On My Knees

Lately I have been listening to the band "Ascend the Hill."  They are by far, the freshest & most worshipful band I have heard since I started listening to the Wickham brothers (Phil & Evan).  If you haven't heard of them, I encourage you to do so by visiting their site  or by downloading their music for free or donation here.  Also, they are a local band from Brandon, which makes me appreciate their talent all the much more.  I challenge you, Christian or not, to listen to the songs and the amazing lyrics full through.  You will not be the same afterwards and to deny the truths sung would be foolishness.  The lyricism brings me to my knees in complete adoration and humility each time I listen to them.  My favorite album over theirs is entitled "Take the World, but give me Jesus."  To listen to my favorite track, pause the music player at the bottom of this page and click play on the embedded file below.  Also, I have included a video of their vision for Ascend The Hill - they are truly humble worshippers of Christ Jesus, just like you and I.  I hope their music encourages you and blesses you, I can't get enough of it.  Blessings.

Find more artists like Ascend The Hill at Myspace Music

Ascend The Hill - WE NEED YOUR HELP!!! from Ascend The Hill on Vimeo.

A Christmas Craft!

Lately, I have been pondering how I can rework my Christmas decor this year with the supplies I have.  Often times I do a little decoration shopping after the holidays and score some pretty cute things for next to nothing, but last year I didn't.  After doing a little "Christmas Spirit" searching via the world wide web, I found my inspiration (Knock Knocking Blog).  If I were a Christmas wreath, this is what I would look like!  I almost cried at the sight of the kitchen-aid mixer charm, on top of the teal yarn, felt roses, fabric pinwheels, and silver sparkle?  What more could a girl want?!?!  What do you think?  Looks pretty simple, I can't wait to DIM (do it myself!)  Pictures of the actual facsimile to follow....

On another note, we are getting our tree this week!  I can't wait!  Husband & I always go to the same lot and last year we started the tradition of going with dear friends.  We hope to continue that tradition again this year, plus one - their adorable baby boy.  I promise to post pictures of my Christmas Casa asap - that is once I get to decorating!  I am still loving my fall-esque white pumpkins at the moment.... How about you guys?  Any traditions already happening pre-December?  What colors or textures are you workin' this season?

Rut-Roe

This past Thursday, while baking with my Mom all day, she discovered a little slip up on one of my recipes, and boy am I glad she did before the dish was baked!  For those of you who tried to make the Broccoli Vee Casserole, I hope you figured out to cook the broccoli before hand as directed by the bag/box.  I forgot to include this fine little detail and apologize profusely if you did not cook yours first!  Hopefully no one ended up eating half-way cooked crunchy broccoli, and if you did I am so very sorry! Then again, not many people read this blog, so hopefully everyone in the blogosphere ended up okay!  Anyways, how was everyone's holiday break?  I worked all weekend, being employed at the mall, so it was pretty much a nightmare - but hey the time sure went by fast!

How To Brine A Turkey

I'll be honest with you, I didn't know what the word "brine" meant either.  I am by no means a Julia Child when it comes to cooking so don't be intimidated in the least.  This will only be my second turkey, so we're in this together.  When I saw this recipe on food network, I thought, man that looks good.  Who would have ever thought to marinate a turkey?  Not me.  Chicken, beef, sure - but turkey? Brilliant!  So, brine, by definition means:
brine [braɪn]

noun

1. (Cookery) a strong solution of salt and water, used for salting and pickling meats, etc

2. (Earth Sciences / Physical Geography) the sea or its water

3. (Chemistry / Elements & Compounds) Chem

a.  a concentrated solution of sodium chloride in water

b.  any solution of a salt in water a potassium chloride brine

verb

(tr) to soak in or treat with brine

Now again, this may seem daunting, but if the outcome is as good as all the reviews say, it's gotta be worth it.  We'll see two days from now & I'll let you know how it goes, but for now, here's what you'll need to get Birdie started.


Ingredients:

• 24 lb. turkey 
• (I realize this is enormous, so just halve things down if you get a smaller guy)
• 5 sweet onions
• 10 cloves fresh garlic
• 64 oz. vegetable broth
• 64 oz. apple juice
• 192 oz. water 
• (i.e. refill the apple juice container three times)
• 1 bunch fresh rosemary 
• (by bunch, I mean, I went outside and picked a bunch)
• 1 bunch fresh thyme
• 1 bunch fresh basil 
• SALT SALT SALT
• Pepper
• 2 tablespoons "Savory" seasoning
• Ice

Prepare

• Get turkey out of bag and de-gut. Yuck yuck yuck.  I'll admit, my Dad helped me with this part last year, but I was left to my own devices this time around - bummer.
• Rinse well inside and out.  Pat dry.
• Carefully drop into plastic container big enough + lots of broth.  I got a "74 lb" one if that helps.
• Add all veg broth, juice, and half of water.
• Peel onions and quarter. Add to container.
• Peel garlic, smash to release flavor & add to container.  It should look like this so far.

• Next get your herbs together.  Personally, I used fresh because that what's I had on hand, and let's be honest, it just looks good. Pictured below: thyme.  
• Pick off stems, (we don't want those in the jacuzzi) bruise, tear, chop. Don't skip this step or your herbs will do nothing for you!

• Add to turkey box along with savory season, a couple handfuls of salt and a couple dashes of pepper.  DON'T BE SCARED TO SEASON!  Think about how big a bird this is, (no pun intended big bird) and how much water there is + the sweet apple juice!  Do not by shy folks!
• Top with remaining 1 1/2 containers water and give the turkey a good dunk.  Try to stuff some of the onions & garlic underneath him and try to mix around him without splashing too much. He should look like this now:

• Now doesn't that look pretty good?  I think so.  To finish add enough ice to fill in the broth spots.  I would guess 4-6 cups.  You want to keep him chilled.
• Next, cover, put in fridge and let it soak over night, like so:

• If all goes well this turkey should be falling off the bone after being cooked. 
• Oh by the way, about that.  When turkey day arrives and you are ready to get the bird cooking, pull him out of his bath and pat dry. Be sure his insides are clear of marinade as well.  Discard marinade & contents - it is contaminated now.
• Fill bird with 1-2 quarted onions, 1 orange, & celery. 
• Make herb butter or purchase and rub underneath the skin as seen in handy video (click here).
• Next, put turkey in roasting bag and follow directions according to weight.  For this twenty-four pounder it will take about 3 hours to cook. Although this seems quick, brining your turkey will shorten cook time, not to mention the bag.
• Once cooking is finished let turkey sit for at least 15 minutes, pref a 30 in the bag!  This will allow the juices to redistribute and remain in the bird - a little trick I've learned from my awesome father-in-law i.e. seasoned butcher. 
• Save drippings to make gravy, as seen in this handy video (click here).
• I use water instead of broth and nix the wine and a fine mesh strainer will do to separate.

If you think of me tomorrow, say a little prayer! I hope that this guy turns out well and starts a new tradition of moist & flavorful turkey! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HUSBAND!

This video is dedicated to my dearest husband! I love you!
(And of course, this is me playing the accordion silly)



*pause music at bottom of page before playing*

The Husband Diets.

Lately my husband has been on a health kick and when he is there is always a remarkable amount of lettuce in the fridge!  I figured he must be getting pretty tired of manatee's "meat," so I decided to make him a special, but healthy alternative for those munchie hours that all dieters endure! Introducing Kendi's Homemade Trail Mix!  Now these are Pete's personal faves. If you don't like any of these ingredients swap it out for something similar and you will have you very own custom trail mix!  Here's the ingredients I tend to swoon towards.

The Stuff:

• 8 oz. roasted peanuts
• 16 oz. can pecans (I put some aside since it's Pete's fav)
• 2 small bags of craisans
• 1/2 tall can raisins
• 1 8-10 oz. can Dried Apricot
• 1/4 bag Ghirardelli Mini White Choc Chips
• 1/2 bag Trader Joes Honey Sesame Sticks

The only prepping for these ingredients includes cutting the apricots into halves or thirds.  Keep in mind, everything should be bite size if you swap out an ingredient.  Other than that, pour everything into a large mixing bowl and combine.  I poured mine into a cute little (lidded) glass container and set it out for him, while storing the extra in a huge tupperware container in the pantry.  Any body else getting a head start on their diets before the holidays?  Props to you guys! I'm afraid I don't have the will or self control to diet, however I think I will be joining in on the exercising once I get some fresh air in my beach cruiser.

Santa's Got A Brand New Bag

Last Wednesday a good friend of mine and I went to IKEA - pretty much my second residence!  I wanted to check out their new Christmas ornaments and get another pot for my largely expanding herb garden, while my newly-wedded friend needed some other home-ish necessities. Little did I know I would stumble across this beauty in my travels.  Now let me preface this blog by saying  I have wanted a cast iron pot since before we were been married in 2007.  I registered for one, but of course it being somewhere in the $150 range, I didn't get one - hey a girl can dream can't she?  If you know me, three years is a long awaited purchase.  I'm a get it done kind of girl so my patience truly was a blessing - who knew!  However, the best news has yet to come - this was in the clearance section for........drumroll, 29 bucks!  It wasn't returned or damaged but was merely a display item not needed any more. YAHOO! And by the way, the bigger the "dutch oven" the more expensive and this one is huge measuring over 12 inches wide not to mention her nice oblong shape.  Needless to say I will find some use for it on Thanksgiving even if I have to serve rolls in it! Boy do I love a good - and long awaited - deal.