How to Cook a Moist Turkey - who knew?

We seem to actually serve pams-hams less than you'd think because we always end up giving ours away at the last minute. This year was no exception so we thawed the frozen turkey (gift) that was in our freezer and gave it a try. The turkey ended up excellent - the best we've ever cooked. Since I've always been militant about checking the temperature often, we all attributed this new moister turkey to the overnight marinading.

Now why they call marinading "brining" when it's a turkey is a mystery to me. But whatever you call it, it works! I've been told the salt in the brine is the key to the moist tender turkey. I was afraid it would make the turkey taste salty but I can assure you, it didn't. Here's what we used:

1 1/2 cups salt

1/2 cup brown sugar

couple of shakes of parsley

water to cover the turkey

Since the salt and sugar need to dissolve, the mixture then needs to be boiled. If you have enough storage and a big enough pot, you can just submerge the turkey right into the liquid and refrigerate overnight. (I would NOT recommend what I did which was to try to transfer it into a large ziploc freezer bag which was way too difficult to hold so we ended up with some spillage.) Eventually we used a cooler that was just slightly larger than the turkey and poured the liquid into the cooler.

Next time you're trying to cook a moist turkey, give this a try and let us know how it worked out for you. I'm actually going to eat the leftovers for a change!

FUN SNOWMAN FRUIT KEBOBS

Both kids had holiday parties at school so I volunteered to bring the fruit. Since neither of my kids will eat much fruit, I had to make a real display out of it. They both actually ate a kebob and the rest of their classmates were excited with the great big display. You'd have to see it live to appreciate the size but it makes quite a spectacle when you're walking down the halls carrying it. Believe it or not, it took just a little over a half hour to make this. I used a cut-up fruit tray (from Costco) and food coloring markers for the face (from Michaels or other comparable store). Use a pineapple or a half watermelon as the base. These are always a hit no matter how you decorate them.

BEEF BARLEY SOUP A LA PAM

As promised, here's the recipe for the soup I made last week. It really is the best beef barley soup I've ever had.

Prime Rib bones or beef chuck short ribs - about 2 lbs.

10 cups water

1 stalk celery chopped

3 slices onion - chopped fine

14 oz. can crushed tomatoes (I used one with basil)

6 beef bouillon cubes

3 t. dry mustard

2T worcestershire sauce

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup quick cooking barley

Combine all ingredients but barley. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer about 2 hours. Remove bones from soup. Cut up beef and return to soup. Discard bones. Bring to a boil again and add barley. Cook 10-12 more minutes. This is awesome on day one but even better the next day. This recipe made about 6 heaping adult sized bowls.

Chicken Appetizer and Faux Spaghetti

Here's two great recipes I've used or shared in the last week during this busy holiday season. And, of course, they are easy to make and liked by my family. This first one is a real crowd pleaser appetizer. I had gotten a variation of the recipe from a gal at work years ago and just gave it to Wendy to take to Beth's party. Then multiple friends asked for it at the party. It takes minutes to make and is a real hit when served warm with tortilla chips.

GREAT FOOD GIFT IDEA - Purchase a festive dip with spreader, or a chip and dip set and tape this recipe onto the wrapping paper or place in the card. They'll appreciate the great recipe as much as the cute gift.



Hot Chicken and Cheese Dip
1 large can shredded chicken
8 oz. cream cheese softened
8 oz. mayo
(or 4 each mayo and sour cream)
8 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
1 (4 oz.) can green chilis, drained
1 (4 oz.) can chopped jalapenos (optional)

Mix all ingredients. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Serve warm with tortilla chips.

Jalapenos make it pretty hot so use to desired flame factor. This is a really forgiving recipe. For instance, I’ve used it with just mayo and no cream cheese and it turned out just fine. Keep these items in your pantry for when guests drop by.


And this next one is great for a quick dinner - especially during the holiday crunch when no one wants to make yet another decision . This one was great for our family last week when everyone was racing around. it's even better the next day for leftovers.

Quick and Easy Faux Spaghetti
1 to 1.5 lbs. cooked hamburger (browned and drained)
1 cup uncooked macaroni noodles
2 small cans V8 juice or 1 can tomato soup
1 can cheese soup
1 cup water
1/2 package Lipton onion soup mix
1 t. dried basil
1/2 t. oregono

Mix all ingredients and pour into baking dish (like 9 x 12 pyrex.) Bake uncovered at 350 for one hour. (Is it just me or does it seem like 90% of recipes are baked at 350?). This recipe is a good one to make ahead of time and refrigerate.

Feel free to add chopped green peppers, celery and/or onions. As you know about me, my kids are picky eaters so we don't add a whole lot of added veggies. Also the reason I like to use V8 juice instead of just soup or tomato sauce.

That's it for today. Next up, I'm making one of my all time favorites, beef barley soup. I'll share that recipe as soon as I'm done. We're just finishing up the prime rib now and then that bone is going right into the soup pot.


Ciao for now!