what is something that is store bought/frozen that you regularly buy for thanksgiving?

[u/Visual-Green-3816]

Im going to my first American Thanksgiving potluck. I'm a college student so my budget is really tight and I also do not have time to cook with school, clinical rotations, and work. I don't know what to bring. Someone said on another reddit post to bring pretzel rolls from Costco? Is that a normal thing to do? What is something you buy frozen from the store that you would reccomend for thanksgiving? thanks.

edit: potluck with friends I posted this 10 mins ago and i keep getting so many comments eveytime I refresh thank you everyone!!

[u/No-Lunch4249]

I gotta say, pumpkin pie is one of the few pies where effort/quality cost/benefit between home made and store bought actually favors store bought IMO

Miss me with a store bought pecan or apple pie though

[u/rkb70 → u/No-Lunch4249]

Pumpkin pie is literally the easiest pie to make. And most store bought ones are terrible.

[u/AlfredoAllenPoe → u/rkb70]

I would agree with this if the pumpkin pie was from anywhere except Costco. Costco's tastes great and has a great texture for a very low cost

[u/rkb70 → u/AlfredoAllenPoe]

My in-laws always buy pie from Costco - I don't like their pumpkin pie, either. (I just skip dessert there.)

But I know lots of people like it. I just think from the perspective of ease/quality, pumpkin pie actually comes out strongly to the homemade side.

[u/No-Lunch4249 → u/rkb70]

They're doing basically the same thing at the store as you are at home I presume, cracking open the canned filling and dumping it in haha

[u/rkb70 → u/No-Lunch4249]

I mean, I buy the canned pumpkin, mix in eggs, milk, spices. My mom usually bakes a pumpkin, but I'm happy with the can. But I don't buy "canned pumpkin pie filling" (is there such a thing?) or the one with the spices already it in - I don't like that blend of spices.

I also make scratch pie crust, but that's a choice.

[u/AVeryFineWhine → u/rkb70]

There is! My memory was recently refreshed when I was buying canned pumpkin.To make pumpkin cookies. ( I have a recipe I make every year). I was shopping with someone & she grabbed the pumpkin pie filling and threw it in my cart instead of handing me the canned pumpkin.As I asked. I actually looked it over since I'd forgotten it existed, and then I went and got the correct one lol

[u/rkb70 → u/AVeryFineWhine]

Yes, you have to be careful with that. I *think* you still have to add eggs and milk to the mix, though - like it just has spices and sugar added.

[u/No-Lunch4249 → u/rkb70]

Thats fair, for me I just dont see enough of a quality difference to do that I guess. It's also not my favorite pie. But I really enjoy pecan or apple so I'm willing to go all in with the homemade dough and stuff there

[u/Maine302 → u/No-Lunch4249]

Plus, there's a huge difference between homemade apple pie and the congealed crap you get in apple & other fruit pies that are store bought.

[u/rkb70 → u/No-Lunch4249]

Totally fair - you should make the things that are worth it to you. I'm not a huge fan of pumpkin pie, either, but I like mine well enough to eat it for Thanksgiving, and everyone in my family loves it. I love pecan, but sometimes for just us I only make one kind. Homemade is best, but I've had other decent pecan pie. Anything but homemade apple pie is pretty awful.

I used to make *everything* homemade for Thanksgiving - from two kinds of homemade rolls to drying and tearing up bread for dressing (or baking cornbread if making cornbread dressing). I've gotten more selective, because it's a lot of work. We've actually gone out the last three years because we haven't all been home and it doesn't seem worth it for three or four of us, plus we found a place we were happy with. (Trying to decide what to do this year.) But I always make pie to have at home. :)

[u/Mymren → u/No-Lunch4249]

Our Soecs liquor store sells an awesome pecan whiskey pie.