Cooking a turkey

 Natasha's Kitchen

12 lb turkey, (Anything from 11-15 lbs will work, but bake time will vary), thawed*
Salt & Pepper, for the inside and outside of the bird

For the Flavored Butter

1 cup unsalted butter, softened, (2 sticks)
2 Tbsp olive oil, not extra virgin, plus more to drizzle top
4 Tbsp fresh lemon juice, from 1 large lemon, plus 1/2 Tbsp lemon zest
6 large garlic cloves, pressed
1/4 cup freshly chopped parsley
1/2 Tbsp salt, I used sea salt

1/2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground

.75 ounce container fresh rosemary*

.75 ounce container fresh thyme

.75 ounce container fresh sage*

ADD Paprika

For the Stuffing

1 large onion, quartered (no peeling)
4 garlic cloves, halved (no peeling)
1/2 bunch parsley
1 lemon, quartered

Remove thawed turkey* from the fridge about 30 minutes before you start working with it. If the turkey is closer to room temperature, it will bake more evenly. Remove the neck and bag of giblets and pat dry turkey with paper towels. Let it sit in a roasting pan lined with paper towels to soak up any excess water. Fold the wings behind the turkey so they don't scorch in the oven.

Seasoning, Stuffing, and Tying up a Turkey

Amy likes to cook the turkey in a turkey roasting bag to  help keep the juices in.

• Season inside of turkey cavity generously with about 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper.
• Make Flavored Butter – In a medium bowl or in a food processor*, combine: 2 sticks softened butter, 2 Tbsp olive oil, 1/2 Tbsp lemon zest, 4 Tbsp lemon juice, 3 pressed garlic cloves, 1/4 cup chopped parsley, 1/2 Tbsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper. Mash /stir with a fork until well combined (the lemon juice doesn't easily stir into butter but keep mixing and it will happen after a few minutes).
• Separate the skin from the turkey breast by pushing your fingers under the skin. Do this from the front and the back of the turkey; being careful not to tear the skin.
• Stuff 2/3 of the butter mixture under skin then spread the butter around by massaging over the top of the skin. This butter keeps the turkey breast tender, juicy and provides rich flavor.
• Pat skin dry and rub remaining butter over the outside of the turkey (breast, legs, wings). Drizzle all over the top of the turkey with olive oil and generously season with salt and pepper; I just love a crisp, salty skin.
• • Stuff turkey cavity with quartered onion, 4 halved garlic cloves, 1/2 bunch parsley and quartered lemon. Use kitchen string to tie turkey base and legs together; crossing the legs to better close up the turkey cavity, plus it looks extra fancy on the table.

  How to Roast a Turkey

  • Prep – Pre-heat the oven to 430˚F on the bake mode. Place oven rack in the lower part of your oven (mine was on the second level from the very bottom).
  • Make Foil Shield – to protect the turkey breast and keep it juicy: Fold a large square sheet of foil into a triangle. Rub one side of your triangle with olive oil and shape the foil (oil-side-down) over the turkey breast, then remove foil; it will shield your turkey breast and keep it from getting dry. You'll apply this shield later in the roasting process.
  • Place an oven-safe meat thermometer into the bird; beneath the drum stick; deep into the dark meat. Start roasting uncovered at 430˚F for 20 min.
  • Baste – Remove from oven; quickly baste with butter from the bottom of the dish. You can use a baster or tilt one side of the pan and collect drippings with a large spoon. Now apply prepared foil triangle to turkey breast area.
  • Reduce oven to 350˚F and bake for another 2 hours 30 min for a 12 lb bird. (Once you have reduced the oven to 350˚F, you will bake about 13 min for every pound of turkey). The turkey thigh should register at 170˚F on the temperature probe and the breast at 160˚F to make sure it's fully cooked through then remove from the oven (keep in mind the turkey temp continues to rise slightly after it's out of the oven*).
  • Rest Turkey – Transfer turkey to serving platter and cover loosely but fully with foil. Let turkey rest for at least 1 hour. It will become more tender and easier to carve, the longer it sits. Keep the drippings from roasting pan for turkey gravy. Now you can decorate around your turkey and make it festive. I used kale for my greens, then added small apples, sliced oranges and quartered lemons.
• Cook at 430 for 20 min and then 350 for about 5 1/2 hours, basting occasionally.

Connors Gyros

Toppings-

 pita bread 

chicken 

lettuce

cucumber

onion

tzatziki and squeeze lemon.

Chicken marinade- 

2lbs chicken thigh fillets, boneless and skinless
3 large garlic cloves
! T white wine vinegar
3 T lemon juice
1 T oil
3 T greek yogurt full fat
1 and 1/2T dried oregano
1 t salt
dried onion
black pepper
2 Tomatoes, diced
3 cucumbers diced
1/2 red onion, diced

1/4c parsley

lemon zest

Marinade chicken for 24-48 hours.

Cook and Grill on high heat

Rest for 5-30 min

Chop meat and veggies thin. Keep the meat juices and let the meat sit in the juices.

Assemble with pita bread, chicken, lettuce, cucumber, onion, tzatziki, and squeeze lemon.

Breaded Chicken

 Spend With Pennies

6-8 chicken breasts (sliced is half and pounded)
3 eggs beaten

1 c flour

1t salt and pepper

2/3c of panko (or 2 sleeves of saltine cracker pureed in blender)

3 t garlic powder

1 t onion powder

1/2 t basil

2 T parsley

cooking spray

• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Pound chicken breasts to ½ inch thick.
• Beat eggs and set aside. Mix flour, salt and pepper in a shallow dish.
• In another dish, combine Panko, bread crumbs, and seasonings.
• Dip chicken in flour and shake off any excess.
• Dip in the egg mixture and then into the bread crumbs. Gently press the crumbs to adhere.
• Generously spray the chicken with cooking spray on each side and place on a rimmed baking sheet.
• Bake for 25-28 min or until the chicken reaches 165°F.
• 
  

I served with Megumi salad and spaghetti noodles.

Delicious Chicken Legs

 Low Carb life

4 pounds chicken drumsticks
4 tablespoons avocado oil
2 teaspoon SMOKED paprika
2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoon onion powder
2 teaspoon chopped parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cracked pepper

• 
  
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray.
• Add all of the ingredients to a large zip top bag and seal. Smush the chicken around in the bag to coat in the seasoning.
• Arrange chicken on the baking sheet and bake for 40-45 minutes or until a thermometer reads 165 degrees.
• Serve immediately.
• Serve with a side of dipping sauce or Blue Cheese dressing

4/13/22 

I cooked at 440 degrees for about 55 minutes. we all definitely really enjoyed these flavorful drumsticks. I would've liked them to be more crunchy and crispy on the outside. Not quite sure how to achieve that yet.

Healthy Chicken, cucumber, avocado salad

 OMG Choco Desserts

Ingredients

• 12–14 oz. boneless skinless chicken tenders (or chicken breast sliced ½ inch thick)
• 1–1 ½ tablespoon olive oil to grease the pan

For Marinade/Dressing:

• 2 ½ tablespoons olive oil
• 1 ½ tablespoons water
• 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (2 small lemons)
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons dried parsley
• 2 teaspoons dried basil
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/8–1/4 teaspoon black pepper

For salad:

• 1 large avocado-diced
• 1 cucumber -diced
• about 1 ½–2 cups cherry tomatoes-halved
• 1 small-medium red onion- sliced
• 2 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese- to sprinkle on top if desired

---

Instructions

1. First,  in a medium bowl combine all ingredients for marinade/dressing and stir well.
2. Reserve half of the mixture for later use as salad dressing (cover and store in the fridge).
3. Now, place chicken tenders in remaining mixture and flip the chicken to coat well, then, cover the bowl and place in the fridge to marinate for at least 15-20 minutes.
4. Grease grilling pan with olive oil, heat over medium high heat and grill the chicken a few minutes on each side until golden brown and cooked completely. Cool for a few minutes, then chop the chicken in bite size pieces.
5. In a large bowl combine diced avocado, cucumber, sliced cherry tomatoes, red onion and chopped chicken, pour reserved dressing over the salad ingredients, stir well and serve.

Creamy Chicken Soup

INGREDIENTS

3 chichen breasts, cut in bite-sized pieces

3 carrots, sliced

1 ½ cups diced celery

1-2 onions, chopped

½ cup fresh parsley

salt and pepper to taste

2 tbsp chicken bouillon

3½ - 4 cups reserved broth

3½ - 4 cups milk

½ cup flour

½ cup butter

DIRECTIONS

Cover first set of ingredients with water and boil for 20 minutes. Drain liquid, reserving broth. Bring reserved liquid to a boil with the milk.

Melt the butter. Whisk in the flour. Cook for a few minutes then add to the boiling liquid. Boil until thickened.

Add chicken and veggies.

NOTES

Can use a rotisserie chicken in place of raw chicken pieces. Don't add rotisserie chicken until the end.

Freeze the remaining chicken stock to use at a later time.

Chicken Jumbo Shells

Need two 9x13 pans, serve with french bread

12 oz Jumbo Shells
2 Chicken Breasts (chopped food processor)
1 onion chopped and sauteed
1/2lb chopped mushrooms (not necessary, but I love them)
3-6 chopped garlic cloves
1 24 oz can of spaghetti sauce

White Sauce-
8 oz cream cheese
3 T butter
1/2c parmesan
1/2c milk
2 c shredded mozzarella (1 cup for white sauce and 1 c for top of prepared shells)
Cottage cheese filling-
8 oz cottage cheese
1 T basil and parsley
1 egg
salt and pepper

This was more work than I usually like to do. But we don't have them much and I wanted something different for dinner. This recipe uses 3 different pans- 1. to cook pasta, 2. to saute onion, chicken, mushrooms, and red sauce. 3. warm up the white sauce

Saute onion for 7 min, then add garlic and mushrooms with salt and pepper cook for a few minutes. Add chicken till cooked thoroughly, add spaghetti sauce.

In separate pot heat up and stir the white sauce. Turn off the heat, In same pot combine cottage cheese, basil, parsley, egg

In separate pot boil the jumbo shells.  in 9x13 pan lightly spray the pan and then add red sauce to the bottom of the pan. Place the empty shells on top of the sauce . Assemble the shells with the white sauce cottage cheese filling first, then on top of the cottage cheese add the meat red sauce. After all the shells are filled pour the rest of the red sauce over the top.

Cook 350 for 30 min. Last 5 mintues add 1 c of mozzarella to melt on top of shells.

Weirdly enough, I actually noticed these prepared shells tasted much better on day 3 of sitting in the fridge. Initially on the day I made them we had them for dinner and I honestly didnt really enjoy them so much, but my family almost ate one whole pan (so it passed their taste buds).  Next time make this a few days ahead and place foil/wrap on top and let sit in fridge for at least 3 days.

SLOW COOKER CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP

Katie made this for a sunday meal and it turned out just fantastic. It was a lot of cutting but you just add everything to the crockpot and forget about it. Everyone loved it!!!


Budget Bytes

• 1 yellow onion ($0.32)
• 3 cloves garlic ($0.24)
• 1/2 lb. carrots (about 4 medium) ($0.30)
• 4 ribs celery ($0.43)
• 2 split chicken breasts* (2-2.5 lbs. total) ($6.30)
• 1 tsp dried basil ($0.10)
• 1 Tbsp dried parsley ($0.30)
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme ($0.05)
• 1 bay leaf ($0.15)
• 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper ($0.05)
• 8 cups water ($0.00)
• 6 oz. wide egg noodles ($0.68)
• 1 Tbsp salt (or to taste) ($0.10)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (optional) ($0.20)

INSTRUCTIONS

• Dice the onion, mince the garlic, peel and slice the carrots, and slice the celery. Add the onion, garlic, carrots, and celery to a 6 quart slow cooker or crock pot.
• Remove the skin from the bone-in split chicken breasts, then place them on top of the vegetables in the slow cooker. Add the basil, parsley, thyme, bay leaf, and pepper to the slow cooker.
• Pour 8 cups of water over the ingredients in the slow cooker. Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours.
• After cooking on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours, carefully remove the chicken to a cutting board and discard the bay leaf. Add the egg noodles to the slow cooker, stir to combine, and replace the lid, with the heat turned on to high.
• Use two forks to remove the chicken meat from the bones, shredding the meat as you go. Return the meat to the slow cooker and stir to combine with the soup. The noodles should be tender after about 8-10 minutes of being in the soup (this may take a few minutes longer if the slow cooker was previously set to low).
• Once the chicken has been returned to the soup and the noodles are tender, begin seasoning the soup with salt. The true flavor of the soup will not be pronounced until it is properly salted. Start with 1 tsp salt, adding more until the soup is bold and flavorful. I use about 1 Tbsp (3 tsp). Finally, stir in a handful of chopped parsley for garnish just before serving.

NOTES

*Split chicken breasts have bones, rib meat, and skin attached.

---

NUTRITION