run short of, so pick up a few packets.

• Fresh cranberries at Meijer, $0.99 for a 12 oz. pkg: Simmer them with sugar and a little orange zest, and you will never go back to the canned kind. ALDI's Mandarins at $2.69 per 3-lb bag would go nicely in it.

• Spiral ham, $1.99/lb at Kroger with card: This is the best price on spiral ham I see. Giant and Meijer are both at $2.49/lb. A ham is a good second roast for a crowd, and the leftovers will feed you for days.

Quick Breakfast & Lunch Ideas

The breakfast and lunch deals are thinner this week, since the stores are putting their best prices on holiday food. Here is what I would make with what is there:

• Oatmeal with sliced apples: Piggly Wiggly has Quaker Old Fashioned or Quick Oats at $2.99 each and Red Delicious, Gala or Granny Smith Apples at $1.49/lb. Cook the oats, add chopped apple and a little cinnamon, and breakfast is done.

• Egg and cheese on a roll: Lidl has Hillandale jumbo white eggs (12 ct) at $2.11, dinner rolls at $0.59 each, and Milbona block cheese (8 oz) at $1.34 when you buy 3. Fry an egg, lay a slice of cheese on it, and tuck it in a warm roll.

• Ham sandwiches: Slice some of that Kroger spiral ham onto Giant Roundtop White Bread at $1.00 a loaf. Add a Gala apple from ALDI's $1.99 per 3-lb bag on the side and you have a cheap, filling lunch for the week.

Plan Your Week

This is a good week to stock the freezer and pantry while prices are low. I have worked all of these sales into this week's meal plans, so you can see how the turkey, ham, and sides stretch across several dinners. Take a look when you have a moment, and happy cooking.