Cooking a turkey

1 turkey
1 turkey cooking bag
1 cookie sheet or roasting pan

There are so many opinions about how to cook a turkey. Some say start at 425 others say start at 275 and some say baste and other say that dries out the turkey, whatever, either way it will turnout cooked. The thighs take the longest to cook so make sure their temperature is 170°-175°

1/2/19 I decided not to brine this time.
1 onion
5 celery leaves chopped
sage, thyme, oregano, onion powder, 5 garlic cloves (1 t powder), salt and pepper
5 bay leaves
oil
I put the turkey in a turkey bag, then separated the skin from the meat on the breast top and sprinkled salt and oil. Then added all the above additions around the outside of the turkey, then added more salt and oil to the outside of the turkey.

275 for 3 hours
Then take out the turkey and Smear the butter mixture all over the skin, in crevices, etc so that it's totally covered. Insert a meat thermometer into the thigh, increase the oven temperature to 350, and return the turkey to the oven, basting every 30 minutes for an hour to 1 and 1/2 hours.

Brine-
1c salt
2 oranges
1/2c any type of vinegar (red wine, white or apple cider)
3 bay leaves
1 chopped onion
1/2c chopped garlic

Fill a large pot with water, dissolve the salt in boiling water.  Add all ingredients to pot and boil 5 min.
Put turkey and the brine in a bucket, let sit at least 3 hours, preferably overnite.  I put the bucket with the turkey inside, outside in the backyard and covered with a tower of snow and left overnite. (I think next time put turkey in fridge or bucket ice, just not outside)

In the morning- drain the liquid and reserve the onion, garlic, bay leaves to roast in the oven with the turkey. Put turkey in the turkey bag, then sprinkle the onion, garlic, bay leaves around the turkey.

To roast the turkey, put chunks of butter on turkey. Sprinkle with sage, rosemary, salt and pepper.

Roasted on 200 degrees for 4 hours, then 350 for 1/2hr -1 hour.  Open the turkey bag the last 1/2 hour to crisp the skin.

At about hour 4 of cooking the turkey, I wanted to make the gravy b4 the turkey was finished cooking.  So I opened the turkey bag and used a measuring cup to get the drippings (turkey juice).  But, some of the turkey drippings, dripped on to the bottom of the oven and started a fire in the oven.  I had to turn off the oven, pull out the turkey, take off the bottom oven shelf, and put new aluminum foil under the heating element, where the fire started.  Then resumed cooking the turkey. Phew.....

I put the drippings in a pan to cook. The drippings were surprisingly bland, so I added garlic powder, rosemary, sage, oregano, salt and pepper. Then to a separate bowl whisked cold water and flour and slowly added to the pan to thicken the  gravy.

the Brine seems to really moisten the turkey, not add much flavor.  Everyone loved the turkey especially my nephew- Porter, who is a picky eater, So at least he had something desirable to eat.

Goes well with- Cranberry Sauce, Mashed potatoes

Cranberry sauce

2 bags of fresh/frozen cranberries
1c sugar
1t cinnamon
1/2t ginger
2 whole oranges squeezed and 1 orange zested

Combine everything into pot, boil 8-10min.
Optional- Can add dried cranberries, cherries or raisins

Crockpot mashed potatoes

The Kitchn

I scrubbed and sliced the potatoes, I didn't peel them.
Put cut potatoes in container with water and put in fridge over nite.


OPTION 1-
In morning oil or butter the inside of the crockpot then add, water and potatoes to crockpot and boil for 4 hours on high, till potatoes are tender.

OPTION 2-
5lb bag of potatoes cook potatoes on stove for 25min, drain water.
After cooked-
add salt,
pepper,
sour cream(didnt have one time),
1/4 c butter, and
1/4-1/2c milk.

Puree with hand mixer in pot, Coat the inside of crockpot  with oil/butter, then add the whipped potatoes. Keep in crockpot on low for 4 hours.

12/26/2015 I did option 2, it worked out perfect.

9/2019 Served with Herb Chicken

Chicken & Veggie Chowder

1 lb chicken/turkey from leftovers
4 c frozen chicken/turkey broth from carcass
3 diagonally sliced carrots
1 chopped onion
1 can corn with liquid
2t garlic powder
2 c of bite sized chunks of  zucchini
1/2t thyme
cream of soup recipe or can of cream o soup
can add broccoli or mushrooms
1/2c Half and half

Combine everything put in crockpot.  Cover cook on low 5-6 hours. The last 15min stir in half and half

For the cream of soup part all I did- melt butter on skillet, add garlic and onion powder to get browned, add in flour for 2 min, then add milk and broth and whisk together and cook for 10 min, stirring occasionally.

Taco Soup

All Recipes

1lb sausage
1 can black beans *
1 can white beans *
1 can corn
1 can kidney beans *
2 cans (15oz) diced tomatoes
2t garlic powder
1 chopped onion
2 stalks chopped celery (all I had was a spice celery seed 1 t)
1 chopped red pepper
1 rounded Tbs Cumin
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 Tbs Chili Powder
1 tsp Oregano
1 tsp basil

cooked sausage, then added everything to crock pot.
* I rehydrated dry beans and used them for the soup. (Black, Garbonzo, kidney beans)

BBQ Sauce chicken

All recipes

6 chicken drumsticks or thighs
1/3 cup salsa (but usually its ketchup)
1/3 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup brown sugar
4 teaspoons butter
2 teaspoons salt
1 t garlic powder
1/2t onion powder
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce, or to taste
2 teaspoons dry mustard
2 teaspoons chili powder, or to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). in 9x13 pan put foil down and spray. Place drumsticks in a baking dish, put butter plops on top of each and bake for 30-40 min.

Can prepare the sauce many days in advance and sit it in the fridge.  Whisk water, ketchup, vinegar, brown sugar, butter, salt, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, and chili powder together in a bowl; pour mixture over drumsticks. Cook for remaining  20min 

didn't cover with foil so it would thicken better. In the last 10 minutes (baked for an hour and 10) I poured the sauce from the pan into a small saucepan and reduced it on medium to thicken it up while the chicken got a little crisp on the top.  (I didn't do this last part)

12/9/15 it was excellent. everyone loved it!!!!  Next time double it for leftovers, it was so yummy.

Served with pasta and green beans.

Quinoa Veggie Burger

Eating Well

INGREDIENTS

Double      Original

• 2c                1 cup water
• 1c                1/2 cup red/white quinoa
• 2T                1 tablespoon canola oil
• 2c                1 cup diced onion
• 4c                2 cups finely chopped cremini or white button mushrooms
• 2t                1 teaspoon  garlic powder
• 1and 1/2t      3/4 teaspoon dried marjoram (didn't have, used basil instead)
• 1/2t              1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 3                  1 large egg
• 1c                2/3 cup shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese
• 1c               1/2 cup whole pecans, toasted and finely chopped (had only pumpkin seeds) (see Tip)
• 2/3c            1/3 cup quick-cooking rolled oats
• 2T               1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
• salt and pepper
• 8 small whole-wheat burger buns, toasted if desired

PREPARATION

1. Combine water and quinoa in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork and set aside to cool.
2. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a baking sheet or line with parchment paper.
3. Chop mushrooms in food processor. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring frequently, until starting to soften, about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms (i cooked till slightly brown 10min) then add garlic, marjoram and oregano; cook, stirring, until the mushrooms are tender, about 5 minutes. Let cool for about 5 minutes.
4. Beat egg in a medium bowl. Add the quinoa, mushroom mixture, cheese, pecans, oats and soy sauce; stir to combine. Scoop scant 1/2-cup portions of the mixture onto the baking sheet and shape into 8 patties, about 3 inches wide, leaving about 1 inch of space between each patty. (The mixture will be crumbly; patting it into burgers on the baking sheet makes it easier to work with. The burgers hold together very well once baked.)
5. Bake the burgers until crispy, 28 to 30 minutes. Serve on buns with your favorite garnishes.

TIPS & NOTES

• Make Ahead Tip: Individually wrap and freeze cooked burgers for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator. Reheat in a skillet with a little oil.

• For the best flavor, toast nuts before adding to recipes. Spread whole nuts on a baking sheet and bake at 350°F, stirring once, until fragrant, 7 to 9 minutes. For chopped nuts, place in a small dry skillet and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until fragrant and lightly browned, 2 to 4 minutes.

Pressure cooker or Crockpot steel cut oats

Pressure cooking today
More ideas for steel cut oats

3/5/24

use the doubled recipe- oil, steel cut oats, coconut milk, almond milk, cinnamon, salt, rolled oats. Put on low for 8 hours, then it automatically goes to warm.

10/2018- crockpot
     I used the double batch of oatmeal. The morning (or 4-24hours before you want the oatmeal) In a bowl I assembled oats, water, apple, cinnamon, salt, regular/rolled oats, sugar and left out on the countertop for 4-24 hours. In the evening around 8 or 9pm oiled the crockpot then added the oats mixture ingredients to it. Low 8 hours. Because I soaked the steel cut oats, the final product was smooth creamy oatmeal. I prefer creamy oatmeal compared to slightly crunchy.
     In the morning each person adds any or all of the following to their bowl of warm oatmeal- more fresh chopped apples, peanut butter, sugar, raisins, milk, flax, hemp.
     It turned out so delicious and wasnt dry or crunchy. Very much a success.

I melted oil the inside of the pressure cooker to help the oats not stick.
Double        Original Serving
2               1T         butter/oil

2               1c         steel cut oats

7               3 1/2c   cups water or fruit juice (*)

2               1           apple with peel, cored and diced

3               1 1/2t    ground cinnamon

1/2            1/2t       salt

2               1c         raisins (add after steel cut oats are cooked)

1-2            1-2T     flax added to each bowl right before it is served

2-3            1c        rolled oats (cook for 1 min, makes it more creamy)

1. Add butter to pressure cooking pot. When butter is melted add the oats and toast, stirring constantly, until they start to darken and smell nutty, about 3 minutes.
2. Add water, apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Keep stirring mixture until it is boiling and then put the lid on and start pressure cooking. (When I just put the lid on without stirring and without letting it get to boil, then the food inside burns faster on the bottom.  So thats why I make it boil and stir it, then put lid on) Select high pressure and set 10 minutes cook time.
3. When beep sounds, turn off pressure cooker and use a natural pressure release for 10 minutes and then do a quick pressure release to release any remaining pressure.
4. When valve drops carefully remove lid. Stir oats. Cover and let sit five or 10 minutes until oats are desired thickness.
5. Top with raisins, milk,flax, nuts and additional brown sugar, if desired

12/7/15 only use water or juice not milk in the pressure cooker.  Milk burns on the bottom of the pot.  I cooked for 5min, I will do longer next time to make more creamy, it was a little crunchy.
I add 2T of ground flax to each bowl before serving it, add a little more water or milk.

3/21/17 Pressure cooker-
    I cooked for 10 min and I wanted it a little more creamy so I cooked for 10 more min. The steel cut oats were softer, but I wanted a little creamier. So I cooked some regular oats and added them to the steel cut oats and loved the texture even more.
(*) one time I used the fruit juice leftover from canned apples, it turned out well. 
I cooked the original serving, next time Cook double the amount so we have leftovers for the following days.

Funeral Potatoes

Our best bites

1 medium onion chopped small
1-2 t garlic powder
6-8 baked potatoes shredded
1c plain yogurt
1 c onion dip (like sour cream)
1 10oz can of turkey gravy or cream of chkn soup
1c shredded cheese (or more)
salt and pepper

grease 9x13 pan

Preheat oven to 350.  In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat.  Add the onion and garlic and saute until the onion is translucent and the garlic is fragrant.  Remove from heat.  Add the thawed hash browns, sour cream, cream of chicken soup, cheese, salt, and pepper and combine well.  Add additional salt and pepper if necessary.

Spread the mixture into a 9×13″ (or similar) dish and bake for 50-60 minutes or until the casserole is hot in the center and the cheese is bubbly throughout.  Serve as a main dish with a salad and fruit or alongside roasted ham, turkey, chicken, or beef.  Makes 6-8 main dish or 10-12 side dish servings.

OPTIONAL: Crushed cornflakes, seasoned bread crumbs, crushed potato chips, or crushed Ritz or saltine crackers

Can prepare a couple days in advance, then put in a 9x13 pan the day of and bake it.

chicken pot pie

2 refrigerator pie crusts (or from scratch Food Network)
2 c cooked chicken (I had a whole chicken I roasted and used the leftover broth and chicken as the base of this pot pie)
1 chopped sauteed onion
2 sliced carrots (diagonal slice if you want the carrots to look a little different)
1 c peas
2 c broth from the chicken (whisk 1/4-1/2c of flour to thicken, b/c it is so flavorful I don't need to add any seasonings)
Can do potatoes, chopped celery or corn. ( I sometimes do too many ingredients, so I thought I'd simplify this time).

Spray the circle pan you are putting the pot pie in, put down first later of crust.

Warm up the broth and add flour to thicken and any seasonings you want (salt, pepper, garlic, boullion, basil/oregano). Then add onions, carrots, chicken and peas. When the chicken mixture is warmed then put in circle pan. Then top with the last pie crust. Cut slits in top.

Preheat oven to 425°, 35-40min.  Let sit 15min

FREEZE- Great idea to make 2 chicken pot pie's and freeze one assembled but unbaked for a later date. About freezing- Taste of home

Domestic Superhero

Chocolate Lava Cake

11/30/15 I had this cake at a friends house, it is was amazing!!!