Bacon Turkey

Want something yummy for Thanksgiving? Worried about how to cook a turkey? Well, keep this one in mind for your next event!

You need:

A turkey. Bigger is better. Once you heat up the oven, why not cook as big a bird as you can find?
1 apple
1 onion (I use sweet onion, like vidalia)
3 pieces of celery
1 pound of thin-sliced bacon
olive oil
salt, pepper

Take the giblets and neck out of the thawed or fresh turkey. Place in your roaster pan. Set oven according to the package (usually 325 degrees).
Cut up apple, onion, and celery. Place loosely in cavities, both ends.
Rub turkey with plenty of olive oil- breasts, legs, and wings.
Sprinkle on salt and pepper generously. I sometimes put thyme on my turkey, too. This year I used seasoned salt and seasoned pepper.
Place in oven and roast according to the package. A 20-pound bird usually takes about 4 1/2 hours. DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN. DO NOT BASTE. Opening the oven loses all the heat, and then your turkey takes longer to cook and will get dry.
45 minutes before your expected end time, open the oven, pull bird close to you. Cover bird with bacon, strip-by-strip. Don't forget the legs. The turkey will look bacon-stripey. Overlap the bacon slices slightly for a good seal. Maneuover around your pop-up thingee if the turkey has one.
Close the oven back up. If this took you a while, you may want to add some time to the cooking- about ten minutes.

Pull the bird out of the oven, and let it stand 15-20 minutes before slicing. Yummy!

It works! Pumpkin Butter

This was a LOT yummier than I ever dreamed it would be.

1 29-oz can of pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie mix).
3/4 cup apple juice
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Cook in your slow-cooker for 4-6 hours, until you achieve desired thickness.

Alternatives:
No slow-cooker? No problem! Combine everything in a large saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low or medium-low, and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring constantly. For thicker sauce, simmer longer.

If you over-thicken, just add a little extra apple juice to thin it out.

Use Splenda instead of sugar. You may need to cook it a little extra time to get the thickening.

Play with the spices. Like it spicier? Add some ginger! Some folks prefer allspice or pumpkin spice to this mix. I am a particular fan of nutmeg, so I sometime put in some extra. ;)

Want fresh pumpkin? It will taste better! Take 4-5 small pie pumpkins, cut in them into halves (or quarters), and place into the slow cooker for 4 hours, then scoop out the flesh and blend or puree (or mash with a potato masher. Or I use a hand mixer.) You can also bake the fresh pumpkin- place the pumpkins flesh-side-down in a roasting pan with a cup of water. Bake at 350 degrees for about 90 minutes. Scoop and puree.


NOTE: Even if you can this, it MUST BE REFRIGERATED. It should last 4-6 months in your fridge if sealed.