When it comes to that time of year that everyone is looking forward to because of the delicious food that is served, there is always at least one person that is slightly tense about it and that would be the person who is going to be cooking a turkey.

Although it really is a simple job, a lot of people tend to get a little stressed out about cooking a turkey and it is not because it is a hard job, but because the turkey is the thanksgiving dinner and many people feel that if the turkey gets ruined, that thanksgiving is ruined. Even though that is not the case, a lot of people cannot get that thought out of their minds.

Remember, that cooking a turkey is not a hard job in itself and that is a fact but it is strictly the anticipation of whether or not it is going to come out right that is the problem. But when you think about it, your oven is actually doing more work than you are so when thinking about how hard cooking a turkey is, think about how much work your oven has to go through. All you really have to do is dress it and place it in the oven and the rest of the work from cooking a turkey is done by the oven while you prepare other things such as side dishes.

The Most Important Thing

Although messing up the turkey in that it came out a little dry or without a lot of flavor is heartbreaking to some; that is not the real danger to consider when cooking a turkey. When you are getting ready to begin cooking a turkey, you have to make sure that you have fully read over all of the instructions. By not following these instructions, you are either going to have a bird that does not taste all that great or you could end up giving your guests food poisoning.

When roasting a turkey, make sure that it has reached the proper temperature of 165 degrees by sticking a cooking thermometer into it. Any reading lower then that, you need to put it back in. All in all, when those few things are followed, cooking a turkey does not have to be anything to worry about or stress over. You can do it just as millions and millions and of people before you have done it. Cooking a turkey will soon become second nature to you and you will be a pro before you know it.

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If you have ever been to someone’s house when they prepared you a fabulous thanksgiving dinner and you just did not like the turkey taste, there may be one very good reason why. A lot of times, it is because they simply did not use a lot of flavoring according to your specific taste buds or even more times then not, it is because of the dryness of the turkey. A dry turkey can happen several ways such as not basting it properly and as often as one should in order to keep the juices flowing.

Another reason is that someone cooked the bird at too high of a temperature and then kept it in there for the recommended cook time or even longer. This would certainly be the cause the turkey to be dry because the proper turkey cooking temperature was not followed. When the proper turkey cooking temperature is not followed, you are going to end up with one of two cases. The first scenario is that the turkey ending up being over cooked because the temperature was too high which means it ended up dry. And the second is that the turkey cooking temperature was set too low which means it was not fully cooked at all.

How to Get It Right

In order to make sure that the turkey cooking temperature is correct, you will want to strictly follow the instructions on the oven. The general recommendation for the proper turkey cooking temperature is three hundred and twenty five degrees. And once you have it set, try to make sure all little children are away from the stove as we all know how they love playing with knobs and such. Also, try to refrain from opening the open door too often unless it is time to baste because every time you open the door, the built up temperature is lost and it has to build itself up again.

You are also going to want to watch the directions carefully in order to not remove it too early or too late. But something important that you will want to keep in mind is that all ovens are different so when it is time to remove the turkey, you will want to make sure to stick a thermometer into the turkey. If the proper turkey cooking temperature was used and it was in there long enough, the temperature of the inside of the turkey should read at least one hundred and sixty five degrees. Eating a turkey of anything less could mean getting sick in a very bad way such as food poisoning and no one wants to go through that.

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More Than a Million Americans will Bake with Organic Pumpkin this Thanksgiving

(ARA) – What would the holidays be without pumpkin pie? It’s an American tradition and it may be hard to imagine how one could improve on such a classic dessert.

This year, why not make your pumpkin pie as close as possible to the way the pilgrims made it hundreds of years ago? By using organic pumpkin, you can give your family the pure, rich taste and wholesomeness the settlers enjoyed on that very first Thanksgiving.

As per capita pumpkin consumption rises (25 percent since 2003 according to the United States Department of Agriculture), demand for organic pumpkin is also increasing. At Corvallis, Ore.-based Farmer’s Market Foods, sales of organic pumpkin have risen 60 percent annually for the past three years.

“More and more consumers are cooking with organic pumpkin because of its pure, rich taste and abundance of nutritional benefits,” says Tracy Miedema of Farmer’s Market Foods. “This year’s Thanksgiving feasts will include a record number of pies baked with organic pumpkin. We’ve been tracking this growing trend, and it’s not one we see slowing down any time soon.”

Farmer’s Market Organic Pumpkin and Organic Pumpkin Pie Mix contain no fat, trans fats or cholesterol, and are excellent sources of fiber and the disease-fighting antioxidant beta-carotene. Each half-cup serving of organic pumpkin contains 50 calories, 10 grams of carbohydrates and 6mg of sodium. The organic pumpkin pie mix contains 100 calories per one-half cup serving, 25 grams of carbohydrates and no sodium.

Start a new holiday tradition with Thanksgiving Morning Organic Pumpkin Muffins:

Thanksgiving Morning Organic Pumpkin Muffins

Farmer’s Market recommends using certified organic ingredients whenever possible for best flavor and nutrition.

2 1/2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp ground cloves
3 eggs
1 can Farmer’s Market Organic Pumpkin
3/4 cup oil
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup walnuts

Cinnamon /Sugar Topping
2 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Sift together flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, allspice and cloves. In a separate bowl, beat eggs until well combined. Add pumpkin and stir to combine. Add oil gradually, stirring to mix well. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix. Do not over-mix. Add raisins and walnuts, stirring just to combine.

Fill 12 large muffin cups or 16 mini-muffin cups 3/4 full or two mini-loaf pans and sprinkle lightly with cinnamon/sugar topping to make tops hard and crunchy.
Bake for 30 minutes or until tops are firm.

To receive a free booklet of organic recipes, “The Farmer’s Market Collection: Above and Beyond,” e-mail recipebooklet@farmersmarketfoods.com. Type “recipe booklet” in the subject line and include your name and address in the body of the message. Or mail a letter or postcard with your name and address to: The Farmer’s Market Collection, Farmer’s Market Foods, P.O. Box 817, Corvallis, OR 97339-0817.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

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For parents trying to keep kids on track to develop healthy eating habits, the holidays can be as frustrating as that granddaddy of all bad eating days, Halloween. Sugar-filled chocolate Santas and holiday cookies, starchy stuffing and fat-filled mashed potatoes all can conspire to derail parents’ best efforts and intentions.

“Eliminating sweets and starches from our holiday fare probably isn’t practical for most of us,” says Holly Clegg, cookbook author and spokesperson for the Louisiana Sweet Potato Commission. “But it’s easy to prepare healthful, festive holiday meals that will also please your child’s sweet tooth. Turn to the sweet potato for inspiration.”

Yams for the holidays are an American tradition. Native Americans were cultivating yams when Columbus arrived, and sweet potatoes were almost certainly on the menu for the very first Thanksgiving. But when Grandma set that dish of candied sweet potatoes on the holiday table when you were a child, she may not have realized the health benefits she was sharing with her family as well.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest considers sweet potatoes to be one of the most nutritional vegetables out there. Sweet potatoes are packed with beta-carotene (which gives them their yellow or orange color), vitamins A, C, B6, and E, iron, potassium and fiber, and are naturally low in fat. What’s more, says Clegg, yams are among the “good carbs” nutrition experts recommend.

Clegg and the yam experts at the Louisiana Sweet Potato Commission offer these tips and recipes for sweetening your holidays:

* Fresh sweet potatoes store well at low temperatures and low humidity, making them available year-round. There’s no need to refrigerate uncooked yams; simply store them at 55 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit.

* Choose fresh yams that are smooth, dry, plump and clean.

* When using canned yams in a recipe, add them at the end of the cooking process since they are already cooked before they are canned.

“Sweet potatoes are so versatile they can play a role in virtually every course of your holiday meals,” Clegg says. “They are great as a side dish or dessert and can even be incorporated into soups and main dishes.”

For more tips and recipes, visit www.sweetpotato.org.

Recipes:

Appetizer: Sweet Potato Crunchies

Ingredients:

3 cups fresh sweet potatoes (yams) cooked and mashed or 2 (15-ounce) cans sweet potatoes, drained and mashed
1 tablespoon margarine
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 large egg
3 cups crushed corn flakes

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place the sweet potatoes in a large bowl. Add margarine, brown sugar, pecans, vanilla, flour and cinnamon. Mix well. Beat in the egg. Form the mixture into bite-size balls and roll in crushed corn flakes. Place the sweet potato balls on the baking sheet coated with nonstick cooking spray and bake for about 20 minutes. Serve with toothpicks. Makes 3 1/2 to 4 dozen.

Entrée: Pork Chops and Sweet Potato Gravy

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper to taste
2 pounds pork scaloppini (thin cuts of pork medallions) or boneless pork chops
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced onions
1/4 cup pecans, chopped
2 cups water
1 pound sweet potatoes (yams), baked, peeled and mashed or 1 (15-ounce) can sweet potatoes, drained and mashed
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/3 cup thinly sliced green onions

Preparation:

In a small bowl, combine paprika, garlic powder, cayenne, salt and pepper. Sprinkle both sides of pork with seasoning. In large skillet coated with nonstick cooking spray, over high heat, heat oil and brown pork on each side. Remove and set aside. Add flour, stirring constantly to brown the flour. Add onions and sauté until almost tender, about five minutes. Stir in pecans. Add water and bring to a boil. Gradually add sweet potatoes and blend until smooth. Stir in syrup. Return pork to pan, reduce heat and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or until the pork is done, stirring occasionally. If gravy gets too thick, add water. Sprinkle with green onions and serve. Makes six servings.

Side Dish: Baked Sweet Potato with Topping

Ingredients:

1 Fresh sweet potato (yam)
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
1 tablespoon raisins
2 teaspoons sunflower seeds
salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Preheat over to 400 degrees F. Prick potato with fork. Bake on foil-lined baking sheet one hour, or until very tender. Split sweet potato and top with maple syrup, raisins and sunflower seeds. Season to taste.

Microwave instructions: Pierce potatoes with fork and arrange on paper towels. Microwave on high eight minutes; turn potatoes over after four minutes.

Makes one serving.

Dessert: Sweet Potato Brownies

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups grated raw sweet potatoes
1 cup chopped pecans

Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2-3 tablespoons milk

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter and sugar together. Add remaining ingredients in order listed, stirring after each addition. Spread batter in a greased 9×13x2-inch pan. Bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. For glaze, mix powdered sugar, butter, and enough milk to make a thin glaze. Spread over hot brownies. Cool before cutting. Makes 24 servings.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

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