Holiday Turkey Recipe...! part 2

Got the stuffing done and Turkey Tom stuffed to the max! It turned out good and it was nice to have Ray there to help me with everything....as tradition he ALWAYS eats the neck...funny huh..but no I didn't take a picture of that....it looks kinda gross! Also I had leftover gizzards and livers that I will add to my dog's dog food in the next couple of days...what a treat for them!

So my schedule is pretty easy for tomorrow I've got R.J. making the famous green bean casserole, Sabrina is making our "family" salad, Colton is making mashed potatoes and Cambrie will help me make the homemade whipped cream for the pies, and Ray is making his traditional Banana Nilla wafer vanilla pudding that has ran in his family for years....that's neat! So really along with the stuff everyone else is bringing,( corn, bread, candied yams and BBQ zucchini I am about done oh yeah I have to just put the Honeybaked Ham in the oven to heat through.....so my Thanksgiving will be easy peasy,....can't wait!! Everyone comes over at 2pm, it should be lots of fun..!

Holiday Turkey Recipe...!

This is a recipe that I got from my friend Jody and it's really yummy, so I thought I'd share as I was making it...!

Holiday Turkey Recipe:

1-25lb. Turkey thawed, washed

1c. lemon juice

1 gallon water

3/4 c. fresh orange juice

1c. kosher salt

1 c. packed brown sugar

1c. chopped yellow onion

2 oranges cut in half

3 cinnamon sticks

2 T. whole cloves or ground nutmeg

2 T. allspice berries

1c. apple juice

2 sticks blue bonnet butter

1 T. emerald essence (recipe following)

Emerald Essence Mixture:

5T. sweet paprika

1/4 c. salt

1/4 c. garlic powder

2 T. black pepper

2 T. onion powder

2 T. kayenne

2 T. dried oregano

2 T. thyme

To make the brine combine all ingredients except emerald essence and butter into a plastic sturdy garbage bag. Put the turkey into bag..I do this in my turkey pan in the sink like the following picture, then pour brine on top of turkey. Close top of bag into a good knot and set aside on top of stove or wherever for 12-24 hrs. Turn every couple of hours, you are marinating that turkey! (I put mine together when I get up around 5:30am and let sit all day until I put the turkey in the oven around midnight at 175 degrees and let cook until Thanksgiving day around 2 or 3 when we eat....Yummy!)
Ok so when you are ready to cook the turkey, remove from the brine and pat dry. Get 2 sticks of Blue Bonnet butter and rub that turkey all over. Sprinkle the Emerald Essence on top . Stuff the turkey with my own yummy stuffing...recipe as follows:

Homemade Turkey Stuffing:

4 Boxes Marie Cullumbers Stuffing (2 each of Herb and Cubed)

2 sticks of blue bonnet butter

a bundle of green onions

a bundle of fresh cilantro

2 cans of olives sliced

2 packages of gizzards cooked

2 tubs of livers cooked

2 cloves minced garlic

a couple of sprigs of fresh basil and parsley chopped

1/2 c. of purple onion chopped

a bundle of celery chopped

1 granny smith apple chopped

salt,pepper and garlic powder to taste

Combine all ingredients in a huge bowl. This stuffing will be somewhat dry but not TOO dry, just crumbly and moist. Rub 2 sticks of butter all over the turkey. Stuff your turkey inside and out, cover with oven bag and put into pan at 175 degrees, cook for at least 10 hours. A couple of hours before serving reset stove to 350 degrees and watch carefully so the stuffing doesn't burn, you wil notice it start to darken after about an hour. Notice that pop up thing stickin out means the turkey is cooked all the way through! At this time put the rest of the stuffing into a large pan and cut the 3 rd. stick into slices on top of stuffing and cook covered with foil for about 45 min. along with the turkey at 350 degrees. Voila! you are done....ENJOY!! (Don't forget to do the gravy with the turkey drippings, add flour and whisk, bring to slight boil, season with salt and pepper..yum! If you don't want to use all the drippins add a can of chicken broth!)


This is where I am at with my Turkey, I will post pics when I cook it...I am so excited I love the Holidays!! OOHHH and I love the aroma too..mmmm!!

HALLOWEEN 2008 PART 2 (Food)

I made Chili this morning for a friend's get together before the trick r treating...It is really yummy!!

All you need is: Hamburger meat 3 pounds, a big can of diced tomatoes, a med. can of ranch style beans, a bellpepper chopped up, white onion chopped up, Cilantro ( abunch cut up) and ham chopped up about a cup and 1/2, these spices above ( yes that's menudo mix...I love these spices!) I would say about a tsp of each, lighter if you don't like alot of spice The cornstarch is for after wards if I want it to be thicker.... Put it in your crockpot all day....YUMMY! Halloween cookies...this is the best recipe from Wilton, I double this because I like my sugar cookies thicker!
Wilton Sugar Cookies

1 c. butter, 1 c. sugar, 1 egg, 1 tsp coconut extract or almond extract, 2 tsp. baking powder, 3 c. flour.

mix well and roll out on flour surface but not too thick. preheat oven to 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes!

Buttercream Frosting (makes 3 cups)

1/2c. solid vegetable shortening, 1/2 c. butter stick, 1 tsp. coconut or almond extract, 4 c. confectioners sugar, 2 T. milk

I blend well in my kitchenaid for about 5 min and then add my icing colors...This is supposed to look like a light purple....(still trying to figure out Photoshop)

Cookies for Sabrina's class, and the others will be for tonight at my neighbor's!

So I wanted to start the "You've Been Boo'd" in my neighborhood since it looks like no one has started it yet and it's getting really late...so I decided to make my "Monster Mix". I just get all my mixins which I used..
My homemade granola, oreos with the mint creme (I couldn't find the orange ones..mmmm) candykorns, m&m's, marshmallows, caramel bits and almond bark the vanilla kind. All you do is melt the bark and then pour into all the mixins together, stir lightly and then lay out flat on wax paper and let set for an 1/2 hour. You're done! Simple and OH SO YUMMY!!


Gotta add my little tag with some glitter!
and also glitter this cup, tied it up with wrap and ribbon...cute!!

Havin a Halloween breakfast!!

So I attempted to make these "ghost" pancakes for the kids and I guess they turned out alright, they look like duck feet to me..lol!

The "BOO" turned out good, except the kids had to each take a letter to eat....


Sabrina had a friend spend the night and so they wanted thier pic taken with thier ghosts...heehee
Colton said, "Now me mom"...(I'm surprised his ghost didn't fall off the plate....!)

Bella wasn't quite sure what this thing was but quickly went for the chocolate chips...

I guess the pancake ghost was yummy too....!!

Quick...gotta get to school!

Okay so here is a recipe that is really good and really quick and easy!!

Banana

blueberries or grapes

frenchtoast and powdered sugar

granola

strawberries

kabob sticks

syrup My pic wasn't nearly as cute as this one!! Got this off of Familyfun. I use the Texas Toast for my french toast, yummy and we also use strawberries and granola chunks. You can also use the frozen frenchtoast sticks, if you are really in a hurry! LOL!

Another recipe for P.I.E. night...

I just found this and love this idea, I am going to try this Sunday night! I'll post my pic then.

Core an apple, leaving the bottom in tact. Add a dollop of butter inside, a few walnuts or raisins, and then cover with brown sugar and cinnamon. 350 for 40 minutes.

Want some Cherry pie in a jar...?

I saw this on another blog a while back and since have forgotten which one it was....so I attempted this on my own. I just took my apple pie crust recipe and filled an open mouth jar with the dough, and then spooned out the cherry pie filling into it, did a little cute heart shape and baked it at 400degrees. It turned out great. I wanted to do these for our family P.I.E. night and freeze these ahead of time and give everyone their own individual pie. Our P.I.E (Personal Interview Evaluation) night is an interview with each of our kids to just discuss one on one any problems they might be having. Our family loves this and so I wanted to start it up again since school has already started. (summers are lazy for us around here!) I feel like football and cheer season not to mention school in general has taken over our life and now Sunday will be our "Monday" FHE etc.. A good friend of mine did this a couple of years ago for an Enrichment and explained a binder type "Family"calendar. I've seen them be called Home Command Binder also. Mine has phone numbers, an address book, Mon-Sunday cleaning list, grocery list with an insert for coupons, my weekly menu for breakfast lunch and dinner, bills to pay etc... It keeps me organized. When I get a chance I will post some pics of my binder.

Anyhow, these would be really cute for a christmas gift or visiting teaching gift as well....mmm...

Cute Idea!

These are called edible crayons and look so stinkn cute, I wish I would have seen this before for my back to school survival kit. But for lunches this is adorable and fun. Check out gourmetmomonthego.blogspot.com for downloading her crayon labels......CUTE!



All you need is:

pretzel rods

white chocolate bark

food coloring

wax paper


Instructions:-

Break or cut pretzel rods in half.-Melt candy melts or chocoalte chips in microwave on medium heat for 1 minute. Stir and continue cooking at 15 second intervals until melted. Stir well. Add a few drops food coloring if desired.-Dip ends of pretzels in melted candy and place on wax paper. let cool
wrap label around pretzel and tape

Caramel Apples...MMMMM!

Caramel Apple Recipe

1 pound brown sugar
2 sticks of room temp butter
1 can sweetened condensed milk (14oz)
1 cup light corn syrup
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp of salt
12 apples
12 dowels or craft sticks

combine ingredients in a 2-3 qrt sauce pan. Heat at medium low temp. stirring constantly but slowly and frequently scrapping the bottom of the pan. Cook caramel to the soft ball stage (236) degrees. Pour into a small deep metal of heat proof bowl and let cool to 200 degrees. Line a baking sheet with wax paper. While caramel cools, you can prepare other toppings for the apples.
Melt white chocolate
Prepare cinnamon sugar
3 T. sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp. apple pie spice
Push a dowel or stick into the top of each apple. Dip apples into caramel using a straight up and down motion. Too much agitation causes the caramel to separate and become oily. Place dipped apples on baking sheet and place in the fridge for 15 to 20 min. Next, dip caramel apples into chocolate. Then, spinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture on top. Enjoy!

I got a surprise at my door when my friend Jody dropped off a pretty wrapped caramel apple...Can I just say it was so yummy that I asked for the recipe to make for my family and also give one to each of the kid's teachers for a "Back to school" treat. Thanks so much for the idea girl!

Yummy Granola!

I have been making granola now for a while, because it's so much better tasting then store bought ones. We use it on everything pretty much and it's great for just snackin and eating alone with some milk......yum

Yummy Old Fashioned Granola

1 tub of old fashioned oats

11/2 c. of brown sugar

1/2 c. of sugar

1 box of yellow cake mix

3 T. ground cinnamon (more if you like it cinnamony)

1/2 c. honey

3/4 c. maple syrup

1 stick of melted butter

Mix all together until the oats become crumbly. You may have to add more honey to this if it seems alittle dry. Spread out evenly on cookie sheet. (you will do this a few times) and bake for 30-40 min. until lightly brown @ 350 degrees. Let cool. You can at this point add dried blueberries, craisins, coconut, pecans whatever really to the granola.....enjoy!