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Recipes

How To Make an Easy and Delicious Turkey Dinner with Sides and Dessert (for 4-6 people)

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December 8, 2013 | Post a Comment
Turkey dinner for the holidays

When we make our holiday turkey dinners for Thanksgiving and Christmas, we don't make too much of an effort, but it comes out delicious every time! Our dinners are usually for four people, but we always have leftovers for a couple of days, so this will probably serve up to six hungry people.

List of what we use to make our holiday turkey dinners:

Click on any of the items below to see a review / how we cook each of them!

TURKEY (and gravy):

  • Turkey: 4.75 lb. Butterball frozen boneless roast turkey from Costco with gravy packet

    • SIDES:

  • Salad: Quick, easy, and delicious salad
  • Bread: Loaf of french bread/baguette (we get them from Beyond Bread in Tucson)
  • Mashed Potatoes: Twin pack (56 oz) of Main St. Bistro Mashed Potatoes from Costco
  • Stuffing: 2 - 6oz boxes of Stove Top Cornbread Stuffing
  • Green Beans: 24oz bag of Trader Joe's French Green Beans / Haricot Vert
  • Corn Pudding: 15oz box of Trader Joe's Corn Pudding

    • DESSERT:

  • Ice Cream: Dreyer's Vanilla & Chocolate Grand Ice Cream
  • Pie: Fresh Baked Pumpkin Pie from Costco

    • Plate of delicious turkey dinner
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    RECIPE – How to Make a Quick, Easy, Delicious Salad

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    December 5, 2013 | Post a Comment
    Salad toppings

    We usually make a pretty simple salad with just a few toppings. It is a quick, easy, and delicious (Q.E.D.!) salad that is also a great salad for the holidays! The salad only takes about fifteen minutes to put together. We put all our toppings in separate bowls because not everyone likes everything, and that way people can pick and choose what they want.

    How to make an easy, holiday salad (4-5 people):

    Ingredients we use:

  • One container of 16 oz/1 lb Baby Spring Mix
  • 3 bell peppers (we usually use 3 different colors)
  • One bag of frozen Birds Eye Steamfresh Sweet Peas
  • One 5 oz. bag of Ocean Spray Craisins
  • Candied/Spiced nuts (my boyfriend's mom usually makes these, but I think Trader Joe's might have some)
  • Any type of salad dressing


    • 1. Wash the lettuce (we usually use a salad spinner) and put it in a bowl with a paper towel underneath (to absorb the moisture). You can take out the paper towel when you are serving the salad.

    2. Chop up the bell peppers and put them in a bowl.

    3. Microwave the frozen Steamfresh peas for about 4 minutes. When you take them out of the microwave, let them sit for one minute, then put the peas in a container of cold water to let them cool off (so they don't end up wilting the lettuce).

    4. Put dried cranberries / Craisins in a bowl.

    5. Put candied/spiced nuts in a bowl.

    6. Leave out salad dressing or put some in a bowl.

    7. Put out all the bowls and enjoy!
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    RECIPE – How to Cook 4.75 / 5 lb Boneless Turkey Breast on the Grill

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    December 1, 2013 | Post a Comment
    Cup of Butterball Gravy
    Butterball Gravy in Gravy Boat

    Below is how my boyfriend and I cook a 4.75-pound Butterball Boneless Turkey Breast Roast on a gas grill... as stated in my review, we usually cook it for Thanksgiving dinner for four of us, and it turns out delicious!

    I also added how we cook the Butterball gravy packet in the microwave + oven at the bottom of this post.

    How We Cook a 4.75-5 lb Boneless Turkey Breast:

    Main items needed:

  • Grill
  • 4.75-5 lb Turkey Breast (we use frozen Butterball turkey breast)
  • Dish, Foil pan, spatula, meat thermometer
  • Olive oil or sunflower oil
  • Pam / butter spray

    • 1. If the turkey breast is frozen, thaw it (unopened) in the refrigerator for 36 - 48 hours beforehand.

    2. Preheat grill to maximum (all burners) for 10 minutes or so, so that the grill heat is high (higher than 550 degrees).

    3. Cut open the turkey packaging (leaving the netting on the turkey), put gravy packet off to the side.

    4. Rinse turkey with cool water.

    5. Put the turkey in a dish (we use a glass Pyrex dish) and pat the turkey dry with a paper towel on all sides.

    6. Pour olive oil or sunflower oil on the back of the turkey and pat the oil all around.

    7. Spray Pam or a butter spray on bottom of a foil pan & place turkey in it.

    8. While grill is at high temperature, place the foil pan (with the turkey fatty side down) on the grill to sear in the moisture.

    9. Turn off the middle burner and reduce heat on the left and right burners to minimum heat.

    10. Until the internal grill temperature becomes a steady 330-350 degrees Fahrenheit, move turkey around with spatulas for one minute every 3 minutes or so (may take 15-20 minutes).

    11. Once it reaches the steady 330-350 degrees F, rotate the turkey so that the fatty side is on the top, and close the grill lid.

    12. Check on the grill and the turkey every half hour or so -- maybe make some sides or gravy while waiting.

    13. If you place a meat thermometer in the middle of the turkey, the turkey's temperature should be around 85 degrees F or so after 1 hour.

    14. After approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes when the turkey's temperature is at 160 degrees F, the turkey should be done! (If you have a 5lb turkey rather than a 4.75lb one, it may take longer)

    15. Put the turkey on a plate and shortly before eating, slice it with a sharp knife with the grain of the turkey -- you shouldn't have to use much force because the Butterball turkeys are very tender!

    16. If there are any parts that look pinkish or look like they might not be cooked all the way, place those parts in the oven at 325 degrees for a few minutes.

    17. Enjoy your turkey!

    How We Cook the Butterball Turkey Gravy Packet (using a microwave - then placed in the oven)

    Cup of Butterball Gravy
    Butterball Gravy in Gravy Boat

    Main items needed:

  • Gravy packet
  • Water
  • Measuring cup
  • Microwave
  • Oven

    • 1. If you thawed the turkey in the refrigerator, the gravy should be thawed, too. If it's still frozen and not in a liquid state, run it under warm water first.

    2. Pour gravy packet ("turkey juices") into a measuring cup

    3. Add water to make a total of 1 3/4 cup of liquid

    4. Mix it up

    5. Warm up in microwave for 5-6 minutes to get it to a boil

    6. Place the gravy in oven for 20-30 minutes at 325 degrees F

    7. Mix it again

    8. Set it out for everyone to enjoy!
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