Thanksgiving Turkey

It's been a while!
I used this recipe from "Uncle Bill."

It was FANTASTIC! And easy! I was so so so nervous to be in charge of the Thanksgiving turkey, but shrinking the skin was a great way to make it juicy.
I'm just copying and pasting straight from RecipeZaar.com.
We had a 16 lb turkey.

Uncle Bill's Method for Cooking Turkey Recipe #46262

Scalding the turkey makes for a very nice moist turkey. I have been doing this method for over 25 years. Cooking time shown in the method is for a 16 pound stuffed turkey.

by William (Uncle Bill) Anatooskin

5½ hours | 30 min prep

SERVES 14 -18

• 1 (16 lb) whole turkey
• salt
• pepper
• water
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1. Turkey must be thoroughly thawed before preparing for the oven unless you are using a fresh turkey.
2. Remove turkey parts from cavities and use as you desire.
3. Wash cavities well with cold water.
4. Boil a kettle of hot water (scalding hot.).
5. Place turkey in a clean sink or a large roasting pan.
6. Pour hot water over the entire turkey including in the cavities.
7. The skin will shrink tightly to the turkey.
8. "This will help hold the natural juices in the turkey while it is cooking.
9. "Pat dry both inside and outside of turkey.
10. Sprinkle cavities with salt and black pepper.
11. Line inside of cavity with cheesecloth, then stuff with your favorite dressing,"stuff loosely".
12. Tie legs and wings with a good meat wrapping twine and leave a lifting loop to remove the turkey from the pan when cooked.
13. Place a wire rack in the bottom of roasting pan.
14. Place the turkey on the wire rack, breast side up.
15. Pour 2 cups of water or 2 cups of chicken broth into the pan.
16. Pour about 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil over the exterior of the turkey.
17. Cover the top of pan with heavy aluminum foil, but do not let foil touch the turkey as it will stick to the turkey while cooking.
18. Pinch foil tight to the sides of the pan.
19. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
20. Place turkey on lower rack in oven and cook for 1 hour.
21. Reduce heat to 325 F and cook for 2 1/2 hours.
22. Now turn heat up to 350 F and cook for another 1/2 hour.
23. Remove foil from turkey and baste, then continue cooking for an additional 1 hour at 350 F, basting about every 15 minutes so that the turkey turns a nice brown color.
24. When the time for cooking is finished, test for doneness. Insert a thermometer in the thickest portion of the turkey breast, reading should be between 175 F to 180 F but no more than 180°F When inserted into the thickest portion of the leg, readings should be the same. Or, cut a small slice from the breast portion and make sure that there i no pink showing. Or, you may also use a fork and insert it into the thickest portion of the leg and if the juices run clear, then the turkey is done.
25. Remove from oven, lift turkey out the roasting pan using the string loops.
26. Cover with foil and let the turkey rest for about 1/2 hour before carving.
27. Total time for cooking a 16 pound stuffed turkey is 5 hours.
28. There is no need to baste the turkey until the last 1 hour of cooking, this saves you a lot of time as you do not have to remove the foil tent during the first 4 hours.
29. For a crispy browner skin, you may wish to consider rubbing butter over the entire bird after pouring olive oil. This works very nicely.
30. COOKING TIMES: Left Side -Stuffed---- Right Side - Unstuffed.

*12-14lbs.

• 4- 4 1/2 hours-- 3 1/2-3 3/4 hours.

*14-16lbs.

• 4 1/2- 5 hours-- 3 3/4-4 hours.

*16-18lbs.

• 5- 5 1/2 hours-- 3 3/4-4 1/4 hours.

*18-20lbs.

• 5 1/2- 6 hours-- 4 1/4-4 1/2 hours.

*20-22lbs.

• 6- 6 1/4 hours-- 4 1/2-5 hours.

*22-24lbs.

• 6 1/4-6 1/2 hours-- 5- 5 1/4 hours.

1. NOTE: Test for doneness by inserting a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the breast, reading should be 175 F and in the thickest part of the leg or thigh, reading should be 180°F.

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Chicken N Pepper Stir-fry

We like this. Muchisimo.

Chicken N Pepper Stir-fry
Recipetrove.com

• 2 T soy sauce
• 2 T ketchup
• 1/2 t ground ginger
• 2 cloves garlic -- finely chopped
• 3 skinless boneless chicken breast halves -- thinly sliced (3/4 lb)
• 2 T vegetable oil
• 6 green onions -- cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 medium green bell pepper -- thinly sliced
• 1 medium red bell pepper -- thinly sliced
• 4 cups hot cooked chinese noodles

Mix soy sauce, ketchup, ginger in resealable heavy-duty plastic bag. Add chicken; seal bag and turn to coat with marinade. Let stand 15 minutes. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in 10-inch skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add green onions and bell peppers; stir-fry until crisp-tender. Remove from skillet. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in skillet. Add chicken; stir-fry 4-5 minutes or until no longer pink in center. Stir in bell pepper mixture. Serve with noodles.

Sweet N Sour Chicken Wraps

Not the healthiest. But quick and yummy. Everything is yummy wrapped in a crescent roll.

Sweet N Sour Chicken Wraps
Cooks.com

• 1 c. chopped cooked chicken
• 2 T chopped green onions, including tops
• 1 T crushed canned pineapple, well drained
• 2 T sugar
• 1 T soy sauce
• 2 t mustard
• 1 (8 oz.) can refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 t sesame seed

Heat oven to 375. In small bowl, combine chiccken, green onions, and pineapple; mix well. In another small bowl, combine sugar, soy sauce and mustard; blend well. Pour over chicken; stir to coat.
Separate dough into 4 rectangles; firmly press perforations to seal. Cut each rectangle in half crosswise (to make 8 squares). Spoon 1 rounded tablespoonful chicken filling onton center of each square. Pull 4 corners of dough to center of filling; twist ends and pinch seams to seal. Brush wraps with egg; sprinkle with sesame seed. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 10-15 minutes or until deep golden brown. Makes 8 sandwiches.

Notes: I used dried onions instead of green onions. We couldn't taste them. The rolls taste amazing, but they overpower the taste of the filling. It was still a good eat. Oh- I thought the rolls were done since the egg turns brown, but you really need to wait until the whole roll is deep golden brown.

Quick and Easy Apple Crisp

Quick and Easy. Just my style. Made this for a dinner party, and everyone really liked it. It only took me about ten minutes to prepare, and it took that long because of all the peeling and slicing.

Quick and Easy Apple Crisp
from 101 Things to Do With a Cake Mix, p. 113

• 4-6 apples (about 6 cups)
• 1 yellow cake mix
• 1/2 c quick oats
• 2 t sugar
• 1 T cinnamon
• 1/2 c butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Peel, core, and slice apples. Spread over the bottom of a greased 8x8-inch pan.
Mix cake mix, oats, sugar, and cinnamon together in large bowl. Pour melted butter over the top. mix with fork until crumbly.
Bake 35-40 minutes, until apples are tender and top is golden brown.

Notes: I barely cooked this for 35 minutes, and it was kind of crumbly/powdery. I served it with ice cream and that kept all the powder contained. I will cook it longer next time. I used three large gala apples to make it this time, and it seemed like plenty. Maybe I could have done four and had more juices cooking. . .

Green Salad Ideas

I never plan my salads ahead of time. I just always have spinach or romaine lettuce handy, I open my cupboards and start throwing stuff in. I don't usually eat dressing on my salad, so I make sure there is enough flavor for me. I throw in something juicy/chewy, something crunchy, and something colorful. A combination of these usually ends up in the bowl.

Juicy:

• tomatoes
• mandarin oranges
• raisins
• craisins
• apple chunks
• grapes
• pineapple chunks
  

Crunchy:

• chow mien noodles
• almonds
• sunflower seeds
• carrots
• celery

Colorful

• cheese
• bacon bits

Apple Cinnamon Glazed Chicken

I wanted something, light, fruity, and easy. This hit the spot! Justin liked it too!

Apple Cinnamon Glazed Chicken
by Linda Larsen, About.com

• 2 T applesauce
• 1/3 c. apple jelly
• 1 T honey
• 2 T Dijon mustard
• 1/2 t cinnamon
• 1/4 t salt
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

Prepare and preheat grill. In small bowl, combine all ingredients except chicken breasts and stir to combine. When ready to cook, oil grill rack. Brush apple mixture on chicken and place on grill 4-6" from medium coals. Cook 15-20 minutes, turning occasionally and brushing frequently with jelly mixture.

Notes: I made a lot more of the sauce and served this over rice. I also baked an apple with butter and cinnamon and sugar to serve on top of the chicken and rice.

German Pancake

I wanted Justin to get in touch with his heritage. I have to add a picture because I don't want to forget my shock at the way this thing looked when it came out of the oven. I opened the oven and the fire alarm went off simultaneously, so it added to the effect. We liked it! I think I would only have it for breakfast, not dinner. It didn't fill Justin up too much.

German Pancake
from Jonesboro Ward Relief Society, Margie Mayfield

• 6 eggs
• 1 c. flour
• 1 c. milk
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 T. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla
• 6 T. butter

Melt 6 Tblspoons butter in a 9x13 pan. Heat in the oven while mixing batter. Mix other ingredients and pour in the pan. Bake at 450 for 20 minutes (I did for 12 minutes and it was fine. I might look for a different opinion next time of time and temp.). Serve with syrup or fresh peaches or strawberries. (We used vanilla yogurt and peaches, and liked it.)