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home cooking

My Favorite Turkey Stuffing Recipe

November 23, 2014 by info@3QuartersToday.com

Some foods I cook from scratch, other have a little bit of help, and I deviate from the script. My favorite turkey stuffing recipe varies every year, depending on what I have in my refrigerator and cupboards. But regardless, it always comes out delicious and there is never enough for left over “turkey plates.”

How to Dress up your Turkey Stuffing
Start with Stove top Stuffing as a base

Start with Stove Top Turkey Stuffing Mix

Yes, it’s cheating in a way, but I’m brand loyal and Stove Top stuffing has amazing flavor, the seasonings are already mixed in so I don’t have to guess. But I don’t stop there, I chop 3-4 of the following added ingredients and add them to the pot.

Just follow the ingredients on the box.

  1. Add water and butter to a large saucepan, bring to a boil.
  2. Turn off burner
  3. Add breadcrumbs from box
  4. Remove from heat
  5. Add 1-2 cups “EXTRA” ingredients and quickly mix with fork
  6. Cover and let sit for 30 minutes

Stuffing Additives

  • Onions
  • Celery
  • Mushrooms
  • Dried cranberries
  • Apples
  • Dried cherries
  • Walnuts
  • Chestnuts

I normally add about a 1/4 cup of each ingredient to my turkey stuffing, notice I said ABOUT, I don’t measure I just chop until it looks good. If you don’t like apples, leave them out, but it does give a nice sweet flavor to the stuffing. They cook down soft, so most people don’t even notice.

 

Baking Your Turkey

Homemade turkey stuffing recipeYes, there is a debate on whether you should bake your stuffing inside the bird or separately. This is mainly due to “safety” reasons. I bake my turkey with the stuffing inside, the turkey drippings add an amazing flavor which unmatched by just stove top cooking.

What is important to remember is to fully cook your turkey, then when you think he’s done, leave it in for 15 more minutes. Since I only use a giant roasting pan once a year I don’t own a “real” metal roaster. I buy the disposables at the grocery store and reuse them to make Chex Mix for the Christmas season. I do have a “real” metal baster though. Plastic turkey basters have a way of somehow touching a really hot service and getting a hole burned into the syringe. Then they don’t work.


Back to the stuffing. Use a large serving spoon and pack the stuffing inside the main body cavity and under the neck flab, just lift and tuck, lift and tuck. (Sounds like an exercise doesn’t it)

 

Butter Basted turkey
Place frozen pats of butter under the skin

Lift the bird and spoon the stuffing way down inside the body cavity. Pack it full. If the stuffing is sticking out the back end of the turkey, that’s ok. It will get nice and crispy and is perfect for snacking on when you take the turkey out of the oven.

 

After all of your stuffing has disappeared into the turkey, then proceed to season the outside, slip some butter under the skin and cover with bacon. Yup I make a bacon wrapped turkey. If you’re into that type of thing.

Bacon wrapped turkey

I should fix more stuffing throughout the year. Turkey stuffing isn’t just for Thanksgiving and there are a lot of recipes to use with chicken and pork chops. Maybe I’ll venture beyond just stuffing at Thanksgiving.

Kraft Stove Top RecipesThe Ultimate Recipes for Thanksgiving Turkey – A Complete Guide on How to Cook a Moist and Flavorful Thanksgiving Turkey Every Time!

More Ways to Cook a Turkey

Looking for tips on how to bake a turkey for Thanksgiving? Don’t tell anybody …

Despite your unfounded fears to the contrary, baking a turkey for Thanksgiving is actually one of the easier chores you will have that day. Just follow the simple instructions and amaze your friends with your culinary prowess. (File photo). Print Email.

How To Cook A Turkey – How To Roast A Turkey – Best Thanksgiving Roast Turkey …

http://www.easycookvideos.com – How To Cook A Turkey. Discover how to roast a turkey. This is the best Thanksgiving turkey recipe & Christmas turkey recipe. It will show you how long to cook a turkey (Including turkey temperature, turkey cooking times …


Filed Under: Food Tagged With: cooking, Food, Holiday, Holidays, home cooking, kitchen, recipes, stuffing recipes, thanksgiving, turkey, turkey stuffing

Homemade Cheesy Potato Bacon Soup

January 8, 2014 by info@3QuartersToday.com

What is better than a hearty meal in the winter time, soup, but not any soup, but “Cheesy, Ham, Sausage, Potato BACON Soup”. Yes, I said Bacon, almost a whole lb of bacon goes into this hearty warm potato soup and I’m not apologetic.

We are kinda bacon addicts in our house and now that bacon is hip popular again we don’t have to hide from the health nazis anymore.Cheesy potato Soup

I don’t like the cold of winter, but I do love soup season. There is something comforting, snug and warm about the cold wind howling outside and sitting on the couch with your hands wrapped around a warm bowl that just creates memories of home.

Although I didn’t grown up making soup it has become my winter passion for the past several years.  I haven’t had a can of Campbells in my cupboard for year. But I always have individual zip twist containers of frozen soup in the freezer.

Every batch or potato soup is a little different. Sometimes it’s thick and creamy other times it is full of chunky potatoes, ham, carrots, peas and celery.

Last weekend I made a large stock pot  and we ate it all day long then had enough for Monday for our lunches.

This year I have made chicken and rice soup, venison stew, chicken noodle soup and of course chili.

Cheesy Potato Bacon Soup Recipe

Click Here for Recipe for potato bacon soup recipe
Click Here for Recipe for potato bacon soup recipe

More of My Homemade Soup Recipes

  • Everything in the Refrigerator Chicken Noodle
  • Beef and Barley
  • How to Make Venison Stew
  • Chicken and Vegetable

Filed Under: Food Tagged With: bacon recipes, cooking, cooking recipes, Food, food recipes, Home, home cooked meals, home cooking, potato and bacon soup, potato bacon soup, potato soup, recipes for soup, soup, soup recipes, winter food

Day 45/365: Beef and Barley Soup

January 20, 2011 by info@3QuartersToday.com

Day 45: Beef & Barley Soup

It’s time for food again, specifically soup since it’s still winter. This is another version of my Beef & Barley Soup, each version varies slightly depending on what I have in the refrigerator as leftovers. I love soup, with a little planning it’s so easy, and simple. I keep chopped celery, onions,  carrots, pre-cooked hamburger  in the freezer along with frozen stock and it all goes in the pot together in less than 5 minutes.

The joy of homemade stock/broth. Stock is a bit heartier and gives homemade soup a hearty flavor, nice and rich. What I make is more like broth, but it accomplishes the same thing. You can buy chicken stock from the grocery store in boxes, cans, or even bullion cubes (only if your desperate on the cubes…) if you don’t have any prepared, but homemade is healthier, less salt, and I think tastier.

For those who haven’t saved or made their own stock it’s easy, really. I save chicken broth, potato water (from boiling potatoes for mashing), pork drippings, (just add some water to the juice at the bottom of pan), and lately even the drained water from corn. Okay, purist will say this isn’t stock, but broth, but I get wonderful results in the end, so who’s to say I’m wrong.

When I roast a whole chicken for supper I put the leftover carcass in a big pot, add water to the top, bring to a boil, then simmer for oh…an hour, maybe two. Sometimes I’ll throw in some celery or onions for added flavor, but it’s not necessary, especially since I’m putting all those ingredients in the soup. Then I pull out the bones and put the liquid and chicken meat bits in plastic containers (glad containers, ziplock, orange juice jugs, ice cream buckets, whatever I have) and store in the freezer.

Recently I had a couple pieces of leftover chicken that didn’t get eaten, a leg and thigh. I put them in a smaller pot and made 2 cups of stock. Easy, easy.

Now that I’ve covered stock/broth let’s get to the recipe, remember exact amounts are NOT crucial, soup is a magical food that is actually hard to mess up. More water can be added if the mixture is too thick.

Ingredients

  • 8 cups stock
  • 16 oz fine stewed tomatoes (I used my homemade with celery, onion, carrots)
  • 1 1/2 lbs cooked hamburger (I prepare 5 lbs ahead of time and put in 1 lb bags in freezer)
  • 1 cup green beans
  • 1 cup corn
  • 1 cup diced or sliced carrots
  • 2 TBSP dried parsley
  • 1 TBSP dried sweet basil
  • 1 tsp black pepper (to taste)
  • 1 tsp Lowrys Seasoning Salt (my daughter calls this “special salt”)
  • 1 cup barley (added the last hour)

Directions

Add all the ingredients except the barley, bring to a gentle boil, reduce heat and simmer for one hour. Then add barley. Simmer for an additional 45 minutes or until the barley is tender. Makes approximately 12 one cup servings. Eat, and freeze leftovers in single serving containers for later. If you have any.

When is it done? I tell my kids when you can smell it outside it’s done. My Marine son recently tested this method when he was home on leave. The aroma was driving him crazy inside, his sister came home and said “What smells so good? I could smell it from outside” Nathan declared. “Soups done!”

More Soup and Stew Recipes

  • Venison Stew
  • Clean Out the Refrigerator Chicken Soup
  • Rainy Day Soup
  • Chicken Noodle Vegetable Soup
  • Homemade Clam Chowder
  • Time for More Venison Stew

Filed Under: Food, Project 365 Tagged With: 365project, cooking, Food, home cooked meals, home cooking, how to cook, kitchen, Photography, project365, recipe, soup, soup and stews

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