I can not believe the holidays are already upon us, but I am very happy about this season. Of course this time of year makes me think of all the things I am thankful for and every thing that has changed since this time last year. I am sure all of yall are thinking the same.

I am very thankful for my new little family…Bri-pie and Mr. Ollie…and am also thankful for my old family. I am also very thankful for where my life is going now…in the directions I have always wanted. I am now on the path of having an online clothing store and am doing a little acting…all things are falling into place!!! I am also thankful for all my new friends and the old ones that have grown. There are many more reasons I am thankful, but these are the main ones.

Tell me why you are thankful!!

I hope everyone is having a great day with families and friends. I will be traveling three hours away to Bri’s family farm in Shreveport (Ha, can’t wait!) then spending the biggest shopping day of the year thrifting in Arkansas!!!

Enjoy the parade!!

Dreaming of thrifting,

Twila

Sources: ffffound.com, debutantevintage.com

I am continuing with my crafty time and holiday decorations…. can’t believe that Thanksgiving is almost here!!!  Homemade ornaments are finished and now onto setting them up. I shall post photos soon.

For now I shall post a Thanksgiving recipe that sounded delicious this morning. On the way to work I was listening Kidd Kraddick In The Morning…..WFMF!!! I am an avid fan of Kelly’s many rants but now I am a fan of Kidd Kraddick’s Brown Bag Turkey recipe. Because I am not a cook at all, (I honestly am not very good at cooking eggs) I have decided to try this easy and delicious sounding recipe for this years Thanks Day!! Here are the instructions for his famous recipe. Don’t blame me if your house is burnt in the process…(ha, he does say that it is fire safe)

Kidd Kraddick’s Instructions:

No, this turkey recipe won’t burn your house down because you’re using a brown paper bag… but it will taste great! Okay, experienced cooks…this is geared to first-timers (even though veteran chefs LOVE it) so we present this recipe as an easy-to-read story!

1. First, take everything out of the inside of the turkey. There will be a giblet bag and some other stuff. You don’t want to leave that in there.

2. Next, add vegetables to the inside of the turkey. This is easy because the veggies are just for flavor…you’re going to throw them away later.
Vegetables-You don’t even have to peel anything. Take an onion and cut it into quarters. Roughly chop a nice long carrot. Do the same to a couple of stalks of celery. Add several cloves of garlic that you mash between a broad kitchen knife and the counter. Throw it all inside the turkey.

3. Then rub the turkey all over with olive oil. . . not butter because butter usually has salt in it and that will dry out the turkey. Salt is the enemy of a moist turkey! Make sure the whole bird is covered!

4. Secret Ingredient!
If you’re looking to mix things up a little…feelin’ SPICY! Maybe you’ve made the BBT and want to change it up a bit, there’s a new SECRET INGREDIENT that you would insert HERE.

Okay, with or without the secret ingredient, next step:

5. Put the turkey in a roasting pan and cover the whole thing with a large brown paper bag. Staple it shut. If you have a huge turkey, use two bags, sliding one end of the turkey into one bag and the other end of the turkey into the second bag. It won’t stick to the bird because of the olive oil. Sprinkle the bag all over with water to help it breathe.

6. Place into pre-heated 375 F oven, ON THE MIDDLE RACK.
The bag won’t burn because paper burns at 451 and we’re at 375 degrees. The advantage of the brown paper bag over the Reynolds’s cooking bag is that the paper breathes so the turkey roasts. In the Reynolds bag the turkey steams, giving it a different taste. Also the brown paper bag retains the same advantage of the plastic cooking bag…no splatters all over the oven.

7. Roast for 14-16 minutes per pound. (Add 2 minutes per pound if you live in the mountains.) When you think it’s ready, shove a meat thermometer through the bag and into the turkey and give it a minute to register. Make sure it doesn’t touch the bone. The thermometer should register between 165-171 degrees.

8. If you used the secret ingredient, use the final step and then you’re ready!

SECRET INGREDIENT:

Pomegranate Glaze
This sounded weird to me so I tried it on a full roasting chicken before including it in the brown bag turkey recipe. Wow! Amazing. Pomegranate has a very distinct taste. It’s a little like cranberry (which is perfect for Thanksgiving but more tart). It will make your turkey taste even more moist and delicious.

Here’s the recipe:
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/3 cup pomegranate juice
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1. To make the glaze, in a small saucepan, dissolve cornstarch in half the pomegranate juice; stir in remaining juice, honey and vinegar. Bring to a boil; cook 1 minute, whisking until smooth.
2. Brush about half the glaze over entire surface; return to oven.
3. When the turkey is almost done, remove brown bag, cover turkey with the remaining glaze and let it cook for ten more minutes.

9. Remove from oven, cut away the bag and remove from basting pan. Don’t throw out the drippings! To make the gravy, strain the pan juices from the pan into a really big pot. Any juices that accumulate on the turkey platter get poured into the pot. Add six oz. of boiling chicken broth and 1/8 cup of corn starch to the gravy to thicken it up. Cook at low heat and stir. If it seems like it isn’t going to be thick enough, add a little more corn starch.