How to Roast Your Turkey

The family watched "How to Train Your Dragon" this past weekend so I thought it was an appropriate title. Do ya'll ever do something silly (like name a turkey roasting post after a movie?) and you just laugh and laugh at yourself?  Me?  Guilty. A. Lot. 

So the day before Thanksgiving I found a recipe online for some things to put in your bird's belly to make it heavenly.  Well since it was the day before T-Day and we had already done our shopping I had to use what I had. Which meant improvising.  A. Lot.  Yep, this recipe looks nothing like the original.  Hubby was impressed.  Did I mention that it's hard to impress him with a good turkey?  Yep.  It is.

This is the recipe that I came up with Thanksgiving MORNING!!  Eeeekk!


Clean the bird, pluck pin feathers, yada yada...all the boring stuff.
(Oh, don't forget to take out the bag with gizzards...it's really gross if you don't and it makes really good gravy so I hear.)

Chunk up (by chunk I mean chunk...nothing precise.  Not diced, not cubed...those are too small.  Not quartered either...those are too big.  Somewhere just right. (Did I remind you of a favorite bedtime story? Hmm..) ... where was I?  Anywho...chunk up an onion, a carrot, an apple.  Yes, an apple.  Really!  Throw those in a big bowl and sprinkle on some rosemary ("some" meaning about a teaspoon (I used the store bought...not fresh at all.  If you use fresh (fresh meaning home grown and dried -- I realize it's winter) use a lot less...like 1/2) then drizzle about 1/4 cup-ish lemon juice (I used the bottled kind.  Hey, I was working with what I had, remember?)   Place those in the cavity of Mr. (or Mrs.) Birdy.

For the outside of the bird melt some butter ...eh, 1/2 stick-ish? sprinkle on 1/4 tsp. sage, 1/8 tsp. thyme, and 1/4 tsp. rosemary (again...store shelf kind).  Rub that on the outside of the bird.  Roast however the package tells you.  They are pretty close when they say however many minutes for however many pounds.  Make sure you baste a few times at least.  I also roast mine breast side down.  Very juicy white meat that way.  I know it's not too pretty to look at but taste buds always trump our vision at our house so we do it that way. *wink*

Well that's about it.  I know...I'm either really early for next Thanksgiving or kinda late in sharing this advice with you, but I have been known to roast a Turkey for Christmas and I thought if anyone else was as odd eccentric like me they would want to know what I discovered.

Gobble Gobble!

Duggar Recipes: Taco Soup

In continuing with recipes from the Duggar book here's a great one for taco soup! Easy, too!!

The Duggars' Taco Soup

3 pounds ground turkey
3 4-oz. cans green chilies, chopped
3 1.25-oz. packages taco seasoning
3 packages dry ranch dressing mix
3 15.5-oz. cans hominy, undrained
9 14.5-oz. cans diced tomatoes, undrained
3 15-oz. cans kidney beans, undrained
6 15-oz. cans pinto beans, undrained
Grated cheddar cheese, sour cream, tortilla chips for serving

Brown the ground turkey, seasoned as you like (salt, pepper, onion). Stir in the chilies, seasoning mix, ranch dressing mix, hominy, tomatoes, beans, and 5 cups water. Bring to a boil. Simmer for 30 minutes.

To serve, put crushed tortilla chips in bottom of bowl. Add soup, then top with grated cheddar cheese and sour cream. Enjoy!!

(Serves 25-30 people or more!)

Chicken Pot Pie

I have a few friends whose children think I make the best chicken pot pie ever. Some were betting that I was making it the other night for dinner when they came over. They were sort of bummed that I hadn't. So I promised to put the recipe on here so their mom could make it for them. : )

Chicken Pot Pie
This recipe is for 3 pot pies -- if you don't need to eat three, then eat one, bless a friend with one, and stick the other one in the fridge for another day that week. ; )

Double Crust Pie Crust Recipe x3
2 lb. bag of frozen mixed veggies (I get the kind with carrots, peas, and green beans)
2 T. onion powder (or 2 medium onions chopped)
1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup flour (I use unbleached all-purpose)
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. sage
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/4 tsp. pepper
4 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups milk
3 pounds cubed cooked chicken (or turkey for turkey pot pie)
1/4 cup dried parsley (or 1/2 cup fresh)

Make the pie crust and stick it in the fridge for a while to stiffen up. Cook the mixed veggies according to the package; drain. In a very large saucepan melt butter and stir in onion powder (or cook onions until tender). Stir in flour, salt, sage, thyme, parsley (unless fresh then add it when the chicken is added) and pepper. Add chicken broth and milk all at once. Cook and stir till thickened and bubbly. Stir in drained veggies and chicken. Heat while mixing until it's bubbly. Turn it down to warm then roll out your pie crusts, pour in the fillings, then top with crust. Flute edges of pastry, cut slits in the top for steam to escape. Cover the edges with foil and bake at 450 degrees for 30 minutes, remove the foil and bake until golden brown on top (about 20 minutes more).

Notes:
*Sometimes I'm feeling really industrious so I dice up some potatoes, cook them most of the way then add that to the pot pie filling. Make sure to reduce the veggies to 1 lb. or you'll have extra filling left.

*Also, you can pour the filling into a 9x13 baking dish. Roll out the pie crust (use 1 double crust recipe) and place over the top. Flute the edges, cut slits in the top. Bake 450 degrees for 15 minutes or so.

Turkey (or chicken) Rice Soup

Left over chicken or turkey, watch out!  You are about to be served...literally!  Are you ready for one easy peasy recipe??  Hold on to your apron because here we goooo!

Turkey Rice Soup

16 cups turkey or chicken stock *

3-4 cups chopped turkey (or chicken)

4 carrots, thinly sliced

1 1/2 cups brown rice (uncooked)

1/2 cup dried parsley

2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

a sprinkling of rosemary 

a sprinkling of thyme  

Combine ingredients in a very large crock pot (I use a 6.5 Qt.) and cook on high for 3 hours or low for 5-6.

*If I don't have stock on hand I'll use a few cans of chicken broth and then either chicken bouillon granules (follow the directions on the jar for adequate measurement) or chicken base (usually 1 tsp. per 1 cup of hot water) to make up the difference.  Chicken base comes in a jar, is thick and creamy in texture and is cheaper per ounce than bouillon granules.  I'm not a big fan of the cubes.  All that unwrapping puts a cramp on my cooking time.  The downside is that the chicken base makes a greasier soup.

Kitchen Tip Tuesday -- How to Cook a Chicken (or Turkey)

For years when we were first married I would buy the flash frozen bags of chicken breasts from the store.  I though it was the best option for me.  It wasn't too costly and I didn't have to touch raw, slimy chicken, right?  Well it is costly compared to buying a whole chicken on sale (or on clearance if you watch the meat section) .  I think also think flash frozen is a bit on the salty side.  I've grown to not mind the slimy-ness of preparing chicken in exchange for the better flavor and saving my family a little bit of money.  How long do those flash frozen chicken breasts sit at the store, anyway?  I digress...

Buy a chicken, no...buy two or three, especially if they're on sale!  Either put them in a large electric roaster or cook them in various crock pots.  If you're choosing to roast them it'll take about 4-5 hours.  I love my Rival RO188BR 18-Quart Roaster W Bonus.  I roasted two 14 pound turkeys in it the other day and I can easily roast 3 average size chickens.  If you choose to cook it in the crock pot you can put them in at night on low, shut it off in the morning and by lunch time it'll be cool enough to handle.  Take it apart, chop it up or shred it and package it up for the freezer.  To season them just sprinkle a little ground black pepper, some onion powder (unless you like real onion...the hubster doesn't), and I add a smidge of sage, thyme (or rosemary) and a sprinkle or two of lemon juice (I leave the lemons out if it's turkey I'm cooking).  I really dislike de-yucking (as we call it) the chicken.  I'm fortunate enough to have a mom who lives with us and doesn't mind that part.  Having her to help me do that is great!  If you have little helpers around they might enjoy it as well.  We have lots of little helpers but I find they eat more than they package if they are helping!  Simply take the large breast portions out and then work on the legs, thighs and back.  And if your birdies came with giblets or liver then you can cook that up, chop it and make gravy with the juices from the cooked bird(s).   

You'll get a lot of chicken (or turkey) out of that little cooking session.  The pair of 14 pound turkeys I roasted the other day yielded enough for dinner twice (approx. 3 pounds), sandwiches for lunch three times (approx. 2 pounds), meat for a double portion of Turkey & Rice Soup (I'll post the recipe soon!), and I have 6 more 2 pound bags of meat in the freezer ready to go.  Not too shabby!  Especially since Wallyworld had them on sale for 40 cents per pound back before the holidays!  

If you don't want to buy a whole bird you can go the boneless, skinless route.  If I find boneless, skinless (or tenderloins) on sale I'll put a bunch of them in the crock pot at night.  Add just enough water to cover and then the same seasonings above.  Cook them on low, turn them off in the morning and by lunch time you'll be ready to cut up and package the meat.  (You can wait until the kiddos are taking their afternoon nap.  Just shut it off an hour or so later or put your crock pot on a "keep warm" setting.)  The only drawback to the boneless skinless is there is no good quality stock (broth) left over for soups, etc.  Yes, you get water and some juice, but it's not the same.

I try to do this about once a month when meat is on sale.  Since it's not the most enjoyable part of my kitchen time it is nice to get it over with all at once!

Now go find some little birdies and cook away!