Keeping your Thanksgiving meal simple helps cooks enjoy the holidays -- and it also saves on food dollars.

A family of four can enjoy a turkey dinner and trimmings for around $25 with goods purchased at Utah grocery stores. And, yes, there's a method for hassle-free turkey preparation.

"Simple, good food, and friends and family, are more important than fancy trappings," said Bob Harmon, vice president of the Utah-based grocery chain.

Invite family and friends to bring their favorite sides, he advised, and use simple recipes.

Here's a suggested menu that costs around $25 at Harmons.

Start with a 10-pound Grade A Norbest Turkey, which costs $7.90 and is raised in Utah. For side dishes, add stuffing mix, 10 pounds of Idaho Russet potatoes, fresh yams, cranberry sauce, frozen vegetables, a pound of butter, Harmons' freshly baked dinner rolls, a Sara Lee pie and whipping cream.

At Smith's, shoppers who spend $25 can buy a butter-basted 12-to-14-pound Private Selection hen turkey for $6 or a tom for $8. Food, cleaning supplies, gifts and just about everything in the store -- except beer and cigarettes -- will fit within the qualifying $25 purchase.

Walmart is touting a $20 dinner, which includes a frozen turkey at 40 cents per pound, canned vegetables and cranberries, stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls and a pumpkin cake.

"The best shopping advice I can give is to watch for sales, use coupons and keep what you need at home to cut trips to the grocery store," said shopper Cara Lou Vance, of Salt Lake City.

Jane Miller, also of Salt Lake City, recommended buying a whole turkey rather than just a breast "because it's much less expensive and it makes for a more interesting meal."

Preparing whole turkeys is surprisingly easy, said Ann Woodbury, of the Salt Lake County Extension Service.

Cooks don't have to thaw a frozen turkey in a refrigerator for days, or baby-sit the bird to ensure it's covered with cold water while it thaws, she said.

"Just put the unstuffed turkey in the oven still frozen," she said. "You can cook it at a lower temperature because you don't have to worry about cooking danger zones when it's frozen."

Woodbury said the turkey should be placed breast side up in a roasting pan. Then cover the pan with an aluminum tent and place it in a cold oven that's not preheated. As the bird cooks, remove the neck and giblets and recover the bird in loose-fitting aluminum.

In a 350-degree oven, she noted, the cooking time for a seven-to-12-pound frozen turkey is 35 to 45 minutes per pound. Per-pound cooking times go up to 55 to 60 minutes when the oven is set at 250 degrees. The turkey is done when the internal temperature reaches 170 degrees. And remember that with slower cooking temperatures, pop-up timers don't work.

"You can put the turkey in the oven the night before," Woodbury said. "And those longer, slower cooking times will give you a tender, juicier meal."

dawn@sltrib.com