Turkey Brine Won't You Be Mine?

I can't remember what my Turkey tasted like before we discovered turkey brine. It is no secret now, but turkey brine is the new black. Ever stressed about making the perfect turkey? All you need is a little brine and an oven bag!

Here is my Brine Recipe:

1 turkey
1 gallon ice cold water
1 cup kosher salt (or more if you like it salty)
1/2 cup light brown sugar
3 bay leaves, crumbled
1 tablespoon allspice berries, crushed
1 tablespoon mixed or black peppercorns, crushed
1 Tablespoon dried rosemary
1 Tablespoon dried sage
1 Tablespoon dried thyme
1/2 cup vegetable oil
salt and pepper
Creole seasoning, optional
1 gallon of iced water (approx)

Directions:

I have done this both ways. You can combine all of the ingredients minus the water and creole seasoning into a pot and simmer until salt is dissolved. Or you can skip that and just combine all of the ingredients into a turkey oven bag surrounding the turkey and add iced water until covered. You will also need to add iced water to the boiled mixture if you choose that route after simmering. Place turkey in fridge for 24 hours with brine. Before cooking, remove Turkey from bag and pat dry. Add more vegetable oil to turkey and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and creole seasoning. Cook as directed according to size. I place my turkey in yet another oven bag and tie with a twist tie. This helps the turkey to be tender and juicy. Serve and Enjoy!

Merry and Bright

I need to thank IDEAS and Razzle Dazzle Crafting for the inspiration for this wreath. At my house we are poor.


I mean that in a non "poor me" sort of way because my husband works two jobs so that I can be home with the wee one. This is the first Christmas in our four years of marriage that we have been able to decorate a little bit and have a tree. I love BRIGHT colors and started collecting ornaments and such a few years ago and have been waiting to be able to put it all together. I was able to get this tree because of the post Christmas sales last year. I wish you could see the tree in all of it's glory, but the bright pinks, greens, and blues are so fun.

I am so thrilled with how MERRY AND BRIGHT my home is. It feels like the Christmas season. This wreath was super and cheap and easy. I used bright colored scrapbook paper and actually glued it on an old straw wreath of all things to make it more modern. Bright colors are not super traditional, but I am loving the unique look.

Much Ado About a Cookie

How much do you love baking this time of year?! I sure do. The tree is up and the house is decorated. It is now time to fill the house with lovely cooking aroma. This cookie is delicious! It is a yummy creamy frosting surrounded by the perfectly delicate cookie on each side. You can pick your flavoring for the center or just go with the basic vanilla cream.

The "perfectly delicate cookie on each side is the problem". With all the tender loving care in the world I couldn't get this to be any better looking. Don't be fooled by my sad pictures. They are delicious! Santa might come back in the same night if you put these out! The directions seem pretty simple, but watch out when scraping them off the cookie sheet. If some of them crumble like some of mine did, it's ok. They melt in your mouth anyway.

Cream Wafers

Ingredients:
1 cup butter
2 cups flour
1/3 cup whipping cream
granulated sugar to roll in ( about 1/2 a cup)


Mix butter, cream and flour thoroughly. Chill 1 hr. Heat oven to 375. Roll dough on floured surface ( I add more flour to to dough when I roll it out as it is too sticky) to 1/8" thick. On a small plate place sugar and roll both sides of cookie in it and then place on greased cookie pan. Prick each cookie in 4 places with fork. Bake 7 -9 min or until slightly puffy. Put two cooled cookies together with filling in between.

Filling: Your basic butter frosting with almond, lemon, orange, mint or just vanilla flavoring. Whichever you prefer. I usually divide frosting in two dishes and use two different flavorings and food coloring to match. In this picture is almond flavoring with green food coloring. Serve and enjoy. Good luck!

Hey It's ok to eat for $3.85 sometimes!

Come on. I know you do it sometimes too. What is your quick, go to fast food meal when you are out and about or don't feel like cooking?

I like to think outside the bun and have two crunchy tacos. Sometimes I get real crazy and add a soft taco as well.
I know it is so plain and simple. How can a person that eats simple fast food tacos appreciate real food? I think it is important to appreciate the small things in life as well as tasty homemade dishes. What are your "small things"?

Say Happy Thanksgiving with this delicious corn!

I made this recipe a few years ago and it is now the favorite of all the dishes. It is no wonder it is so delicious. How can you go wrong with cream cheese, butter, and sugar!

Ingredients:

2 bags of frozen sweet corn
1 8 oz. cream cheese
1 stick of butter
4 Tbs. sugar
1 Tsp salt (or to taste)

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in crock pot on medium or low depending on how long you want it to take. Serve and enjoy when all ingredients are melted into a delicious side dish.

When it is Chilly have some CHILI!

Grandma's Chili Recipe

My favorite thing about this recipe is that it was made back in the day on "wash day" by my great grandmother. Picture a cold day in the winter when you didn't have a fancy washer and dryer. Imagine not being able to just throw your clothes in and leave, but rather make it an all day event! This recipe was made on those Wyoming, winter days. I think that a bowl of this with a tall glass of milk would maybe make it a good day even on an all day "wash day!"

Ingredients:
2 lbs hamburger browned well.
3 lg. onions to be browned with burger
salt and pepper
1 large can tomato juice (those big ones over a quart)
1 tsp curry powder
2 tsp cumin seed
1/2 tsp powdered sage
1 or more tsp chili powder ( to taste)
2 tsp celery seed
sugar to taste ( I use about 1 tbsp or more)
7-8 cans beans of preference. (I used half kidney beans and half pinto beans)

Directions:
Brown burger and onions together until really browned, not just until the pink is gone. Add tomato juice and seasonings and let simmer for about 10 minutes. Then add the drained beans and simmer on low heat for about 20-30 minutes to let the flavors combine. Watch so it doesn't burn on the bottom during this process. A thick pan is best for this. Light aluminum is not too good. Serve and enjoy with bread and butter and/or crackers and ice cold milk. Grated cheese is good on top. But remember, the burger needs to be really browned. The flavor is different. This is yummy the next day too.

please don't eat ME!?

Jane at theycallmejane had someone find her blog by searching for wrinkled...... (well I won't ruin the surprise). Head on over to there to find out what and find out why that is so funny. It seems that is the last thing you would find there, and who searches for that anyway? Well, she challenged other bloggers to see what crazy searches are leading people to our own blogs. I found a few to be disturbing.

• kasha in crock pot
• kashagooie
• leftover kasha casserole
  

Somebody wants to put me in a crock pot, casserole, or worse..........What is kashagooie anyway? It doesn't sound very tasty even with me in it! Hopefully they are referring to the fact that KASHA means porridge commonly eaten in Eastern Europe. In English kasha refers to buckwheat groats made into cereal. Wow! Thanks mom and dad and Bon appetit ! (I guess)

Head on over to her site to see what other crazy searches were found tomorrow! (Friday)