It is very unusual for me to have Monday off and then combined that with a Sunday off and I had enough time to get the Christmas Dinner cooked and in the freezer...WOO HOO!!
Yesterday was defrost and prep day. Today I got down to business. Turkey first......
Turkey Breasts ready for the oven.
I cook the turkey breasts on a bed of celery, carrots and onions. That makes for a real tasty gravy later. The big lump on each turkey breast is an orange where the stuffing usually goes and under the skin I put garlic and herbs. The real trick is the basting liquid....5-Alive juice concentrate!! It adds a little zip and makes the gravy taste super.
Cooked and Lookin' Great!!
The skin always gets burnt as there is sugar in the 5-Alive. But we don't eat the skin, so it really doesn't matter. As soon as they cool down, I will get them sliced and packaged for the freezer.
ALL DONE...stuffed, roasted, sliced and into the freezer.....
While the turkey was roasting, I work on bread stuffing or I guess it really is dressing as it will not get stuffed into the turkey ;o)
This is a very simple bread stuffing with that one secret ingredient...you guessed it 5-Alive!!
The family really likes the stuffing. When I asked my daughter whether she wanted Ham or Turkey for Christmas Dinner, her reply was, "I really do not care which you make as long as we have bread stuffing!"
My next project was my personal favorite...Cranberry Relish. I got this recipe from my good friend Chris Jordan and she tells me it has been handed down from generation to generation in her family. It is so good, I could just eat it as a dessert.
It is real easy to make. Put the following in a food processor
16 oz. of raw cranberries
1 cup of pecans
1 cup of sugar
2 peeled naval oranges
Zest of the two oranges
Process until well combined
Store in refrigerator until ready to serve.
Relish can be frozen and defrosted for serving.
So there you have it...Christmas Dinner is all ready and I have the kitchen cleaned up as well. You never know when we might have a buyer come looking ;o) Boy I wish they would come today...the aroma would sell this house in a heart beat!!
Oh yum! We're not doing anything for Christmas dinner, so we'll be down to share :)
ReplyDeleteLooks terrific!!
That cranberry relish looks just like what Gin makes. We even use the same bowl. Her recipe is very close. She adds a package of orange jello and uses just one orange. It kinda holds it together better.
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to do the cooking early so you can enjoy more quality family time for the holidays 'cause that's what it's all about.
Syl
No I know where Bill gets all his energy, it's all the sugar in the 5 alive secret sauce you're feeding him! ;c)
ReplyDeleteWow, I marvel at how organized you are! Why in the world did I never think of cooking ahead like that for the holidays? Sure would have helped my stress level. Thanks for the recipe, too! -- Dianne
ReplyDeleteYou guys are SO organized and ahead of the game. The holiday is more than 2 weeks away and you are already all set. Can you come up here and organize me? PLEASE!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the organized compliments...but when you work in retail, you have to plan ahead this time of year as our work schedules are crazy...
ReplyDeleteI still have a couple more things to get done...one involves another yummy recipe ;o))
Nancy
I'm going to try some of your ideas - especially the cranberry dish. Gonna copy/paste/print right now. Thank you! The turkey looks delicious.
ReplyDelete