Sometimes knowing that other women, mothers, sisters, friends, and care takers just like us face the same battles of what to make for dinner. Be it our task/chore/burden/or hobby of what to make for our families to eat each day sometimes it just seem easier to bear when you have a good recipe recommended from a "GIRLFRIEND"; they provide us with the boost to get over the lack of motivation or stumbling blocks in our way and get dinner on the table!


The number of those who report that their “whole family usually eats dinner together” has declined 33 percent. This is most concerning because the time a family spends together “eating meals at home [is] the strongest predictor of children’s academic achievement and psychological adjustment.”

Family mealtimes have also been shown to be a strong bulwark against children’s smoking, drinking, or using drugs. There is inspired wisdom in this advice to parents: what your children really want for dinner is you.

Elder Dallin H. Oaks Good, Better, Best (Nov. 2007)

Two researchers at the University of Minnesota investigated the potential benefits of family mealtimes on children and found that families that dine together tend to have healthier, more well-adjusted children. Their studies indicate that the more often children and teens west with their parents—and the happier, more structured these mealtimes are—the more the children gain these benefits:


Better Nutrition

Better language and literacy

Fewer Eating Disorders

Fewer risky behaviors


The national center on addiction and substance abuse at Columbia University (sept 2005) found that compared with teens who dine frequently with their families (Five to seven dinners a week), teens who have fewer than three family dinners per week are:

Two and a half times likelier to smoke cigarettes

More than on e and a half times likelier to drink alcohol.

Almost three times likelier to try marijuana


“….Mealtime becomes a way for families to bond. To show children they have access to a caring adult.” (The Food Nanny Rescues Dinner p. 11)


So as Women, Sisters, Daughters, Wives, Mothers, Grandmothers we can not put a price on the work that we do. Dinner hours and menus can be daunting at times and others it feels like a breeze. As we gather together and share in our love for caring for our families and enjoying the connections we have with them as we sit around the dinner tables of our homes. I hope that each of us can step back occasionally on those hard mommy days and “Believe in what we are doing! Believing in who we are and that we can make a difference one meal at a time.

~ Jill


Thursday, October 22, 2015

Brined Turkey

Brining your turkey makes the bird incredibly moist. We have tried various recipes over the years and enjoyed them all. I think it is because they make the bird so MOIST and give it incredible flavor. This is a recipe I use when I have forgotten to put the bird in the brine days ahead. ;-) 

Brined Turkey (Roast or Smoke the Bird)-Jill Carpenter
Brine Ingredients:
2 gallons water
1 1/2 cups canning/pickling salt
3 Tablespoons minced garlic (I used jarred, but wish it were FRESH)
1 Tablespoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup packed brown sugar

In a 5 gallon bucket or container large enough to hold your turkey, mix together the water, salt, garlic, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and brown sugar. (I personally lined my 5 gallon bucket with a food safe bag-aka clean garbage bag. This helps with clean up and you can also twist the bag up tight so that the brine is completely surrounding the turkey.) Store in a refrigerator, and soak turkey for at least 12 hours (most recipes I read said at least 1 day some up to 2 days). I personally don't have that much room in my fridge for it. A blessing of living in Northern Wyoming was that I could leave my bucket outside because it has been below 40 degrees. If you don't have room or the option having it be cold outside. Put it in a cooler with ice packs on it to keep the bird refrigerated at least at 40 degrees.


After brining is complete. Remove the bird from the brine and rinse well with cold water. Pat dry. Cook bird according to package directions. Our was in a 325 degree oven for 3-4 hours for a 16.5 lb bird. Remove the lid the last 30 minutes for browning and frequent temperature checking.
Posted by at
Labels: , , ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)