ZipList Giving Away $600 to Lucky Wise Bread Readers!
Editor's Note: The contest has ended! We're picking the winners right now. Please keep an eye out for a prize email from Wise Bread or KillerAcesMedia (our parent company). Congrats to comment winners Addrienne Mertens ($150), Anne Mostella ($150), Cynthia C ($50), and Kelsey ($50). Congrats to Twitter winner @Shawnamichelle2 ($100). ZipList User registration winner is Brenda B.
To help us celebrate Thanksgiving, ZipList is helping us give away $600 in prizes!
ZipList is a free online and mobile shopping list and recipe organizer that lets you save all your favorite recipes and automatically organizes your grocery lists. I'm a big fan of this service because:
- You can create and share lists with your family, and allow them to add items or check them off in real time. No more duplicate dishes on Turkey Day!
- ZipList has over 300,000 recipes from hundreds of popular food websites, like Woman's Day, Martha Stewart, and $5 Dinners.
- You can access your list online or via free apps from iPhone or Android. You always have your list with you so no more wasted trips to the supermarket.
3 Easy Ways to Enter $600 Giveaway
1) Comment Entry: $400 Prizes
Simply leave a comment below before end of 11/23/11, answering the question: What's your favorite Thanksgiving budget dish or comfort food? (Answer must be at least two sentences long.)
We'll randomly select 4 comment winners. Prizes are 4 Visa Gift Cards: $150, $150, $50, $50 -- perfect for your holiday grocery shopping spree.
2) Twitter Entry: $100 Prize
To enter, simply do this before end of 11/23/11:
- Tweet this message: Retweet to win $100 from @Ziplist & @WiseBread giveaway http://bit.ly/ziplist2 #zipwin
- Follow @ZipList and @WiseBread so we can contact you if you win.
We'll randomly select 1 Twitter winner. Prize is 1 $100 Visa Gift Card.
3) ZipList User Registrant: $100 Prize
To enter, simply click this link - http://zipth.is/@ztq8dy to save The Ultimate Budget Thanksgiving Dinner checklist to a ZipList account, where you can then create a grocery shopping list, search for personalized recipe recommendations and discover other helpful checklists.
One lucky person will be chosen at random to win a $100 Visa Gift Card.
General Rules
Limit to one comment or tweet per day per person. You can enter all 3 contests to increase your chances but you can only win 1. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Legal residents of the 50 United States (D.C.) 18 years or older. Ends at 11:59 pm Eastern on 11/23/11. Winners will be randomly selected and announced on Wise Bread before December 15. If winners do not respond to prize notification within 3 days we reserve the right to select another.
5 Ways to Save Big on Thanksgiving
While Thanksgiving may be the biggest meal of the year, with a little simple planning you can have a stress-free and budget-friendly Turkey Day!
1) Use Checklists to Keep Track of What You Need: Save a checklists to help you make sure you have all of your Turkey Day essentials, like stuffing mix, sweet potatoes and green beans. No need for extra, costly trips to the supermarket. Check out this budget dinner checklist created just for the holidays:
Ultimate Budget Thanksgiving Dinner Checklist Get the most out of your budget by opting for some pocket friendly Thanksgiving grocery items.
2) Make Less Than You Think You Need:
Take a headcount, but then make less. There are so many must-have side dishes - mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole - that guests won't be taking their usual helpings. Make less of each dish and you should still have plenty of food.
3) Save on Side Dishes
It's easy to modify traditional favorites to save money. For green bean casserole, mix frozen green beans with frozen corn. Once cooked, top with Parmesan cheese and bread crumbs. You can also see big savings by opting for brown-and-serve rolls over crescent rolls.
4) Buy a Frozen Turkey
Believe it or not, you can save 30-40% (or more) by choosing a frozen turkey over a fresh, organic or free range turkey. Just be sure to give yourself 4-5 days for the turkey to thaw in your refrigerator. If you choose to thaw your turkey in cold water, allow 30 minutes per pound.
) Bake Your Own Pies
Pumpkin pie is cheaper to make than to buy (and it's so easy to make!). Plus, frozen pie crusts can often be found on sale. Here are a couple of our favorite pumpkin pie recipes to add to your recipe box:
Double Decker Pumpkin Caramel Pie Recipe This pie took first place in a local Fall Harvest Festival pie contest!
Traditional Pumpkin Pie Betty Croker Recipe A traditional favorite made fuss-free with an easy pat-in-the-pan crust!
Good luck with the contest! I look forward to reading all your yummy entries.
Tagged: Food and Drink, Giveaways
Disclaimer: The links and mentions on this site may be affiliate links. But they do not affect the actual opinions and recommendations of the authors.
Wise Bread is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
mac n cheese is always a family favorite!
My favorites are potatoes ~ Sweet potatoes and mashed potatoes. Both are inexpensive and both are easy to cook into delicious Thanksgiving side dishes.
My wife & I were early adopters of ZipList and just love it! It's so nice to both be able to work off of the same shopping list from our iPhones and PCs.
Baked sweet potatoes with cinnamon & butter are my favorite Thanksgiving side dish. I wish I could replicate the awesome yeast rolls Mom used to make from scratch when we were kids.
I love homemade stuffing. As a Yankee, it must be made with bread, celery, onion and real butter. I save all my bread pieces, cube them, place in a brown paper bag, seal and shake every day. The cubes dry out nicely. By the time you are ready to make stuffing, you have a nice assortment of dried bread cubes.
retweet to win $100 from ziplist&wisebread giveaway
i love to make my fathers stuffing. take peppridge farm stuffing,add sausage celery onion and broth.
tHIS RECEIPE HAS BEEN WITH OUR FAMILY FOR YEARS. iT'S QUITE SIMPLE AND EASY TO MAKE.
GREEN BEAN & ARTICOKE CASSEROLE
SAUTE 1 GARLIC POD IN ONE STICK OF BUTTER.
3 CANS F FRENCH STYLE GREEN BEAN
1 CUP PARMESAN CHEESE
1 CAN ARTICOKE CHOPPED AND DRAINED
SEASON TO YOUR TASTE
BAKE 350 30 MIN
Cornbread Stuffing...
Love it...
Any recipe with sweet potatoes. Every year we switch recipes, but usually the dish includes sweet potatoes and brown sugar. You can't go wrong with that combination.
Thanksgiving isn't "Thanksgiving" without Green Bean Casserole on the table. I loved it as a kid and look forward to it on my holiday meal table.
My favorite Thanksgiving dish/comfort food is sweet potato yams with marshmellows melted on top. I have a real sweet tooth. I only make this dish at Thanksgiving time so I really enjoy going back for seconds.
I adore homemade mashed potatoes and gravy at Thanksgiving, as well as homemade yeast dinner rolls. I love carbs during Thanksgiving, and both are affordable too! :)
My favorite is pumpkin pie, which isn't all that expensive to make. My husband usually makes several and we send them homes with guests. I really only eat pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving, so it just seems extra special during this time of year.
Homemade yams with mini marshmallows are one of my favorites. Warm, gooey, sweet goodness that's easy to make and is a side, not a dessert, on Thanksgiving!
My favorite budget Thanksgiving food is homemade mashed potatoes with real butter --- so fluffy and tasty :)
I don't know if desert counts, but last year I found a recipe for pumpkin cheesecake. It is incredibly delicious and super easy to make.
My favorite Thanksgiving budget dish is making a lasagne. Instead of using the triple meat I use turkey!
My favorite Thanksgiving comfort food would be any dessert that combines pumpkin and whipped cream, especially my mom's pumpkin bread pudding, which she makes with a delicious custard with cream, cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar, and eggs, and tops with homemade whipped cream.
My favorite (and most requested) Thanksgiving side dish is the broccoli casserole recipe handed down from my grandmother. It has broccoli, eggs, mushroom soup, onions, cheese and bread crumbs. Simple but delish!
Might sound boring but I love the turkey! Yams are good too!
My favorite budget Thanksgiving meal is to skip the turkey and serve cornish game hens instead. One year we tried roasting a tofu turkey, but it just didn't hold together, and we found it was nigh impossible to stuff it. So it's back to cornish game hens again. They're very tasty, and you're in no danger of overeating with them. But the main thing is they're much cheaper than turkey. Lighter, too.
It would have to be my Mom's recipe for Stuffing and homemade Cranberry sauce, both are dishes I can't be without for Thanksgiving and make me smile thinking of my Mom, so definitely my comfort foods as well
My favorite Thanksgiving comfort food is baked sweet potatoes. Many years ago (before they became popular), our power went out, and my dad wrapped some sweet potatoes in foil, and went outside, built a fire, and baked them. We added butter and a little brown sugar. Since then, any time I need a little comfort food, I just bake some sweet potatoes. And this time of year, they are so cheap - double bonus!
https://twitter.com/#!/pattie43/status/132899295824318464
My favorite Thanksgiving comfort food is pumpkin pie with whipped topping. I only buy them on sale and I use store brand whipped topping, so they are not that expensive.
A must have is my pecan pie from my Savannah GA cookbook. Everyone asks for my recipe . Left overs have to go or I will finish off those pie remnants~!
My favorite Thanksgiving budget dish is sweet potato casserole. It's inexpensive and easy to make. We have a big family, so we make 2 sweet potato casserole's every Thanksgiving. It's a must have and a family favorite.
Homemade yeast rolls are another family favorite here. They are very budget friendly (I think the yield is so high they are probably the cheapest thing I make) and I like them best warm with honey-butter. My recipe makes a LOT and I always think there will be plenty left but there aren't, they are always gone the next day.
My favorite comfort food is my aunt's cornbread dressing! No one can make it like she does. It's delicious!
I love stuffing. To me, it is the best part of the Thanksgiving meal.
I love Cranberry Relish! I love the flavor, the color is compatible with holiday celebrations, the ingredients are easy to find, it contains extra vitamins A & C, is not very fattening. and is inexpensive and easy to make. What more could a person want?
My favorite Budget Thanksgiving Dish, has to be Sweet Potato Casserole! It's simply comprised of mashed sweet potatoes/yams, put in a casserole dish, then sprinkle marshmallows ontop. Put in the oven for a half hour, and depending on the size of your casserole dish, it feeds easily 8 people! Sooo good! :)
@jsg1818
Tweet: @jsg1818
http://twitter.com/#!/jsg1818/status/133080288875134976
I Follow both @ZipList and @WiseBread via Twitter
http://twitter.com/#!/ZipList
http://twitter.com/#!/wisebread
(Following as @jsg1818)
Whipped sweet potatoes is my favorite comfort food on Thanksgiving. I like them really creamy with butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and marshmallows on top. I love the taste and they just feel good going down because they are warm.
Stuffing is the best comfort food at Thanksgiving. It's probably the only time of the year I get to eat it. The stuffing that comes out of the bird is tastier than the stuffing cooked in a pan. I usually use a box mix and add my own goodies. Onion, celery, breakfast sausage and some apple to help keep it moist.
My favorite Thanksgiving comfort food has to be the pies. For me it's not even eating comfort food that is comforting, the making is almost more so because I'm providing for my family and getting lost in the task as well. Just the whole day when my family surrounds me is a comfort.
My Uncle Mel's cheesecake is the best comfort food at Thanksgiving! He has refined his recipe over the years until it is perfect. It is very creamy. I make sure I leave room for the cheesecake.
It might sound cheap ("budget", right? ) but I LOVE stove top stuffing! It's so much more flavorful than anything I've ever made myself. And you can't get much cheaper than a bowl of stuffing for around $1.00 !!
https://twitter.com/#!/cass_k20/status/133090777214623744
i tweeted and follow both on twitter @cass_k20
tweet- http://twitter.com/#!/js22222222/status/133202063478894592
The inexpensive/buget Thanksgiving comfort food for me would have to be mashed potatoes & gravy. The 10lb bags are always on sale at Thanksgiving and we have all of the other ingredients already in the house -- milk, salt, butter, cheese. The gravy is easily made from the turkey drippings. Yum. I'm getting hungry thinking about it!
My fave comfort food is Hello Dolly Bars and not only do they satisfy a large group but is quite budget friendly! Take a large 9x13 rectangle pan and just layer! Take 2 inner packages graham crackers, ground into crumbs, mix 1/2-3/4 cup unsalted butter & press down with fork. Then layer, 2 cups shredded coconut, 2 cups chocolate chips, 1 cup chopped pecans.Lastly pour 1, 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk all over and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until golden.
https://twitter.com/#!/pattie43/status/133242372699066370
My favorite food at Thanksgiving is my family sausage stuffing which is sweet and spicy.
Everyone in my family loves it and I always make more for leftovers the next few days.
http://twitter.com/#!/madreblair/status/133303594895159297
I follow ZipList and Wisebread
My favorite thanksgiving food is roast lamb! I also love to have yorkshire puddings and gravy with it! Yummy!
I learned this recipe a long time ago from an Italian friend. The two reasons I love to add it to party tables is that it makes a healthy light addition to rather heavy Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner and also it makes a rather economical use of proscuitto. The last but not least advantage of this dish is that it's so easy my men don't mind helping make it :)
Melon with Proscuitto
Cut melon into slices about 1in long and put a proscuitto band around it. Any will do, but my personal favorite is honeydew. Depending on how wide the proscuitto slices are you may cut them in half length-wise.
I love making dressing. It's a Thanksgiving necessity and it is a dish that feeds lots! I like to make it ahead & keep it hot in the slow cooker.
Stuffing is the all-time comfort food associated with Thanksgiving...and its budget friendly too. Day old bread, giblets supplied with the turkey, onions, celery, and you are good to go!
My favorite Thanksgiving comfort food is Sweet Potato Pie. Good stuff!
I love to make deviled eggs! We have friends with chickens who give us more eggs than we need, so it's a low-cost food that everyone will eat. Yum. :)
I know it's common place, but mashed potatoes with turkey gravy are my favorite Thanksgiving comfort food. They are great on the budget too! I must have my dinner ending with pumpkin pie and whipped cream for a perfect holiday meal!
My favorite dish for Thanksgiving is the dressing. I still cannot replicate the recipe my mom had, even though I have the recipe! I gave up and just make my own rendition now, and add some sage sausage and chopped green apple for a kick up :)
I love sweet potato casserole for a Thanksgiving side dish. Wait all year for it!
My favorite frugal Thanksgiving dish is deviled eggs. They are easy to make and usually have all the ingredients in the fridge all ready. I also use my mother's recipe so it makes the holiday special. However, the canned cranberry sauce has a special place in my heart as well.
My favorite Thanksgiving budget dish is Ham stuffed in dressing because it is quick, easy, simple and cheap. It not only provides comfort to the mouth but it also provides enjoyment to the stomach.
My favorite Thanksgiving dish is a fruit salad that is time consuming and comparatively expensive to make. It does not keep well either, so Thanksgiving is just about the only time I put the effort into making it, especially since most of the family is not as fond of it as I am.
My favorite Thanksgiving budget dish AND comfort food is the same thing - green bean casserole! Relatively inexpensive to make, and it tastes so good!
My favorite budget thanksgiving dish has to be homemade macaroni and cheese. It's so easy to make and very budget friendly.
My favorite budget Thanksgiving dish Cheesy Potatoes. You can make this easily and pretty inexpensively...buy a bag of potatoes (on sale of course). Cook up about 5 of them and when they are almost soft grate them into a 9x13 dish. Add a can of cream of chicken soup (bought on sale...about 24 cents a can) and a 16 oz container of sour cream (again on sale about 99 cents) and grate an onion (about one cup) into the mixture and add 1 cup of grated cheddar cheese. Top with bread crumbs or crushed corn flakes if you like. Bake for about 40 minutes at 350. It's a wonderful alternative to mashed potatoes! We have this every year and everyone loves it!! Enjoy!
Hmm thats hard. I would have to go with either Apple Pie or Ham.
(the other comment wasn't 2 sentences)
A great tasting Thanksgiving budget food item would have to be Zatarain's Dirty Rice Mix. Just add ground beef and you're done! It's delicious, cheap, and easy to make!
What's your favorite Thanksgiving budget dish or comfort food?
My favorite Thanksgiving food on a budget is Devil Eggs! They are sooooo goood!
Mine is a basic... buying a frozen turkey and not letting a bit of it goes to waste! Basics on eating Thanksgiving dinner with the turkey, then we go straight into getting everything we can off the carcass. We make it a family occasion actually. (of course the "prize" is the wishbone!) Once he's all clean, into the crockpot he goes. With the usual suspects; carrots, onions, celery, salt & pepper. What results is an AMAZING broth that can be boiled down to be super concentrated, put into ice cube trays, frozen then put in a bag for later use. Typically I get enough to use for a year. Turkey broth is a seriously versatile stock we use all year long! The rest of the meat goes into small baggies and used for fresh soups, stews & sandwiches.
Tweet:
http://twitter.com/#!/jsg1818/status/133768089882996738
What a Yummy giveaway!! My favorite Thanksgiving dish is actually Mashed Potatoes and Gravy mixed with Corn. Of course a good Stuffing is always delicious too! Thanks for the opportunity!
My favorite Thanksgiving budget dish is my mashed potato recipe "Heart Attack Mashed Potatoes." The secret ingredient is lots of butter and condensed milk. Potatoes are inexpensive and I usually make a lot of mashed potatoes so we have lots of leftovers to send home with family as mashed potatoes are so easy to heat up in the microwave for leftovers the next day.
My favorite budget friendly Thanksgiving dish is green bean casserole. This dish is also great warmed up for the next day.
baked sweet potatoes topped with butter, cinnamon and brown sugar
My favorite Thanksgiving comfort food is mashed potatoes, gravy, and stuffing all made by my mom. Doesn't matter how many times I've watched her make it, I can't duplicate the flavors.
My favorite Thanksgiving budget meal is shepards pie! I usually add a little hot pepper and bacon bits in the meat and chedder cheese in the mashed potatoes. OMG! It's amazing! Always a hit at any gathering! YUUUUM!!
My favorite low cost Thanksgiving side dish has to be the classic green bean casserole. It is the ultimate comfort food made with very inexpensive ingredients and nearly everyone enjoys it!
My favorite comfort food is green bean casserole. Oh yeah, I cannot overlook croisants too!
I'm a vegetarian, so for me, Thanksgiving is all about the side dishes. And my favorite comfort food out of all of them, are the mashed potatoes. It wouldn't be Thanksgiving without them.
My favorite comfort food is stuffing! I love it on Thanksgiving because I never eat it any other time. I have read the ingredients and I can't bring myself to eat it more than once a year.
My favorite comfort food is stuffing! I love it on Thanksgiving because I never eat it any other time. I have read the ingredients and I can't bring myself to eat it more than once a year.
There is a cranberry salad that we make with cranberries, apples and walnuts that I love. It's just not a holiday without it.
My favorite comfort food is french vegetable soup. In my family, we call it "frueg"; when I was little, my mom had written "fr.veg" on the meal planning list, but I thought the "v" looked like a "u", and now we call it frueg! :)
My favorite Thanksgiving Dish has to be the whole meal. Turkey without stuffing seems like just any other day, or even without the yams. but if I had to pick one. I'd have to say the best part is the turkey though. I love turkey.
I'd have to say candied yams casserole. You just have to add some fresh cranberries to it and small sauteed carmelized turnip wedges. AS it's a basic candies yam casserole recipe you start with
we like mashed potatoes with homemade gravy. My hubby makes the best gravy and it's absolutely delicious! and cheap too!!!
I'm a New Zealander so my favorite Thanksgiving meal is roast lamb with mint sauce, kumara (sweet potato), roast potatoes, parsnips and yams. With all that I just LOVE yorkshire puddings with gravy!
My favorite comfort food is also a budget food. My wife makes homemade crescent rolls from scratch. They're inexpensive to make, pretty filling, and quite delicious. She brings them to every Thanksgiving meal.
I love to make green bean casserole. It has only a few ingredients. It is super easy to make and most everyone likes it. :)
I love dressing. Inexpensive and delicious!
Thanksgiving is all about the extras. One great budget friendly extra that deserves a spot on everyone's Thanksgiving table is homemade whipped cream. All you need is heavy whipping cream and sugar to taste - whip it up until it's ready and voila! Little fingers and pumpkin pie pieces won't be able to stay away.
Daily Tweet
http://twitter.com/#!/Imawinnertoday/status/134489447810080768
After Thanksgiving, I make sure I have plenty of turkey leftovers. I have to have cold turkey on white bread with real mayo sandwiches, with a glass of milk and potato chips. Weird, but I like it almost as much as the Thanksgiving dinner.
My favorite budget dish for Thanksgiving is home-made dinner rolls. We make them with a bread maker and they're so much better than store-bought rolls and a lot cheaper. Nothing quite like hot rolls with butter!
One good Thanksgiving budget dish for me are day after cookies, base for the cookie is the same as an oatmeal chocolate chip, but made with a swirl using leftover cranberry sauce.
My favorite Thanksgiving comfort food is green bean casserole. In my day-to-day cooking, I try to avoid a lot of processed foods, but I cannot give pass this dish up on the holidays. My mom makes it with French cut green beans, which somehow makes it even tastier.
My niece makes homemade cranberry tarts for Thanksgiving and it's easily my favorite side item on the Thanksgiving table. She is 16 and has been doing it for several years, and swears it is not hard or expensive to make.
I love stove top stuffing!ia
My favorite Thanksgiving budget dish is mashed potatoes. I make them with sour cream and chives.
My all-time favorite comfort food is stuffing. I prepare it with a homemade recipe passed down from my grandmother...it's a family recipe of course.
I cook part of it in the turkey and another in a large baking dish because my family loves stuffing.
Our Favorite is Our Family Meat stuffing Yummy!
My family's favorite budget friendly, comfort food at Thanksgiving is mac and cheese. I have tried to take it off the menu some years, but the family would have none of it! They said we have to have mac & cheese every Thanksgiving! :)
I really love chicken stuffing. It's like a staple, but it's so amazing! It's not Thanksgiving without it, and it's pretty cheap, too.
I love green bean casserole. It's terrible for you, but so yummy!
My favorite Thanksgiving budget comfort food is of course the bread stuffing. We save old hard bread and freeze it all year long to use as croutons or in stuffings or casseroles. So there is no big bread expense, we would have probably thrown the old bread out if we did not do this. Add some fried onions and celery fried in butter and a bit of oil, some eggs, some spices, and you have a great bread stuffing for very low cost.