Happy Glutton Day!

'Tis that time of year again!

It's Thanksgiving! 

Or as well like to call it, "Gluttony Day". 

This years Thanksgiving is definitely low key since it's just Eric, John and myself. Last year, I actually decorated and set the dinner table since we had some close friends over in which I made a lot of grub. I think the only thing in "bulk" that was made this time around was bacon, lol

Every year, I make a different sort of "rub" for the bird since it's nice to always try something new. This time around, I made a thyme concoction in garlic infused olive oil, pureed it and did injections throughout the bird in addition to slathering it all over the skin. Of course, I let it sit over night so it'd soak in a little more. The bird itself weighs 25lbs. Yes..25lbs of turkey for three people. Just take a guess as to who picked it out... At least it'll give me a lot to work with when I make my awesome turkey chili. 

Bacon. 

Everything is better with bacon. Therefor, Thomas the turkey got wrapped up with all sorts of delicious bacon strips. I actually did a "basket weave" with all the piggy pieces ad secured them with toothpicks so they wouldn't fall off during the 6+ hours of baking. 

Eric did his part and packed the turkey silly with garlic infused stuffing:

Here's how it turned out:

We ended up removing the bacon and cooked the turkey for an additional hour and a half (for a total of 7 and a half hours) since the grease from the bacon basically basted the turkey AND the stuffing. By leaving the grease, it allowed the turkey to get nicely browned and kept it extremely moist. 

It came out SO nice! The meat was basically falling off the bird. When Eric grabbed one of the drum sticks, it fell right off without any resistance. Needless to say, I was pretty proud of myself, lol.

In addition to the turkey, I made bacon & scallion mashed potatoes and a tray of some biscuits. Oh, and some cans of jellied cranberries. LOL. I wasn't motivated to make an entire spread of food like I normally do because we just don't have the room in the fridge for tons & tons of leftovers. Plus, between my back and knee, I wasn't feeling up to cookin' my ass off all day. All Eric & John care about is the turkey, stuffing and cranberry jelly, so why over exert myself?

For dessert?
Hot chocolate! Yes, I'm sure that just warped your minds because the norm is to have pumpkin or pecan pie. Again, No room for it and it's not a high priority for us, lol. They're happy campers with toffee hot chocolate smothered in whipped cream.

So, I hope everyone has a fabulous Gluttony Day with their loved ones and cheers to the next!

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Turkey Love

Sorry I'm not writing too much in this particular post, but I wanted to show you how my turkey turned out for Thanksgiving :) I soaked it overnight in salt water, then gave it bacon creole injections while it was roasting for about 6.5 hours (the stuffing was a mushroom concoction) . It was SO tender! Good stuff! 

 

Lots of stuffing!

You can see the flavor injections when you sliced up the turkey :) 

Happiness is a well cooked turkey!

I hope everyone had an amazing Thanksgiving with their friends and family!

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Fantastical Turkey Chili

Since Eric made me roast a small child (19lb turkey ), I have tons of leftovers and I can't really keep having one Thanksgiving meal after another (turkey, stuffing, potatoes, cranberry, green beans..over and over and over again). So, I figured I'd make some spicy turkey chili :) Eric, John and Johns friends who are currently over absolutely DESTROYED this! I ended up writing it down in my cookbook for future use :)

Ingredients

    * 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
    * 1 1/2 pounds turkey breast or ground turkey
    * 1 (1 ounce) package chili seasoning mix (mild or hot)
    * 1 teaspoon ground coriander
    * 1 teaspoon dried oregano
    * 2 teaspoons chili pepper flakes
    * 2 tablespoons tomato paste
    * 1 (14.5 ounce) can beef broth
    * 2-3 jalapenos, sliced (it's your choice whether or not you want to take out the seeds)
    * 1 (7 ounce) can salsa
    * 1 (14.5 ounce) can crushed tomatoes, or coarsely chopped tomatoes packed in puree
    * 1 (7 ounce) can chopped green Chile peppers
    * 1 medium onion, finely chopped
    * 1 green bell pepper, diced
    * 3 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced
    * 1 container of chicken stock (optional). If you don't want to use chicken stock, you can use water.
    * 1 bunch green onions, chopped
    * 1 cup sour cream
    * 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large stock pot over medium-high heat. Crumble turkey into the pot, stirring with a wooden spoon to break apart as much as possible. Season with seasoning mix, coriander, oregano, chili flakes, and tomato paste, and mix until meat is evenly coated with seasonings. Continue cooking, reducing heat if necessary, until turkey is well browned.
 
2. Pour in beef broth, and simmer to reduce liquid slightly, about 5 minutes. Add salsa, tomatoes, jalapenos, and green chilies, and continue cooking at a moderate simmer for ten minutes. Adjust the thickness at any time you feel necessary by adding chicken stock.
 
3. While chili is still cooking, heat one tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook onion and green bell pepper, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes, or until onion is translucent and bell pepper is lightly browned. Add onion and bell pepper to the chili, and continue cooking at a very low simmer.
 
4. In the same skillet, heat the remaining tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat. Add the zucchini, and cook stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, or until lightly browned. Add the zucchini to the chili, reduce heat, and continue cooking 15 minutes more. Again, adjust the consistency with chicken stock as needed.
 
5. Ladle chili into serving bowls. Top with sour cream, green onion, and cheddar cheese, and serve.


* * * *  This might come out different with ground turkey verses using a roasted turkey breast!! * * * *

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