Herb roasted turkey

This was my first turkey EVER!  I was so nervous but it turned out perfect, so moist & not dry at all!  It had wonderful flavor too :)  I will definitely make this again!

12 lb whole turkey (Mine was 20 I just had to cook a little longer)
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 tbsp garlic powder
2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp poultry seasoning
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 cups chicken broth or stock

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven  to 325 degrees.  Clean turkey (discard giblets and organs), and place in roasting pan with a lid.  (I did mine in a roaster)

2.  In a small bowl, combine olive oil, melted butter, and seasonings.  Using a basting brush, apply the mixture to the outside of the uncooked turkey.  Poor chicken broth in the bottom of the roasting pan and cover.  (I also injected mine with the mixture)

3.  Bake for 3 to 3 1/2 hours or until the internal temp of the thickest part of the thigh measures 180 degrees F.  Remove bird from oven and allow to stand for about 30 minutes before carving.  (Since I had an extra 8 lbs on my turkey, I cooked an extra hour and just kept checking the temp til it hit 180)

I found the original recipe on allrecipes.com but after reading reviews, changed it a little to my liking.

Turkey Veggie Tray

 Found this cute idea on Pinterest!  This was an easy project, cutting up the veggies was really the hardest part lol.  And it's a fun project for the kiddos to help out with!  Mine got a kick out of it!

Here's what we used:

1 bag celery

2 bags of the cut up broccoli & cauliflower

1 bag mini carrots

1 red bell pepper

1 green bell pepper

1 yellow bell pepper

2 cucumbers

1 cheese ball

For the face I just used pieces of an olive for the eyes, and a red bell pepper for the head, and the yellow bell pepper for the beak.  

I also put some ranch on the side for those that prefer that over the cheese ball and a bowl of olives on the side too :)

Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake

This was my first year having Thanksgiving at my house.  I was a bit nervous about the whole thing, what if the turkey was dry?  What if I didn't make enough food for everyone?  Or burned something?  But I am so proud of myself because everything turned out amazing!

I had never made a cheese cake.  Or a pumpkin pie.  Or home made pie crust.  BUT I did all of that in this one delicious recipe (Well, 2 actually.  Crust and the pie).  Every body loved it!  It is definitely a keeper and the pie crust was awesome!  

I found both recipes on www.allrecipes.com :)

Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake:

2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

1 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crust

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 pinch ground cloves

1 pinch ground nutmeg

1/2 cup frozen whipped topping, thawed

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 325 degrees F

2.  In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar and vanilla.  Beat until smooth.  Blend in eggs one at a time.  Remove 1 cup of batter and spread into bottom of crust; set aside.

3.  Add pumpkin, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg to the remaining batter and stir gently until well blended.  Carefully spread over the batter in the crust.

4.  Bake in preheated oven for 35-40 minutes or until center is almost set.  Allow to cool, then refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight.  Cover with whipped topping before serving.

Pie crust:

1 1/2 cups finely ground graham cracker crumbs

1/3 cup white sugar

6 tbsp butter, melted

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 

Directions:

1.  Mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar, melted butter or margarine, and cinnamon until well blended.  Press mixture into an 8 or 9 inch pie plate.

2.  Bake at 375 degrees F for 7 minutes.  Cool.  If the recipe calls for unbaked pie shell, just chill for one hour.