AMAZING Thanksgiving Turkey

I decided to make my first thanksgiving turkey this year. I have never in my life ever made a turkey. I have been so very intimidated by making a turkey. My husband doesn't really like turkey's either, so I usually make ham for thanksgiving. I decided it was time to stop being so intimidated by such things. I talked myself into cooking the bird. I asked my husband to forgive me if it wasn't good and if it was dry. I did my research and read a few things on how it is best to cook a turkey and if I needed to brine it. I decided to brine my turkey. I put it in the brine by noon the day before I wanted to cook it. For instructions on what I did with my brine. Check my post on Turkey Brine. For cooking it... I did a few things...

Ingredients:

1 12-14 lb turkey - brined

softened seasoned butter - your choice of seasoning

1 large roasting pan with rack

paper towels

Preheat the oven to 350F. Remove turkey from brine and pat dry with paper towels. Make sure to dry it well. Place the dried turkey in the roasting pan. Stuff with stuffing (optional).

Spread the softened seasoned butter all over the turkey with your hands.

Once the oven is preheated and the turkey is smothered all over with the seasoned butter. It is ready to be placed in the oven. Make sure the oven rack is on the second to last rung. Remove the turkey when the breast temp internally is 165F, Approx 3 hours. Periodically baste the turkey with drippings from the turkey to help it have a more uniformed brown skin. Let the turkey rest for 20 min before carving (this will help the turkey remain moisture).

Verdict...

My husband who doesn't like turkey, said it was the BEST turkey he has ever had. So flavorful and delicious. He couldn't stop eating it as he was carving it. I stuffed my turkey with a Sausage, Bacon, Apple stuffing which I will be posting the recipe in a separate post. This was by far the best turkey I have ever had. My kids LOVED it, too! This was the most delectable turkey, so moist, and flavorful! It tasted heavenly... I will be making this again!!! :) I hope you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving and if you try this Turkey recipe... it is AMAZING!

Turkey Brine

This year is my first year to EVER make a turkey... I know shocker... Well, since we are not really having family over for Thanksgiving this year as we are in Utah and they are in other parts of the country. We are going to try our hand at a traditional Thanksgiving. I have made hams in the past as my husband isn't a turkey fan. So, this year, I got a turkey and decided it was time I try to make a yummy turkey. I had been reading about the best way to prepare a turkey. The census was to brine the turkey. Monday I started thawing my turkey in the sink with cold water. Rotating my turkey every few hours to evenly thaw. Today is Wednesday, tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I decided that since my bird is thawed I should start brining it. I watched a video of how to brine a turkey, and they said it should brine for 3 days! UGH!!! I don't have three days to brine a turkey. I had my mini heart attack and then read further brining methods and realized it was anywhere between 12 hours and 3 days depending on how long you wanted to brine it. Luckily, my sister called and helped calmed me down... So I stopped stressing and got to work on my brine. This is a compilation of things I read that sounded good and what I had in the house. So, I will post how it turned out. Also, stay tuned for the final turkey preparations in a future blog posting.

Ingredients:

1 12-14 lb turkey, thawed and at room temperature (Not a Kosher or prebrined turkey)

1 cup kosher salt

1 cup granulated white sugar

1 gallon water

6 cups of ice

1 turkey bag

1 cup chopped carrots

1 cup chopped celery

1 cup diced onions

3 Tbsp Rosemary and Garlic seasoning

1 tsp old bay seasoning

1/2 tsp thyme

1 tsp course ground black pepper

1 cup apple cider vinegar

Ingredients in my Brine

In a large pot, bring to boil the 1 gallon of water. Once the water has a rolling boil, stir in the sugar and salt. Once dissolved turn off the stove and add in all ingredients EXCEPT the turkey bag and the ice. Stir to incorporate all ingredients. Once all other ingredients are incorporated add the ice and stir until dissolved. This will help bring the mixture to room temperature, so that you can start brining your Turkey. In a large 5 gallon bucket. (One I had on hand from Food Storage). I lined with the turkey bag pulling sides up and over the outside of the bucket. Then pored the brine mixture in the bag. Made sure it was room temperature.

Turkey Brine in the Turkey bag inside the 5 Gallon Bucket

Then placed the prepared bird in the brining mixture. Making sure it was completely covered.

Turkey Brining in the Turkey Bag in the Garage

Closed the bag over the turkey and placed in the garage. (We have below freezing temperatures today and tomorrow,) so I am using my garage as the refrigerator today. My refrigerator does not have enough room for the bucket. The other option if you do not use the bucket is to place the bird in the bag with the brine and keep it in your meat drawer turning the bird over half way through the brining process. To ensure even brining. Brine for 12 hours to 3 days, depending on your time and preference.

Once you are ready to cook the bird, remove from brine. Throw away brine (pour down the sink or toilet). Pat turkey dry and then either cover with seasoned butter or canola oil, for a nice brown crisp skin. :) Cook per package directions. Enjoy!

I am hoping this turns out yummy. It sounds good. I will let you know how it goes tomorrow. I am looking forward to a delicious turkey dinner. :)

Buttery, Cheddar, Bacon, Garlic Biscuits

Our family was invited to a friends house for dinner tonight. I asked if I could bring anything, they said no. But I asked if I could bring some rolls or biscuits to share. They said I'm not obligated to but if I felt so inclined by all means. So, I thought it would be a nice gesture and a way of saying thanks for the free meal, that I decided to make some buttery, cheddar, bacon, garlic biscuits. We are having BBQ chicken. This would be a nice side. :) Here is the recipe I used. The base mix is from the Better Homes and Garden's cookbook, Biscuits supreme. I then doctored the base recipe to have this yumminess in it. :) mmm smelling good.

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter

2/3 cup milk

ADDITIVES:

1/3 pack of bacon chopped and browned

2 cups shredded cheddar

1 1/2 tsp minced garlic

TOPPING:

1/2 stick of butter - melted

1 tsp powdered garlic - to taste

Stir together the flour, baking powder, sugar, cream of tartar, and salt. Once stirred together cut in 1/2 cup of butter until it resembles course crumbs. Make a well in the middle and add the milk all at once, then add in the bacon, cheddar and garlic. Mix well incorporating all of the cheese, bacon, flour mixture and everything.

Drop by spoonful 1 inch apart on to a baking sheet (I lined mine with parchment paper). Bake in a 450F oven for 10-12 minutes.

While baking biscuits melt the butter in the microwave and mix in the powdered garlic. with a pastry brush, brush the mixture on the biscuits once the biscuits are removed from the oven. Remove from pan and enjoy warm.

Potato Pancakes

My grandma lived in Germany for several years as an adult while my grandfather was in the Army. She is also from North Dakota where there is a huge European influence. When I was a little girl, she used to make these potato pancakes that would make your eyes roll back in your head. That's how good they were. Well, unfortunately the concensus in the family is that the recipe died with her. :( how sad. I remember they were creamy and crunchy and had a nice oniony flavor that with maple syrup was just so heavenly. I can't quite explain it. Yes, you read right, she used to serve it with maple syrup, not sour cream or cottage cheese, but maple syrup. And on rare occasion with sweetened applesauce. This was a typical breakfast. I am assuming that she made these with leftover mashed potatoes but that is so fuzzy in my memory right now. Well, last night I had this huge craving to have potato pancakes. I searched online for a recipe... little did I know, that there are so many recipes for potato pancakes. I thought it was something that she made up. Well, obviously not. I read several that used shredded potatoes. I thought I'd try it with my red potatoes, I have about 10 lbs. Here is what I made....

Ingredients:

8-10 large red potatoes peeled and shredded

1 small/medium onion diced

3 eggs

1 tsp minced garlic

3 Tbsp flour

salt and pepper to taste

reserved bacon grease

Peel and shred potatoes into a medium bowl, mix in diced onion, eggs, garlic, flour and salt and pepper. Once this is all incorporated.

In a skillet on the stove heat oil of choice, I used Bacon Grease, but vegetable oil or olive oil will work fine. Heat til sizzling, then add by large spoonful into the oil, flatten as best you can.

Then when browned on bottom flip and brown on the opposite side, when browned it's done.

Remove and drain on paper towels. Serve warm. This made about 15 good sized potato pancakes.

VERDICT!

These were pretty good. They are not my grandmothers. I will try these again with mashed potatoes to see how they taste. I found this a fairly easy recipe. The hardest thing was hand shredding those potatoes. I'm hoping for a kitchenaid shredding attachment for christmas. Which would make it really easy to do this again in the future. My husband and kids didn't try them. They are hooked on plain pancakes. But I had some leftovers for lunch today, they were tasty. I will make these again, the next time I am craving potato cakes. Enjoy!

Easy Breakfast Burritos

Breakfast burritos are a favorite at my house for breakfast. I like to serve them to my family because they get a nice little package with protein and they can run out the door with it in one hand. I used to serve breakfast burritos on cool flour tortillas, then I had a friend who added a different step to hers, which made them even better. She fried hers in butter/margarine. I know I know, fattening. but oh so yummy... I believe it gives a plain burrito a step up on the delish factor O'Meter... And oh yea it does. So ever since my dear friend (Helen) - you know who you are... got me hooked on it. I thought I'd share it with you. I do sometimes still serve breakfast burritos on non fried tortillas... but they definitely are heated... in the microwave wrapped in wet paper towels... to help them get flimsy and get yummier... (microwave 3-4 tortillas for 30 seconds wrapped in a paper towel).

This recipe will be one for a family of 5. But can easily be reduced to a single or multiplied higher.

Ingredients:

1 lb ground sausage, browned and drained

8 eggs - scrambled

1 1/2 cup shredded cheese

2 tsp salsa per tortilla

5-10 flour tortillas depending on size

salt and pepper

Brown the sausage, leave in pan add the scrambled egg mixture to the sausage, stirring over high-medium heat. sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Once the scrambled eggs are done, remove from pan, in the same pan, melt some butter/margarine.

Assemble the burrito add about 1/2 a cup of sausage/egg mixture to the center of the tortilla, add cheese and salsa to each tortilla.

Fold the tortilla edges to meet in the middle around the meat mixture, then turn sideways and repeat. you should have a nice box looking tortilla. (getting the proper egg mixture to folding ratio will take a few tries.)

Once the butter is melted, add the folded burrito seam side down in the butter, over medium heat. brown on both sides, remove and enjoy. This is a delicious addition to your quick out the door breakfast, these can also be made ahead of time, placed in a ziploc bag and heated at work. So a great make ahead meal, for pennies on the dollar. Who needs to stop by McDonalds when you can enjoy this great breakfast?

Another good addition is to cut up some bell peppers and onions and cook along with the sausage, and eggs. I have even done lunchmeat and bacon instead of the sausage. A Must Try! :)

Verdict,

DELISH! So tasty and crispy... mmmm so good.

Scalloped Potatoes and Onions

I had a lot of red potatoes to use, and I am trying to do more with the potatoes then just mashed potatoes. I decided that I would try my hand at making homemade scalloped potatoes. I have never made these before. I have had these before and I love them, I just felt like it was a little harder for me to make.. But after tonights experience. I need a different mandolin to slice my potatoes and I will make these again. :)

Ingredients

10 good sized red potatoes - peeled, and sliced thin

1 medium onion - diced

1 stick butter

3 Tbsp flour

4-5 cups of milk

salt and pepper

2 1/2 cups cheddar cheese

1/2 cup italian seasoned bread crumbs

First, peel and slice thin red potatoes into cool water (so they don't brown). Then make the sauce...

Second, in a medium sauce pan melt butter, then once the butter is melted and bubbly toss in the diced onions and stir until they are translucent. Then sprinkle the flour and cook about a couple minutes until the flour is incorporated and no more flour taste. Then mix in 1 cup of the cheese until melted, once the cheese is melted then gradually mix in the milk and stir continually. Once the cheese milk mixture is starting to thicken remove from the heat. In the bottom of the 13X9 pan spread approx. 1/4th of the sauce in the bottom, then spread some of potatoes on top of the sauce, in an even layer. Then top with 1/2 of the remaining cheese approx 1/2 cup of cheese. Then top with the cheese sauce and repeat steps until the final layer is sauce. Then top with extra cheese. Bake in a 450F oven for 30 min.

Finally, Top with italian bread crumbs and bake another 5 min.

Serve warm.

Dig in!!

VERDICT?

The best scalloped potatoes EVER!!! My husband and kids... they say EPIC! After dinner there was less than half of a 13X9 pan left, and that was not all we had for dinner. Braeden had 4 helpings! yeah me! This is so good I'm not doing very good at describing how delicious this is. Try it and enjoy! I know this is a lot of cheese and yumminess, but so worth it!

Orange Brown Sugar Balsamic Glazed Pork Roast with Caramelized Onions

This recipe was a creation and a conglomeration of several recipes that I read when I was looking for something to do with my pork roast. I read several recipes and my mouth was just watering. So, of course, I had to create my own version of these recipes... Unfortunately, I forgot to write down my exact measurements. I also, forgot to properly measure. :( however, I can tell you approximately what I used. I seem to do a lot of my cooking my non exacts except when I baking. That is definitely more precise. Here is what I did.

Ingredients:

1 pork roast approx. 3-5 lbs (keep netting on)

4-5 oranges- fresh squeezed juice (making sure no seeds make it into the glaze)

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

4-5 dashes Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp minced garlic

2 tsp stone ground mustard

1 cup brown sugar

2 tsp corn starch

salt and pepper

1 medium onion sliced

Preheat the oven to 350F. Rinse and dry the pork roast, set aside. In a medium mixing bowl blend together the orange juice, balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, mustard, brown sugar, corn starch and salt and pepper. Mix well. In the bottom of a covered roasting pan, place the slices of the medium onion. Then place the pork roast on top of the onions. Then glaze the pork well with the glaze. Then cover and place in the oven on the center rack, and bake for 1 hour, then remove lid and reglaze the pork. Return pork back in the oven with no lid. Then after another 30 minutes reglaze the pork and cook for another 30 minutes. Once the internal temperature reaches 160F then remove from the oven. Reglaze again once after the pork has left the oven. Let rest for 15 min at least. After it's rested, remove the netting and throw the netting away. Cut into the roast, and enjoy.

Verdict, My husband said it was so EPIC that he would even do the dishes anytime I decided to make this again. :) Plus, he's cleaning the kitchen tonight. I really enjoyed eating the roast with the caramelized onions that caramelized on the bottom under the pork roast in the glaze. OH... So yummy! :) my kids even had the onions and extra glaze on their pork.