During the Great Depression, Clara Cannucciari and her family weren’t able to do turkey and all the trimmings for Thanksgiving or other holidays:

“We never had turkey. It was too much for our family. We had chicken, and we were just as happy.”

In 2009, Cannucciari’s grandson, Christopher, began recording her cooking the types of thrifty meals she had during childhood in Chicago and posted them on YouTube, titling the episodes Great Depression Cooking With Clara. Her channel, Great Depression Cooking, was popular enough to generate a recipe book and a DVD of episodes. Cannucciari died in 2013 at 98.

Recently, user insert-amusing-name created a bit of resurgence for Cannucciari after posting her video for Depression breakfast in the Videos community.

That gave us an idea: Why not put together a Thanksgiving menu using the dishes posted on Clara’s YouTube page? So that’s what we did. Enjoy your Depression-era meal this Thanksgiving, and readers can send photos of their frugal feasts along with how the food turned in the comments section of this story.

Cooked Bread

Clara actually presents this as a full meal (especially for children and older people who have a hard time eating). But it’s Thanksgiving, so why not turn this into a nice side dish or appetizer? It’s OK to splurge a little even if you are keeping things Depression-era inexpensive and simple. All you need is olive oil (make sure you have a lot on hand—you’ll need it later), water, and old, hard bread. If that doesn’t sound good, Clara’s twice-baked potatoes are a good starchy alternative.

Stuffed Artichokes

This one was a holiday staple for Cannucciari and her family, and it takes some patience and work to make (quit complaining: At least you’re not living during the Depression). The list of ingredients, however, is short: artichokes, garlic salt, and olive oil. Another vegetable option to check out are the fried mushrooms.

Poor Man’s Feast

Time for the main course. The feast includes lentils and rice (pasta can be used as a substitute, but Clara recommends the rice), an endive salad, and fried red meat in an olive oil and lemon marinade. If that’s too much food, downgrade to the Poor Man’s Meal.

Biscotti With Chocolate Glaze

Eating Depression-based meals doesn’t mean you have to miss out on dessert. Cook up—”Italians don’t bake. They cook,” according to Clara—some chocolate biscotti and serve with coffee, preferably brewed from day-old grounds for full authenticity (that’s our suggestion, not Clara’s).

Want to go a little fancier? Try Cannucciari’s Sicilian fig cookies, which is a two-part video here and here.