Thanksgiving Doesn't Have to Come Only Once a Year

Holiday meals are awesome, right?  In that loosen-your-belt-buckle comforting kind of way.  Why is it that we only think to make these awesome dishes a couple of times a year?  Turkey isn't bad for us and is relatively easy to prepare.  Mashed potatoes are delicious.  And honestly, if you don't like cranberry sauce I'm not sure we can be friends.

Ok, we can...but still...*sigh* boy are you missing out.  Not that jelly stuff, though that will do in a pinch...real, delicious, cranberry sauce.

Can the Allstars program partner with Ocean Spray one of these days?  I could be their poster girl.  Seriously.

Anyway, once again I've gone off topic just a tad :-)

My in-laws flew in from Dallas yesterday, and I thought this family time was the perfect time to try out Butterball®'s Maple Basted Roast Turkey with Cranberry Pan Gravy.

Ohmywow.

This stuff is so ridiculously good- and that's with me taking cheapskate shortcuts.

I may have mentioned before that I'm a tad bit frugal...I really didn't feel like spending $6 on a small bottle of real maple syrup, so I just went with Mrs. Butterworth's.

lol Don't let me lose you now, I promise this meal was fanfreakingtastic.  

I also didn't have fresh sage, so I just went with dried.  It was still amazing.

I'm not really a pro when it comes to cooking whole turkey, or any kind of whole poultry for that matter, but this was so easy even I couldn't mess it up.

The turkey was perfect- perfectly moist and perfectly flavored.  It came with a package of turkey gravy mix stuff that I didn't even use, the cranberry gravy was so amazing.  I kept the basic flavors the recipe called for, but I diverged from the original recipe a little by using fresh cranberries and adding a little OJ, brown sugar, and cinnamon.

EVERYONE raved.  They covered their turkey with it.  They smothered their potatoes.  They dragged their carrots through it.  Then they talked about how good it would be on stuffing.

lol Too bad I didn't think to make stuffing today!

Turkey Tuesday was a success, as was our Thanksgiving dinner in September.  So much so, in fact, that I think I'll be volunteering to prepare the turkey this year for the real Thanksgiving!

Honestly, this is one meal I can get behind 100%.  Kudos to Butterball® on this one!

Maple Basted Roast Turkey

with Cranberry Pan Gravy

From Allrecipes.com

1 (12 pound) Butterball® Turkey, thawed if frozen

8 fresh sage leaves

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

2/3 cup pure maple syrup

2 1/2 cups chicken broth

2 cups cranberry juice

2 tablespoons cornstarch

3/4 cup sweetened dried cranberries

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

2. Remove neck and giblets from body and neck cavities of turkey. Refrigerate for other use or discard. Drain juices from turkey. Pat dry with paper towels. Turn wings back to hold neck skin against back of turkey. Place turkey, breast up, on flat roasting rack in shallow roasting pan. Place 4 sage leaves under skin on both sides of breast. Place turkey on shallow rack in pan. Brush all of skin with lemon juice.

3. Bake approximately 3-1/2 hours, or until meat thermometer reaches 180 degrees F when inserted in deepest part of thigh. Cover breast and top of drumsticks with aluminum foil after two hours to prevent overcooking of breast.

4. During the last 30 minutes of baking, baste the turkey with maple syrup every 15 minutes.

Remove turkey from roasting pan and let rest while preparing gravy.

5. Place roasting pan on burners over medium heat. Add 1/2 cup of the broth. Bring to boiling, while scrapping dripping from bottom of pan. Remove pan from heat. Strain mixture into a large saucepan.

Stir 1-1/2 cups of the broth and cranberry juice into saucepan. Bring to boiling on medium heat, stirring frequently; reduce heat to medium-low.

6. Stir cornstarch into remaining 1/2 cup broth. Gradually stir into simmering mixture. Stir in cranberries. Simmer, stirring frequently, 5 minutes.

7. Carve turkey and serve with gravy.

 Disclaimer

I am an Allrecipes Allstar Brand Ambassador (a voluntary position) and I’m not compensated for my work with Allrecipes.com.

Products received from advertiser are only used for experienced-based reviews on Sunny Days With My Loves. The reviews, content and opinions expressed in this blog are purely the sole opinions of Nora.