Snippets of Shauntel

Quincy as a Princess & Isaac as her Knight in Shining Armor!

So it's been a few weeks since this actually took place, but I figured I still needed to post these pictures and information.

Jason and I hosted a Canadian Thanksgiving Dinner Party in our home and it was a huge success! We had all the trimmings of a traditional American Thanksgiving (minus the cranberry sauce). There were about 20+/- people in our very tiny house, but I think it worked out pretty well. One of my favorite items there was the Sweet Potatoes made by Aubrey. Everyone ranted and raved about my DELISIOUSLY MOIST turkey and wanted to know how I made it - some even said it was better than their mom's! :o) I hope that this is a tradition we will continue throughout the years to come! Thanks to Sharese for her being born in Canada, otherwise I would have never thought of having a Thanksgiving to share especially with my friends!

Shauntel's Roast Turkey
1 (14 to 16 pound) frozen young turkey
For the brine:
1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 gallon chicken stock/broth
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 tablespoon allspice
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 gallon iced water
For the aromatics:
1 red apple, sliced
1/2 onion, sliced
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup water
1 tablespoon rosemary
2 tablespoons ground sage
Vegetable oil

Combine all brine ingredients, except ice water, in a stockpot, and bring to a boil. Stir to dissolve solids, then remove from heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled (overnight).

Late the night before cooking, combine the brine and ice water in a clean 5-gallon bucket. Place thawed turkey breast side down in brine, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area (like a basement or patio). When you wake up the morning of cooking, turn turkey over.

A few minutes before roasting, heat oven to 500 degrees. Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes.
Remove bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard brine.
Place bird on roasting rack inside wide, low pan and pat dry with paper towels. Add steeped aromatics to cavity along with rosemary and sage. Tuck back wings and coat whole bird liberally with vegetable oil.

Roast on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F. for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cover breast with double layer of aluminum foil. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees F. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 1/2 to 3 hours of roasting. Turkey is done when meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast reaches 161 degrees F. Let turkey rest, loosely covered for 15 minutes before carving. (adapted from Alton Brown's Roast Turkey recipe).

Shauntel's Roasted Turkey Gravy
6 tablespoons turkey fat
6 tablespoons flour
4 cups heated liquid (drippings topped off with water, broth , or milk)
chicken base
salt
Pour the drippings (fat and meat juices) into a gravy separator. Pour 6 tablespoons of the fat into a large skillet over medium heat. Add the flour and cook and stir for 2-3 minutes, letting the flour brown with thte fat. Gradually stir in hot liquid (I used water). Cook and stir until smooth and thickened. Season well with salt and pepper and add chicken base to taste.

• Men's Brains Women's Brains
• How To Get a Man To Do What You Want Him to Do
• Men's Sex Drive

Mark Gungor is a pastor, speaker, author, musician and producer. With 30 years of speaking all around the globe, Mark is one of the most sought after speakers on marriage and family in the country today. Each year thousands of couples attend his Laugh Your Way to a Better Marrage seminar. In the seminar, Mark teaches biblical principles for marriage in a way that empowers couples without being “preachy”.

1. I eat 2 Eggo waffles just about every single morning. Toasted with lots of butter and just enough Mrs. Butterworth's syrup to cover the tops waffle - it's a science!

2. When I'm pregnant (which happens to be now) the only thing(s) I ever crave are fresh crispy things like: watermelon, cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce/salad; and fruit smoothies (i.e. Jamba Juice).

3. I am the youngest of 11 children (probably no suprise) and I really enjoy it. We all get along and are on speaking terms, which seems like a miracle with as many people are invovled. I love knowing that we will be together forever as a family.

4. I struggle with depression, just about every day. I have extremely high expectations for life and everyone involved, I also have little to no paitents, which I'm sure all play into the depression.

5. My favorite food is Indian/Thai Cuisine. I love spicey food - both spicey hot and foods that are full of spices. If I go to a Mexican restaraunt, I will order Pollo Azado 99% of the time.

6. I LOVE the fall!! I love the changing colors of the leaves, the cold crisp mornings, decorating for the seasons, baking goodies and treats, the warmth and ambiance of candles/fire, the many different scents, pumpkins, Thanksgiving feasts, not worring about being modest (since everyone's wearing sweaters and turtlenecks), snuggling up in blankets, hot cocoa, etc, etc, etc! (FYI - I don't really care for snow - it's TOO cold.)

7. I really enjoy cooking for other people. I revel in their compliments and company, however, I'm not much for "presentation" - fancy plates, fancy plating, etc. Just good food and good friends - what could be better?!

Tag, you're it!
Jen Simon
Christy Palmer
Shinae Furgeson
Sharese Mohlman
Aubrey Peterson
Debbie Puckett
Paige Weed

The frugal insights have been moved to The Bargain Jargon. Check it out and start saving money!