If you're not going home for Thanksgiving and want to prepare your own version of a traditional Thanksgiving dinner but don't have time to spend hours in the kitchen, try these easy ways to create a Thanksgiving feast almost like Mom's for you and your friends.

• Buy a ready-made turkey from the nearest grocery store. Most sell precooked turkeys that only require heating up. Places like Meijer also carry prepared sides and desserts.

• Order a complete holiday meal from Boston Market. The store's Web site, www.bostonmarket.com, has a full selection of turkey banquets ranging from just more than $50 to serve six to almost $70 for 12 people. Turkey meals come with spinach artichoke dip with crackers, 3 pounds of boneless turkey breast or an 11-pound whole turkey, sides of mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, cranberry walnut relish and cornbread. They also include pumpkin and/or apple pie. They also have a choice of ham instead of turkey. You can buy a la carte entrees, sides or desserts if you don't want the entire meal. The Web site also includes holiday tips and heating instructions for the premade meals. You can even place the ready-made meal on your own plates and pretend you slaved in the kitchen all day long.

• For vegetarians or vegans, a variety of Tofurky products are available at some grocery and health-food stores including the East Lansing Food Co-Operative, 4960 Northwind Drive. The Tofurky Feast in a box includes one Tofurky roast, eight cranberry apple-potato dumplings, Tofurky giblet and mushroom gravy, herbed brown and Tofurky wild rice stuffing and Tofurky Jurky Wishstix. The roast and sides are also available individually.

Easy Thanksgiving Recipes

• 1 store-bought pie crust

• 1 can of pumpkin pie filling (some are even spiced)

Pour the pie filling into the crust. Bake for about 45 minutes or according to the instructions on the package. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Green Bean Casserole

• 2 cans of cut green beans

• 1 can of Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup

• 2 cups of French's French Fried Onions

• 3/4 cup whole milk

• salt and pepper to taste

Drain the green beans and pour all the ingredients except for one cup of the onions into a casserole dish. Mix. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Top with the rest of the onions and bake for another five-10 minutes.

Side dishes with little to no preparation

• Mashed potatoes from a box.

• Heat up canned corn with butter in a saucepan or in the microwave for an even easier dish.

• Bake some frozen dinner rolls such as Pillsbury, or buy some from your grocery store's bakery.

Benita Mehta