Thanksgiving Fiasco - Jennie-O turkey

We had what I would classify as a “scam” perpetrated on us this Thanksgiving. Well we bought a Frozen 20 lb. Jennie-O turkey to prepare for the feast. Thought it would be enough – but inside the cavity was a bag “Gravy Base” that was nothing more then water, salt and some fat. And at that it weighed about 1-1/2 pounds.

Not bad enough, my wife kept saying that the turkey was small –Yup it was. The flaps at both ends had an accumulation of “Fat” much more then any time in the past.

So what do you do, it’s Thanksgiving morning, the Turkey is ready to be stuffed and cook and everything is closed. Dh - you cook it!

But low and behold the roasting pan fills with about 3 to 3-1/2 pounds of juice.

To sum it up, our 20 lb Turkey ended up at about 15 lbs. Barely enough for the day!

Next year it will be a “Norbest” Turkey for us. – Just my thoughts.

Pork Tenderloin with Stuffing

The tenderloin is a delightful cut of pork, so versatile in that there are so many ways to prepare it. Here is another of my wife’s creations. Almost a meal in itself, just add a vegetable or salad and enjoy.

INGREDIENTS:

¾ to1 Lb. pork Tenderloin

¼ cup butter

1 med. Shallot

1 celery stalk

2 cups water

1 Tbsp fresh marjoram

1 can Cream of Chicken soup (low Sodium)

6 oz box “Stove Top” pork stuffing mix

5 slices cooked bacon (optional)

PREPARATION:

Wash and trim the tenderloin of any fat or waste. Cut into 1 inch thick slices across the grain.

Peel the shallot and chop. Wash the celery, trim and chop. Wash the marjoram shaking off the water, strip the leaves and chop finely.

Spray an oven proof baking dish with non-stick spray. Arrange the tenderloin in a row in the center of the dish.

Preheat oven to 350 deg.

COOKING:

Set a 2 quart sauce pan over medium heat, add the butter and melt. Then add the shallots, celery and bacon and simmer until soft. Add the water and bring to a boil mixing to combine. Add the stuffing mix, remove the pan from the heat, and mix well. Cover and let rest for 5 min.

Scoop the dressing mix and arrange it around the tenderloin. Pour the soup over the dressing and pork, spreading to cover the entire top. Sprinkle the marjoram over the soup and cover with foil.

Place the dish in the center of the over and bake for 50 to 60 min. Remove from the oven, garnish with marjoram sprigs and serve.

Herb Butter Roasted Chicken

Either a whole 4 to 5 lb roasting chicken, or as we did here works fine for this recipe; In reality, we each only ate half of the piece and had the rest the following day. It’s a very tasty and juicy way to prepare a chicken with minimum of fuss.

The butchers are happy to cut a whole chicken in half for you if you ask.

INGREDIENTS:

2 halves of roasting chicken

2 Tbsp. fresh parsley

1 tsp. garlic

1 tsp. fresh rosemary leaves

¼ cup butter

¼ tsp. pepper

PREPARATION:

Thoroughly wash the chicken, removing excess fat and any waist along with the giblet bag; pat dry. Secure wings to body of chicken

Peel and press the garlic through a press. Wash the rosemary shaking off the water, strip the leaves and chop finely. Wash the parsley shaking off the water, cut the leaves from the stems and chop finely. Soften the butter in a Microwave. Then in small bowl stir together butter, parsley, rosemary, pepper and garlic.

Rub chicken with butter mixture. Place on rack in roasting pan.

Preheat the oven to 350 deg.

ROASTING:

Roast uncovered for 2 to 2½ hr. or until fork tender. Serve up with a sprig of rosemary as a garnish

4 servings

Creamy Ham Chowder

This is a takeoff on clam chowder. The ham and savory add an interesting twist on chowder. Give it a try I think you will enjoy it.
INGREDIENTS:

12 to 16 oz. ham slice *

2 medium potatoes

1 medium shallot

2 medium carrots

1 cup water

1 bay leaf

1 tsp dried savory

1/8 tsp pepper

Parsley for garnish

 Cream Sauce:

2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

½ cup milk

½ cup heavy cream

PREPARATION:

Peel and dice the potatoes into ½ inch cubes. Peel and finely chop the shallot; Peel, wash and slice the carrot in half lengthwise then cut into ¼ inch slices. Clean any fat from the ham and dice it into ½ inch cubes. In a medium bowl, mix the flour, milk and cream until smooth. Wash the parsley shaking off the water and chop for garnish.

COOKING:

Add the water, solids and spices to a 3 qt. saucepan. Bring to a gentle boil, cover and reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until vegetables are tender.

Add the Cream sauce and bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. (If you have the time, let the chowder set for a couple of hours to absorb the flavors, and then reheat just before serving.)

Find the bay leaf and discard then sprinkle with parsley for garnish before serving.

* Or 1-1/2 cups cubed Leftover or cooked ham.

Chicken in Herb Sauce

There’s always the nagging question “What to make for supper tonight?” Then there’s the leftover chicken from the roast a couple of nights ago. Well let’s make a creamy herb spiced sauce and serve it over Angel Hair macaroni – this is the result. It is nice to have an herb garden to pick fresh from, but we don’t have tarragon, so dry had to do.

INGREDIENTS:

1 to 2 cups cooked chicken

1 cup milk

1 cup chicken broth

¼ cup butter

2 Tbsp flour

½ cup celery

1 tsp chives (or dry)

1 tsp fresh Rosemary ¾ tsp dried

½ tsp of fresh parsley or ¼ tsp dried flakes

¼ tsp fresh sage or 1/8 tsp rubbed, dried sage

¼ tsp dried tarragon

Angel Hair or frozen patty shells, baked

PREPARATION:

Cut the cooked chicken or turkey into ½”cubes; clean and finely chop the celery. Combine dry ingredients

Or if using fresh herbs, wash them shaking off the water, strip the leaves and chop finely. Snip chives into ¼” pieces. Combine the herbs.

Cook about 1/8-1/4 lb. of Angle hair according to directions. Or bake the patty shells.

COOKING:

Set a 10” sauté or fry pan over medium heat, when the rim is hot to the touch, add the butter. When it is melted, sauté the celery in butter ‘till tender, about 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and stir in flour, chives, rosemary, sage, parsley, and tarragon.. Add milk and chicken broth continuing to cooking and stirring ‘till it has thickened and is bubbly. Stir in chicken. Season to taste with pepper. Heat through.

Serve over Angel Hair macaroni or in patty shells. Sprinkle with parsley and garnish with sprigs.

Old Fashioned Chicken Soup

Well here’s the real deal, my grandmother used to make it like this and now my wife does. It is as it should be – chicken soup, not vegetable soup.

INGREDIENTS:

Chicken parts (or a 3 Lb. fryer)

3 Quarts of purified water

2 shallots

2 carrots

2 Tbsp dried parsley

1chicken bullion cube

6 to 7 oz. fine egg noodles

DIRECTIONS:

First off, this recipe uses the “Unusable” parts of whole chickens. Alternately a whole fryer can be cut up and used.

On this particular occasion, we purchased three 5 pound whole chickens; had two cut if half by the butcher. At home the two split chickens were cleaned of the back bone, associated fat and skin. This along with the necks from all three chickens was added to a 6 qt. pot. The whole chicken was also cleaned with the results added to the pot. Add three quarts of purified water to the pot and set it to simmer for two hours (Actually stewing the chicken parts).

Remove the chicken parts with a slotted spoon to a plate to cool. When cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the bones; Discarding the skin and bones.  Strain the broth, skim off excess fat and Return meat to the pot.

Peel the carrots, wash and dice. Peel the shallots, leaving them whole. Add the carrots, parsley flakes, bullion (crushed) and shallots to the pot and cover. Bring to a simmer and cook for 2 hour.

Meanwhile prepare the noodles according to directions. Do Not cook the noodles in the soup as it makes it cloudy and less appealing.

To serve: Put noodles in individual bowls and ladle the soup over them being sure to include the solids. A sprinkle of fresh parsley can be added as a finishing touch.

Roasted Chicken with Vegetables

Sometimes there isn’t anything better then an oven roasted chicken. Well here’s our favorite way of enjoying this delightful meal.

INGREDIENTS:

4 to 5 lb. whole chicken

6 red potatoes or 2 large All purpose.

4 medium carrots

6 small shallots

½ cup butter,

2 tsp. rosemary leaves

2 tsp. garlic

 ¼ tsp. pepper
Sprigs of fresh parsley

PREPARATION:

Wash and cut the potatoes in half, quarters if larger. Wash and peel the carrots then cut on the diagonal into thirds. Peel the shallots, leaving whole. Peel and press the garlic through a press. Wash the rosemary shaking off the water, strip the leaves and chop finely. Soften the butter in a Microwave. Then in a medium bowl stir together butter, rosemary, pepper and garlic.

Thoroughly wash the chicken, removing excess fat and any waste along with the giblet bag; pat dry. Secure wings to body of chicken. Rub chicken with one third of butter mixture. Place chicken in roasting pan. Place potatoes, carrots and shallots in the bowl with the remaining butter mixture and evenly coat the vegetables. Then spread them on bottom of pan around chicken.

Here it is carved

Pre heat the oven to 350°.

 ROASTING:

Roast the chicken, uncovered, basting chicken and vegetables occasionally, for 2 to 2½ hr. or 165-170 deg. on an instant read thermometer.

Garnish with sprigs of parsley.

4 servings