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The avian flu outbreak across the country has already taken a toll. The price of eggs has jumped a minimum of 13% but in some places has risen as much as 50%. That’s a lot of yuk to the yoke of your budget.

The price of eggs on the wholesale level has risen, too. That affects other things you buy in the grocery story like mayonnaise or even the price of a cake mix. Anything that has eggs in it.

But it’s not likely to end there. Some expert prognosticators are looking ahead to Thanksgiving.

The early data says we will have enough turkeys. That’s step one. The next issue is what will that turkey cost? Some say that as long as gas prices and other production factors stay low, the price of a turkey won’t rise much as the holiday approaches.

Others are not so positive. Some are recommending you buy your frozen turkey now and make room for it in your freezer. Those same people are saying that the retailers are likely to take advantage of the situation and cause a media frenzy which always drives prices up – to the retailer’s advantage.

I’m not a big fan of buying a frozen turkey. I prefer a fresh one, but this whole issue got me to thinking.

I know turkey is a staple at most Thanksgiving feasts, but if we were forced to think outside the turkey barn, what might we come up with?

Besides, the whole purpose of Thanksgiving is to get together with friends and family and feast. Combine that with making an effort to be thankful for what we have, as well as those we have around us, and we have the makings for the Thanksgiving holiday.

I don’t see the word turkey in that whole last paragraph. Do you?

I’m always open to trying new things; especially when they involve food.
So if you decide to go turkey-less this year, what else might you do?

First thing I thought of was standing rib roast. My mother used to save up the budget to get a rib roast for Christmas. We didn’t have turkey. We didn’t have turkey at Easter, either. We had ham. So even a bargain-priced roast beef might be in order. Go red meat.

My next thought was to have a chili cook-off for the feast. Each family segment could bring their favorite chili recipe. You could to blind taste tests. You could have prizes. You could have a garnish-making exercise with the whole group chopping tomato, onion bits, jalapenos and more. What would you put on your chili? This might be a whole lot easier to clean up than the traditional turkey fixins.

On Christmas Day my mother often made up a big batch of sloppy Joe’s for lunchtime. We called them Spanish hamburgers. That kind of meal would be just as much fun to eat while you watch football. A change of course. Speaking of change of course, how about breakfast for dinner? So many people tell me how much they love brunch and they’d rather eat that than any other style of meal.

I’m just trying to get you to think creatively. Maybe this year you’ll do something else different for the big turkey holiday and if the clean-up is fast and easy, those of you that want to get to the mall can get there faster.

Whether you have this for your holiday meal or just a Saturday lunch, this freshly made sloppy joe is a big hit. I even eat it with no bun.

Enjoy!
Cheers,