Thanksgiving dinner, squeezed around a table with your crazy relatives, may be an unpleasant prospect, but not a lonely one. Lots of lucky (or unlucky, depending) teenagers have families with aunts and uncles and their kids, grandmas and grandpas and their brothers and sisters and their kids, etc., who all come together for Thanksgiving, so no one can be alone, even if they wanted to be.  •  Many will be envious, but we know of at least one 18-year-old whose family is heading out of town without her for the big feast, thanks to her school schedule and lack of room in the car, leaving her to fend for herself on turkey day.  •  Thanks for nothing? Being abandoned on the day you’re supposed to be thinking about what you’re thankful for could be discouraging. Or it could be reason to shout a big “I’m SOOOO giving thanks!”  •  If you find yourself in that situation, your ever-helpful food critic is here to offer a couple of suggestions for easy turkey meals you can call your own.

Turkey alone alternative No. 1
Go to the grocery store (maybe with a friend so you don’t feel so abandoned) and get yourself a turkey and gravy Hungry Man or other frozen dinner. If you want to feel like you’re actually cooking a Thanksgiving meal, use the conventional oven instructions. Pop open a can of jellied cranberries, and you’ll have a family feast, without the family fuss.

Turkey alone alternative No. 2
If you’re feeling nonconformist, scratch the dinner-in-a-tray plans and go for a roll, as in burrito or wrap. Take some sliced turkey (have it shaved at the  deli, or buy prepackaged) and layer it across a large flour tortilla. Top with stove-top dressing, heated canned cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes (find them in the refrigerator case). Roll it all up and enjoy. Who needs a crowded Thanksgiving table, or the dirty dishes? More time to make that day-after shopping list.

Michael Newcomer is a senior at Tarpon Springs High.