Thanksgiving With Safeway

The folks over at Safeway recently contacted me to let me know about some of their wonderful Thanksgiving deals they have going on right now, and to share some budget recipes, as well their exclusive 2 hour turkey recipe.


Lately I've been shopping more at Safeway because I think their red meat is definitely the best in town - not only in taste, but in price. We've scored some great steak deals over the last few weeks. Plus, they've been lowering their prices throughout the store, so we've gotten some great deals. A few weeks ago they had Ronzoni pasta on sale for 79 cents a box, plus we had a 50 cent coupon. I picked up a couple of boxes at just 29 cents each! Now that's my kind of price!

Safeway sent me a $25 gift card to create a turkey feast using what's on sale this week, and to try out their 2 hour turkey recipe. Now this is my kind of challenge! I sat down with the circular, and this is what I came up with - the price is BEFORE coupons. I've put coupons I used in parenthesis so you're welcome to use them too:

3 7-Up 2 litres - on sale 3/$1 right now
Betty Crocker Potatoes 2/$3 (I used 2 $0.40 off MC)
Jello - $1
Dole Pineapple Chunks $1
Stove Top Stuffing $1.50
Pillsbury Crescent Rolls $2/$4 ($0.50 off 2 MC)
Lipton Onion Soup Mix $1.34
Wheat Thins $1.88 ($1.00 off MC)
Kraft Dressing $2.50 ($1.00 off MC)
Fresh Express Salad $2 ($1.00 off store coupon)
Safeway Brand Turkey on sale for $0.27 lb with $25 purchase $5.83
Total before coupons $25.05 ($21.25 after coupons)


I'll be honest, a few of the prices above are not the best deal in town, but for the sake of convenience and not driving from store to store, they are still good prices. I'll be using some of the 7-up to make the Jello fruit salad for dessert. No, not a lot of my feast is homemade from scratch, but it's a nice meal for us with a little less work. ;) If you'd like to check out what's on sale this week at your local Safeway, just click here to see all their deals. And if you're not feeling like braving the crowds, or you just want the convenience of shopping in your pjs in the middle of the night, you can always order online. (MyPoints members, go through there to receive points on your purchase!) Right now if you order $200 worth of groceries, you'll receive not only free delivery, but a free turkey! Plus, you'll receive a free Wishbone dressing too with a purchase of $150.

If you're looking for some great recipes to prepare for your Thanksgiving feast and get your menu plan ready for the week, you may want to check out Safeway's recipes online. They have some pretty good ones, including some vegetarian ones, and some for your turkey leftovers in the Leftovers Lounge the following the day. The Cranberry Tangerine Sauce looks pretty good to me!

By the way, if you're looking for clipless coupons that you can just add to your card and not worry about forgetting to use them before they expire (or lose them in your purse!), Safeway participates in programs such as Cellfire (where they are loaded to your cell phone) and Shortcuts (where they are loaded onto your Safeway Club Card).

Now onto the 2 hour turkey recipe: it's pretty simple to follow - and the ingredients are just olive oil, salt and pepper. (I actually used dried rosemary with my olive oil instead as I am not fond of cooking with S&P as my returning readers probably know) Here's what my turkey looked like when we pulled it out of the oven:


Let me give you a word of warning, before attempting this recipe, make sure your oven is perfectly clean. The high temperature for so long will cause some serious smoke and set off your smoke alarms... please don't ask me how I know this. Sigh! Also, start watching your turkey at just over the one hour mark. I know opening and closing the door causes heat loss, however your turkey may cook faster than the 2 hours.

So if you're looking for a quick way to make your turkey because you are running out of time, this way is certainly faster. However, I didn't have very much broth coming out of it, so if you're using it to make your gravy or other side dishes, keep this in mind. And because I am very honest, I preferred the soy brined turkey from the other day to this one. (I did use a Butterball turkey vs Safeway's house brand, but I'm not sure it made much of a difference - I think it was the brining)