I know how it is John - my chest freezer has a turkey, a couple of whole chickens, 3 3.5lb pork roasts, chops, steaks, a couple of pies, lots of frozen veggies in microwavable bags, coffee, cranberries, etc. I can't fit a thing more in it! I've also been pickling green tomatoes and peppers for a fundraiser at the beginning of Nov, couldn't see canning them so my fridge is full too. Almost couldn't fit the leftover chili in from last night (though it wasn't from approved recipe so couldn't can the 4-5C I had left ;-))! Ah, well, maybe some day (gotta work on that doomsday shelter - my DB said if things got bad he was going to grab his 2 kids, his GF and his GF's kid and come here!). I've got the dehydrator now - but I'm tempted to spend the next $75 on a steam juicer, not a PC. BTW, I understood that you threw away the fat ;-)

OMG - don't forget Sol's Caramel chicken!!!!!!! If you look through, I think just the previous WFD thread, she posted a pic. Of course, her pic will sell you quicker than mine will - lol. This stuff is to die for. YUMMMMMMM Chicken in Caramel Sauce - Sol This recipe is from the Washington Post, which adapted it from a recipe from the Slanted Door restaurant that appeared in a cookbook called The Secrets of Success: Signature Recipes and Insider Tips from San Frans Best Restaurants by Michael Bauer 1/2 C packed dark brown sugar 1/4 C water 1/4 C Asian fish sauce 3 T rice vinegar 1 tsp minced garlic 1 tsp soy sauce 1 tsp thinly sliced fresh ginger 1/2 to 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper (1/2 usually enough for me) 2 small chili peppers, fresh or dried, halved (I always use fresh) 1 T canola oil 1 shallot thinly sliced 1 1/2 - 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast or thigh meat, cut into bite-size pieces (can use a combo of light and dark meat, if you prefer) In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, water, fish sauce, vinegar, garlic, soy sauce, ginger, pepper, and chilis, and mix well. Set aside. Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat (can also use a wok, but Ive had better luck w/a skillet). Add shallot and cook, stirring, until brown, about 5 minutes. Add chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned on each side but not cooked through, about 5 minutes. Stir the reserved sauce mixture and add to skillet. Bring mixture to boil, reduce heat to med-low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is reduced by about half and the chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes. Remove and discard the chili peppers. Remove pan from heat, set aside until sauce has thickened and cooled slightly, about 3 minutes. Serve with rice. Note: This is traditionally a Vietnamese dish. If you havent cooked w/fish sauce before, youll notice that its pretty stinky before its cooked (!), but when the sauce is all together it gives it a really distinctive flavor that would be difficult to duplicate without it. Im able to get it in my local grocery store, but if you cant, then Asian markets will be sure to have it. The dish can be more spicy or less, depending what you do w/the pepper and chilis. If I want it less spicy, I remove all the seeds from the chilis before adding them to the sauce. This time, I left most of the seeds in, and it was very spicy. Probably theres a happy medium and it would be spicy enough w/about half the seeds. If you prefer it to be more sweet than spicy, remove all the seeds and use a bit less black pepper (even tho I like it spicy, I never need more than 1/2 tsp of pepper). ((One problem I have is that the chicken is usually done faster than the sauce is reduced. It doesnt particularly suffer as a result, but it would probably help if I used a larger skillet so the chicken could brown faster while cooking for a shorter time. )) I'm not sure whose note this is! Enjoy!

Mike : I alway make a simple stuffing, for me, Stove Top has too much Sage. I make my own Bread Cubes and Crumbs from Italian Bread or rolls. Cube them and place them in a warm oven til dried. Store in containers. To make Crumbs Place the cubes in a one Quart Zip Lock Bag and beat the hell out of them with a Rolling Pin and roll ' until you have what you want. - - - - - - - - - - Stuffing: For the Stuffing I dice 1 cup of Onion and 1 cup of Celery. put it in a micro Safe bowl, with 2 tablespoons of water and nuke til softened a little. Nuke them from 2 to 3 minutes. I a large bowl put 3 cups of Bread Crumbs and Cubes. Sprinkle with a heaping Teaspoon of Garlic Powder and Onion Powder. Add 1/3 cup of Parmesan or Romano Cheese. 1 tablespoon of Parsley Flakes some Black pepper and a Pinch of Old Bay ( Optional ) Dump in the cooled Onion and Celery, mix it good. To wet this mess. In a cup of Warm water add a heaping Tablespoon of Chicken Soup Base and 1 egg. beat this and add to the Crumb Mix. Add whatever water needed to dampen. Don't make it too wet!!! That's it !!! Variations : Add chopped up simmered Italian Sausage, Mushrooms, Etc. Use you imagination !!!! LOU

I agree on the pinkness. You can also get a pinky tinge depending on what the bird has been eating. If the texture is smooth and soft and glossy, it's under done. If it's cooked turkey texture, it's cooked. :) I can't deal with all the turkey gymnastics that other people put their birds through. The whole point for me is that it starts early and doesn't need any fussing. Mine goes on a short, silicone covered rack in my "goosepot", which is basically a 15 qt. Le Creuset oval dutch oven. I should say that I always start with a top quality, free range bird, usually about 22 lbs. in the Spring, which means it has defrosted for a few days in the fridge, there being no fresh turkeys that size at Passover time. Recently, I gave up on stuffing, which also shortens the cooking time so I may go back. Without stuffing, I put a lemon and a broken up tarragon branch in the cavity, and a blend of dried herbs and maybe garlic pepper, shaken all around. I don't know that it makes a difference, but it feels like cooking. :) A bottle of cheap (palatable) white table wine in the bottom of the pot. My birds are always too big for the pot lid, so I do the loose tent of heavy duty Reynolds Wrap. Just a sheet of foil, dangling loosely. Then I put it in the oven for the proper amount of time for the size of the bird, take it out, let it rest, and get one of the guys to carve because I'm way too busy at that point to care what happens to it. But it is always gloriously, beautifully brown and juicy. Not crispy skinned. We don't eat the skin, but it is appetizing looking. Because I have a tight fit in the roaster, and the wine in the bottom, people will tell you I'm steaming, rather than roasting the turkey. Fine by me. It tastes good. :) And one year I did six turkey breasts and thighs in the steam oven because I needed more turkey and the big oven for something else. :) I know you know how to cook. Maybe the trick is to not try so hard?