It was a nice, relaxing weekend. We had family over on Saturday (along with a Chinese take-out cheat meal) which was a lot of fun. I got the chance to hold and feed my beautiful, infant nephew Alex and to color pictures with my sweet and gorgeous niece, Dottie. Besides spending time with the young ones, it is always good times with their parents Laura and Tony. Sunday, by comparison was very chill. I think I slept through the majority of the day in a way that only MS or narcolepsy can allow you to. We ate chili for supper that night.
This week, I’m going to focus giving you guys recipes that you can use for Thanksgiving.
Adam and I bought ourselves an extra turkey just for eating throughout the week. Thursday, we’re having supper with the family, and it’s definitely going to be a cheat day! But the rest of the week, we simply can’t call it quits on our diet – especially when even Men’s Health is suggesting that it’s the IT diet to be on.
Men’s Health Recommends the Paleo Diet for Fitness
I was amused this morning when I got an email that said “Should You Go Paleo?” because, obviously, I already have. But it seems that the folks over at Men’s Health Magazine have gotten wind that this diet of ours is actually good for body building! In their article, “Should You Go Paleo?” they highlight the evolution and all the reasons why the diet is so good for us!
So, staying true to the diet most of the time is important to me and Adam. That’s why we’re making subtle changes to Alton Brown‘s recipe for Thanksgiving Turkey.
Alton Brown’s Good Eats Roast Turkey Recipe – Made Paleo!
The Turkey Is Done (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Ingredients
- 1 (14 to 16 pound) frozen young turkey
For the brine:
- 1 cup kosher salt
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1 gallon vegetable stock
- 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
- 1 1/2 teaspoons allspice berries
- 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped ginger root
- 1 gallon heavily iced water
For the aromatics:
- 1 red apple, sliced
- 1/2 onion, sliced
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 cup water
- 4 sprigs rosemary
- 6 leaves sage
- Olive oil
Directions
Click here to see how it’s done.
2 to 3 days before roasting:
- Begin thawing the turkey in the refrigerator or in a cooler kept at 38 degrees F.
- Combine the vegetable stock, salt, maple syrup, peppercorns, allspice berries, and ginger in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally to dissolve solids and bring to a boil. Then remove the brine from the heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate.
Early on the day or the night before you’d like to eat:
- Combine the brine, water and ice in the 5-gallon bucket. Place the thawed turkey (with innards removed) breast side down in brine. If necessary, weigh down the bird to ensure it is fully immersed, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area for 8 to 16 hours, turning the bird once half way through brining.
- Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.
- Remove the bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard the brine.
- Place the bird on roasting rack inside a half sheet pan and pat dry with paper towels.
- Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and 1 cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Add steeped aromatics to the turkey’s cavity along with the rosemary and sage. Tuck the wings underneath the bird and coat the skin liberally with olive oil.
- Roast the turkey on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F for 30 minutes.
- Insert a probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
- Set the thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees F. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting.
- Let the turkey rest, loosely covered with foil or a large mixing bowl for 15 minutes before carving.
- Serve and Enjoy! HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!
In It For The Parking 
Kroger has some pre made turkey burgers that are actually really excellent. They are pre veteran kroger label. I just put them in a skillet with a little water so they do not stick and cook them till they are brown. I was actually suprised at exactly how great they were !!
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