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Thanksgiving: Turkey Options – Part 2 of 2

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Photograph Credit: Flickr (Lilandra)

Are you curious to know how I plan to get that tender, moist turkey while using time wisely? Besides the three options offered yesterday (which are very good options), today I will share my fourth option for baking my turkey.

Bag Option

In using time wisely, my current first choice for baking our Thanksgiving turkey is to bag it. One of my favorite baking tools is the Reynold’s baking bags. After baking a couple of chickens (individually) and a ham resulting in tasty, tender meat, I highly recommend these bags.

The Reynold’s baking bags come in different sizes for different types of meat at different weights. I usually purchase my bags at Walmart for around $3 per box containing 2-6 bags. Not only are the bags easy to use, but also clean up is so easy. (This is a big advantage for me with little ones who need mom’s attention.) Here is how I plan to use the Reynold’s bag for our turkey:

Preparing the Bag

1. Choose the bag that will fit an 8-10 lb. turkey.

2. Place 1 Tbsp. of flour inside the bag.

3. Shake the flour to coat the inside of the bag. (According the instructions in the packaging, the flour will help prevent the bag from bursting.)

Preparing the Turkey

1. Rinse the turkey.

2. Remove the guts. (This part gives me the heebeegeebees. I don’t know what it is about putting my hand inside to get the guts, but I just hate this part of the preparation.)

Adding the Turkey to the Bag

1. Place the turkey in the bag.

2. Baste the turkey with melted margarine and sprinkle with oregano.

3. Insert onion wedges (from one onion) and half a cup of baby carrots.

Preparing the Bag for the Oven

1. Twist the bag opening and place a tie from the bag box onto the bag to close it securely.

2. Tuck the tied portion under the turkey.

3. Make five or six slits in the top of the bag for air to escape.

4. Bake your turkey for the allotted time. (I follow the recommendations on the Reynold’s baking bags’ box.)

With all the benefits of a tender, moist, and delicious turkey, I think I have convinced myself to bag it this year. During this busy season of my life, I am more concerned with saving time when getting projects done. My children are young, and I do not want to miss watching them grow, develop, and play.

If you want a fantastic tasting turkey and are willing to spend some time prepping your bird, then brining is for you. My favorite turkeys have been the ones brined prior to baking as the meat is tender and juicy while the outside is so flavorful. In tomorrow’s food post, I will share our brining recipe with you. Until tomorrow . . . happy preparing!

Question: What options do you use to make your turkey? I am interested in your grilling and crock pot options. Please add your answer to the comments.

Thanksgiving: Turkey Options – Part 1 of 2

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Photograph Credit: Flickr (Powen Shiah)

Are you hosting Thanksgiving this year? I love this time of year with a break in the schedule to give thanks for our many blessings.

Though the commercial industry would rather gloss over Thanksgiving as a kickoff to the Christmas season, our family takes time to give thanks and enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday.

For the next three days, I will be focusing on the Thanksgiving turkey. Today, I will share, in event planning, three of four options I have used, with success, for making our Thanksgiving turkeys.

Tomorrow the miscellaneous post will be the fourth option, and the one I am leaning towards using this year. On Thursday’s food post, I will take a break from our food cycle series to share a special recipe with you.

With hosting Thanksgiving at our house this year, Paul and I will be baking a turkey next Thursday. Having baked many turkeys in the past, I am considering the following options before making my choice this year. Here are three of four options I have used in the past and may end up using for next Thursday’s feast:

Deep Fry Option

One year, my husband deep fried a turkey for the Thanksgiving lunch at his office. Though the turkey was good with the meat moist, I found it less tender compared to an oven-baked turkey; however, the crunchy outside was delicious. Since we do not have a deep fryer that would hold a turkey and I will not purchase one just for next Thursday, I am not choosing this option.

Baste Option

When making my first few turkeys, I used this basting method. The results of basting are a very moist, tender, and tasty turkey. The downside is that the turkey must be basted every half hour while baking in the oven. It is very good, but takes consistent attention throughout the 2-3 hours for the end result. If the drippings are not absorbed into the turkey, the outside of the turkey will get dry.

This method was fun to do when our family was small (just Paul and I). We enjoyed making the feast together and inviting our friends and family to our table. Now that my family has grown, I prefer using time wisely to count my blessings and hang out with my family. Therefore, I will not be using this method this year for our turkey.

Brine Option

This option is by far my favorite because my husband, Paul, oversees the brining option. 🙂 He begins on Tuesday night by mixing up the brine mixture (sliced oranges, brown sugar, kosher salt, water, and spices) in a large tote. Then he soaks the frozen turkey in the brine until Thursday morning.

He babysits the mixture according to his recipe which involves adding more of the same ingredients and stirring it. We then prepare the turkey (remove the turkey guts and place in the roasting pan) and bake in the oven. The brine seals in the moisture which results in a very tender turkey. At this time, this option is my second choice.

If you want to know what my top choice currently is for next Thursday’s meal, then come back tomorrow for my answer.(Hint: It is not my crock pot.) As you prepare for your Thanksgiving celebration, I wish you patience as you organize your meal plan, schedule, and time with your family. The better organized you are, the better you will enjoy your day. Continue using time wisely, and happy planning!

Question: What are you baking for Thanksgiving this year? Please add your answer to the comments.

Scheduling: Laundry Routine – Part 1 of 4

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Photograph Credit: Flickr (Sarah QFD)

With five family members in our house, our washer and dryer get used a number of times each week. Usually I perform laundry tasks on two consecutive days.

During this season of my life, laundry is done on Friday/Saturday, Saturday/Sunday, or Sunday/Monday. The days depend on when we are home or able to work around our other activities.

I know many find doing one load of laundry from start to finish a day helps keep the laundry pile at bay. This option would not work for me since everyday has a different schedule and working around laundry is not a priority for me.

Knowing that the laundry will be done on the weekend, frees me up during the week for other activities. What works for me may or may not work for you. This system is working for me now and may be a solution to doing laundry all week long.

By having a scheduled, organized laundry routine, I find my time is best spent in small sections. The more I follow the same routine, the more efficient I become. My routine consists of four steps:

Step one: Preparing throughout the week,

Step two: Pretreating soiled clothing,

Step three: Preparing on laundry day, and

Step four: Performing laundry tasks.

In the next four weeks, I will cover my organized laundry routine in the hopes you will be encouraged to take a break from doing laundry all week long.

STEP ONE: Preparing throughout the week

During the week, each family member deposits dirty or used clothes into their assigned hamper.

    • My two older children have a mesh hamper in their closet.
    • My husband and I have two laundry baskets in our closet. The dark blue basket holds dark items, and the white basket holds white and light colored items.
    • My toddler has a hamper in her nursery. Any soiled clothes that need pretreatment are added to this hamper. Since my children are messy eaters and enjoy the dirt and mud on the playground, I have a number of items that need to be pretreated each week.

As each family member deposits his or her own clothing into the appropriate laundry containers, I am able to concentrate on other items throughout the week. Besides the occasional stray sock or blanket, almost all the items are in the laundry baskets or hampers each day.

By using time wisely to train my family on my laundry routine, I can rest assured that all items are where they belong. As each member of our family does his or her job throughout the week, my tasks are lightened on laundry day. I will not need to search the house for loose items of clothing. By preparing throughout the week, I save myself time and energy on laundry day.

Question: Where do your family members place their clothing items that need to be washed? Please add your answer to the comments.

Vehicles: Miscellaneous – Older Documents

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Photograph Credit: Microsoft Images

You made it! Here we are at the last step in organizing our important documents for this first file box. I hope your file is progressing as you keep using your time wisely to get organized.

In this twelfth and last file opening in our box 1 of important documents, I currently have our driving records and incident reports. The last set of documents in this file opening relates to old vehicle paperwork.

Closed Loan Paperwork

Having paid off our car loan for our current vehicle, I have all the original paperwork stapled together, including the letter from our lender stating our loan is paid in full. If I have any issues regarding our clear title at the time we choose to sell this vehicle, I will be able to easily access these documents.

Documentation from Prior Vehicle

Having purchased this car, used it, and then sold it, we kept both bills of sale, copies of the titles, and proof of insurance for this vehicle. If we need to prove that the vehicle is no longer in our possession, I have these dated documents as evidence.

Documentation from Totaled Vehicle

When our vehicle was involved in a hard-hit fender bender, our car was totaled. I keep in this file our original bill of sale, our loan paperwork, the notes from the accident, the proof of the loan paid in full, the bill of sale to the insurance company, and a copy of the check from the insurance company. Should we need to access this information, these documents are housed in this file slot.

Documentation from Trade-In Vehicle

We had purchased a vehicle, used it, and then traded it in to a dealer when we purchased our next vehicle. This packet of documents includes the original bill of sale, copy of the title, and bill of sale to the dealership. These documents are stapled together and included in this set of miscellaneous documents.

All four of these stapled packets of older documents are paper clipped together and housed behind the incident reports in this last file opening in my box 1 of important documents. Wow, this box is now complete!

As you add the final documents to this file, you will have a completed file! Congratulations on getting your important documents gathered, organized, and filed in one location. Enjoy the moment! Now when you need a document from this file, you will know exactly where it is located. Great job using time wisely! What an accomplishment!

Question: Did you finish organizing your first box of important documents? If so, leave me a comment, so I can congratulate you personally!

On-Line Shopping: Discounted Gift Cards – Part 4 of 5

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Photograph Credit: Flickr (ideas4Christmas2010)

Having heard of discounted gift cards but not knowing where to obtain them, I have not used them. However, after doing some research for this series (since I will not recommend something without personally trying it or reading about successes from others), I am ready to try this money saving technique.

Thus far in our series, we have stacked our savings by using cash-back sites, free shipping codes, and promotional codes. Today, I will share the research I have found with discounted gift cards.

#4: Purchasing Discounted Gift Cards

There are gift cards to retailers that are sold for less than their face value. Yes, you can purchase them, too. For example, I could have purchased a $25 J.C. Penney gift card for about $21.50 (15% discount). I could have then made my purchase shopping through Shopathome.com (cash-back site), received free shipping by selecting FREE SHIP TO STORE, and inserted the promotional code. Then at checkout, I could have selected payment by gift card and then used the $25 card to pay for the purchase. Though I did not use this option for this purchase, I will be taking advantage of these discounted gift cards for future sales.

Knowing that discounted gift cards are available, I can recommend two sites for purchasing them:

1. Giftcardgranny.com. This site offers different percentages of savings for each card. You can select which card you desire to purchase, but check the shipping since some are free while others are not.

2. Plasticjungle.com. This site seems to offer a flat set percentage of savings for each card to a particular store. Some of these cards are e-code (on-line cards) while others are physical. If you purchase a physical card, you will receive the card via mail. The e-code versions can be used right away on-line.

By purchasing discounted gift cards you can continue stretching your dollars while stacking your savings. In using time wisely to shop on-line, you can save money, energy, and time by incorporating these stackable savings strategies. Come back next week for the conclusion of this money saving series. In the meantime, continue stretching your dollars!

Question: Have you purchased discounted gift cards? Would love to hear about your experience.

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