How to Cook a Turkey {in an Oven Bag}

Easy Thanksgiving Roasted Turkey! Here you’ll learn all you need to know to cook the perfect juicy and tender turkey, the secret starts with an oven bag. It’s a breeze to prepare and it turns out delicious every time following a few simple steps!

How to Cook Turkey {In an Oven Bag}

• Servings: 12 -24
• Prep Time 15 minutes
• Cook Time 3 hours
• Cool Time 20 minutes
• Total Time 3 hours 35 minutes

Ingredients

• 12 - 24 lb. turkey (fresh or frozen and fully thawed)
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 3 garlic cloves, minced (1 Tbsp)
• 1 tsp dried thyme, or 1 Tbsp chopped fresh*
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 4 celery ribs, chopped into 2-inch pieces
• 1 large yellow onion, peeled and chopped into chunks
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped into 2-inch pieces

Instructions

1. Move oven rack one level below center and preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a small mixing bowl stir together butter, garlic, thyme and season with a little salt and pepper.
3. Remove neck and giblets from turkey and remove any pin feathers left behind. Tuck wings under turkey. Season cavity of turkey with salt and pepper.
4. Using the back end of a wooden spoon separate turkey breast skin from breast. Rub butter underneath skin (again I just use the back end of the spoon), smooth over skin to spread butter out. Altnerately you can just rub butter over skin but I feel it seasons better when rubbed underneath.
5. Season all over turkey with a fair amount of salt and pepper.
6. Add 1 Tbsp flour to the Reynolds Kitchens Turkey Size Oven Bag and shake. Place oven bag in a roasting pan, add celery, onion and carrots to oven bag. Place turkey over vegetable layer in oven bag.
7. Close oven bag with the oven safe tie included. Cut 6 slits across top of the oven bag to allow steam to escape then tuck ends of oven bag into the pan.
8. Cook unstuffed turkey according to size (thickest portion of thigh and breast should register 165 degrees in several places on an instant read thermometer):
   12 - 16 lb turkey: 2 - 2 1/4 hours
   16 - 20 lb turkey: 2 1/4 - 2 1/2 hours
   20 - 24 lb turkey: 2 1/2 - 3 hours
9. Let turkey rest 20 minutes. Carefully cut top of oven bag open, transfer turkey to carving board and carve.

Recipe Notes

• Plan about 1 lb of turkey per person, for example a 12 lb. turkey should feed about 12 people, a 24 lb. turkey should feed about 24 people.
• To thaw a frozen turkey allow about 24 hours for ever 5 pounds of turkey thawing in a refrigerator set to 40 degrees. I like to add an extra day just to be safe. A fully thawed turkey can be held in the refrigerator 2 more days.
• *Other herbs work great here including parsley, rosemary, sage or marjoram. You can also add lemon zest to the butter mixture if desired.
• Ensure that oven bag does not touch top element or sides of oven or it can melt.

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Creamy Lemon Romano Chicken

Creamy Lemon Romano Chicken – one of the best ways to make chicken! You get golden brown and tender, pan seared chicken breasts that are blanketed with a bright and creamy, lemon and Romano cheese flavored sauce. This recipe is so easy to prepare and perfect for busy weekdays, yet it’s so delicious it’s worthy of serving to guests on the weekend too!

This recipe is sponsored by Swanson however all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Creamy Lemon Romano Chicken

• Servings: 4
• Prep Time 15 minutes
• Cook Time 18 minutes
• Total Time 33 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 (11 - 12 oz) boneless skinless chicken breasts*
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced (2 tsp)
• 1 cup + 1 Tbsp Swanson Chicken Broth, divided
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 2 1/2 tsp cornstarch
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup (1.5 oz) finely shredded Pecorino Romano cheese
• 1 1/2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Instructions

1. Pound thicker parts of chicken breasts out even, to about 1/2-inch thickness.
2. Heat olive oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat.
3. In a shallow dish whisk together flour with 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper. Dredge both sides of chicken breast in flour mixture then transfer to heated skillet.
4. Cook until center reaches 165 in center of each piece, about 6 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to plate tent with foil.
5. Add garlic to skillet set over medium heat, saute until just light golden brown (not browned and burnt), about 30 seconds. Pour in 1 cup chicken broth, lemon juice and basil.
6. Let broth mixture simmer and reduce by about half, about 2 minutes. Stir together 1 Tbsp chicken broth with cornstarch pour into broth mixture and cook stirring constantly until slightly thickened, about 30 seconds.
7. Pour in cream then reduce to low, add Romano cheese and cook just until melted.
8. Return chicken to sauce, spoon sauce over chicken. Serve warm garnished with parsley.

Recipe Notes

• *4 (6 oz) chicken breasts will work too, no splitting is necessary. Just pound to an even 1/2-inch thickness.

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Hawaiian Huli Huli Chicken

Delicious Huli Huli Chicken! Tender chicken thighs are marinated in a sweet and tangy, ketchup and soy based sauce, then cooked on the grill for an added light char. 

Huli Huli Chicken

• Servings: 9 servings
• Prep Time 15 minutes
• Cook Time 15 minutes
• Marinating Time 2 hours
• Total Time 2 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup ketchup
• 1/3 cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar*
• 2 Tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 Tbsp sriracha (optional)
• 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp sesame oil, or more to taste
• 1 1/2 Tbsp minced garlic
• 1 1/2 Tbsp peeled and minced fresh ginger
• 3 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of visible fat (use about 4 oz thighs, 9 pieces)
• Vegetable oil (or olive oil) for brushing grill grates

Instructions

1. In a medium mixing bowl whisk together ketchup, soy sauce, brown sugar, rice vinegar, sriracha, Worcestershire, sesame oil, garlic and ginger. Season with a little salt and pepper if preferred. Remove 1/4 cup of the marinade to a bowl and refrigerate.
2. Place chicken in a medium bowl or gallon size resealable bag. Pour remaining marinade over chicken then toss to coat then press down into marinade. Seal bag while pressing out excess air (if using a bag).
3. Transfer to refrigerator and let marinate at least 2 hours and up to 8 hours.
4. Preheat a gas grill over medium heat. Clean grill grates and brush with vegetable oil.
5. Grill chicken on preheated grill, turning and basting with reserved 1/4 cup marinade occasionally, until it reaches 165 degrees in center, approximately 15 minutes. If chicken isn't browning enough you can increase heat near the end of grilling.
6. Serve warm garnished with green onions if desired. Optionally serve with coconut rice, fresh pineapple and grilled mini peppers.

Recipe Notes

• 2 1/2 Tbsp brown sugar and 2 1/2 Tbsp honey can be used if preferred.
• This same recipe will work great for 2 lbs of chicken thighs (6 thighs) if you only need 6 servings.
• Chicken breasts will work in place of chicken thighs. Use smaller ones (about 6 oz) and pound to an even thickness. Test temp in center to 165 for doneness.

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Chicken Marsala {with Creamy Marsala Sauce}

Chicken Marsala with a creamy sauce! This classic Italian-American chicken recipe includes tender, perfectly pan seared chicken cutlets, and flavor enhancing browned mushrooms, and it’s all covered with a richly seasoned marsala wine, garlic and herb sauce.

Chicken Marsala

Servings: 4

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups dry marsala wine*
• 1 1/4 cups unsalted chicken broth
• 2 (10 - 11 oz) boneless skinless chicken breasts, butterflied and halved, pounded to an even thickness
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 8 oz. cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced (1 Tbsp)
• 1 tsp minced fresh thyme (or scant 1/2 tsp dried)
• 1 tsp minced fresh oregano (or scant 1/2 tsp dried)
• 1 1/2 tsp cornstarch whisked with 1 Tbsp chicken broth (in a small bowl until well combined)
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 1 Tbsp minced fresh parsley

Instructions

1. Add marsala wine and chicken broth to a medium saucepan. Heat over medium-high heat, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and let gently boil until reduced to 1 cup**, about 15 minutes.

2. Meanwhile season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge each side in flour mixture.

3. Melt 1 Tbsp butter with 1 Tbsp olive oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken pieces and let sear until cooked through (165 in center), turning once halfway through, about 10 - 12 minutes.

4. Transfer chicken to a plate. Tent with foil.

5. Reduce burner temperature to medium heat. Melt remaining 1 Tbsp butter with 1 Tbsp olive oil, add mushrooms.

6. Sauté mushrooms, just tossing occasionally (and increasing burner temp slightly as needed to encourage browning), until mushrooms have shrunk and are golden brown, about 8 minutes. Add garlic during last 1 minute of sautéing.

7. Remove pan from heat then pour in marsala reduction***, thyme and oregano.

8. Return to heat, bring to a simmer, while scraping up browned bits from the bottom, then stir in cornstarch chicken broth mixture. Stir until thickened****.

9. Off heat stir in heavy cream, season sauce with salt and pepper to taste. Return chicken breasts to pan, spoon sauce over top.

10. Sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately.

Recipe Notes

• *If you want a more mild marsala flavor in the dish you can reduce marsala wine down to 3/4 cup and then increase chicken broth to 1 3/4 cups.

• **If by chance it was accidentally reduced to less than 1 cup then just add more chicken broth to reach 1 cup.
• ***Depending on the wine you may also want to add a pinch or two of sugar if it has no sweetness to it to balance the acidity.
• ****If sauce seems a little thick add a splash of chicken broth, if its seems a little thin you can add in a little extra cornstarch mixed with broth.

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Chicken Nicoise Salad Platter

  

It was so lovely and sunny today that I decided to make us a salad for our supper.  I loosely based the flavours on a traditional Nicoise Salad (which uses Tuna), but used chicken instead and added some potatoes for my Carb Loving husband! 

 

My version was low carb, which meant no potatoes. Instead I had some leftover steamed asparagus that I used and some sliced cooked beetroot. In all truth I could not finish it, and it was delicious!

 

I have only recently discovered that you can roast frozen beans on a baking tray at the same time you roast other things like potatoes or meat.  They come out beautifully.  A bit caramelised on the edges, perfectly cooked, and the flavour is fantastic!

 

To be honest I have never been overly fond of frozen beans, but this way I love them.  We are funny in our family, we like tinned beans . . .  that's what we were brought up on.

 

I had some leftover Rotisserie Chicken from one we had bought at Costco.  This is the chicken I used. You could  could a couple of chicken breasts if you don't have any leftover. But the Rotisserie Chicken is lovely.

 

Roasted fingerling potatoes  . . .  just tossed with a bit of olive oil and seasoning and roasted along with the beans.  Perfect.

 

Ideally you should use Nicoise Olives, but I didn't have any. I did have a mix of Kalamata and Green with small cubes of feta cheese.  This is what I used. Yum!

 

Hard boiled eggs . . .  I always use free-range eggs.  Its the least I can do.  I refuse to support an industry that is inhumane, and if I can find them I use RS PCB approved.  Then I know for sure that they are really produced humanely.  Want to know my secret to perfectly cooked hard boiled eggs. Its a electric egg boiler just like this one.  They turn out perfectly no matter the degree of doneness you wish, every single time.

 

The dressing is a very simple one.  Just lemon juice, white wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, olive oil,  seasonings and fresh herbs.  A simple vinaigrette.  The original used 1 tsp of granulated sugar, which if you are not bothered you can use.  I am bothered so I used a tsp of sugar substitute. Without it, the dressing would be very tart.

 

My low carb salad was every bit as visually appealing as Todd's full carb one, and just as delicious.  Its very easy to  leave out the carbs for on without affecting the other!

Yield: 2

Author: Marie Rayner

Chicken Nicoise Salad Platter

I have two ways of doing this. One is full carb and one is low carb.  Both are delicious. Simple, easy and very pretty on a plate.

prep time: cook time: total time:

ingredients:

You will need:

• Leftover Roast chicken
• 2 hard boiled free range eggs
• 1/2 (4 serving size) bag of haricots verts (I used yellow wax)
• 5 or 6 fingerling salad potatoes, washed and halved or quartered lengthwise (use only half the potatoes or leave out altogether if you are doing low carb)
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• olive oil to drizzle
• a mix of nicoise olives and feta cheese (or kalamata) (about 1/4 cup)
• about 6 cherry tomatoes, halved (I forgot these)

For the dressing:

• 3 TBS fresh lemon juice
• 3 TBS white wine vinegar
• 3 TBS finely chopped herbs (I used parsley and dill)
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp sweetener or granulated sugar
• 1 TBS Dijon mustard
• salt and black pepper to taste

instructions:

How to cook Chicken Nicoise Salad Platter

1. Preheat your oven to 230*C/425*F/ gas mark 7. Line a baking tray with foil. Place the frozen beans on one side of the baking tray and the potatoes on the other side. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil and season with some salt and black pepper. Toss each to coat. Roast in the preheated oven for 15 minutes or so, until the potatoes are golden and the beans are beginning to caramelise just a bit. Remove and set aside.
2. Have ready two large dinner plates. Slice some roast chicken and put a portion on each plate. Peel and halve the eggs. Place two halves on each plate. Divide the potatoes between the two plates (Not if you are doing a low carb plate, then just put half the potatoes on one). Divide the beans between each plate also, as well as the olives, cheese and the tomatoes.
3. Whisk together all of the ingredients for the dressing. (You will have plenty. You can store any leftovers for a few days in the refrigerator for another time.) Drizzle some of the dressing over each and serve immediately.
4. If you are doing low carb, leave off the potatoes and replace with something else. Today I sliced myself up some cooked beetroot and had some leftover chilled asparagus. In all honesty I couldn't finish it all.

NOTES:

If you haven't got any leftover roast chicken (I used the breast meat of a Rotisserie Chicken), then you can always cook two chicken breasts to use in its place.

Created using The Recipes Generator 

 

I hope you are enjoying these new recipes I am sharing. I would really love your feedback. I promise you there will be something deliciously sweet tomorrow. I am trying to stay away from those things as much as possible, but its not fair to punish Todd for my sinful ways. 

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Turkey Fajitas

 

This is another quick and simple supper we enjoyed recently that is low in fat, carbs and sugars.   That's because I make the fajita seasoning from scratch . . .  not from  packet.

 

It is quite surprising the amount of sugar that will be in a ready-prep seasoning packet!!  Or maybe not.  We have been conditioned through the years to eat sugar in just about everything without even knowing it.

 

Its only been in recent years that healthy studies have confirmed that it really isn't fat that is our enemy, but sugar. There are several generations of people who have been sadly misinformed about that, and I am one of them.

 

For years I have been buying and eating low fat this and low fat that, only to keep getting, well . . .  fatter.  When you take the fat out of things you take out a lot of the flavour and sadly the need to put the flavour back in has resulted in gross amounts of sugar being added to things in on form or another.

 

This recipe uses full fat Greek Yogurt as a garnish to the finished fajitas.  It is rich and creamy and a little bit goes a long way.  I add some green Tabasco sauce to it to give it some spark! 

 

Ideally you should use iceberg lettuce to hold the fajitas, as it forms a bit of a cupping shape, but I didn't have any, so used Cos (Romaine) lettuce on this occasion.  I just dolloped the fajita filling and the sour cream on top, and ate it like a salad.

 

If you are not bothered by carbs, by all means enjoy the filling in some warmed soft tortillas  . . .  Todd did.  He still eats them with a knife and a fork however. He thinks that eating with ones hands is a bit barbaric. 

 

I've been following this low carb, low sugar, low calorie diet for about a week or so now, and nothing had budged.  *Sniff*sniff*

  

I am trying very hard not to get discouraged.  In that week I have sniffed but not eaten  . . .  fresh strawberry pie  . . .

 

Just for-going the pastry was torture for me.  Pastry is my favourite thing.  Our whole family loves pastry. If it is in pastry, we are all over it like a rash.  Sweet or savoury. It doesn't matter.

  

I shall keep slogging along. After all I didn't gain the weight in a week and I won't lose it in a week.  I just hope I start to see some progress soon.  Its so easy to be discouraged!

Yield: 4

Author: Marie Rayner

Turkey Fajitas

Spicy and yes, delicious. I am sure you get tired of that word.  Quick and easy as well. If you are not watching the carbs or calories, you can have this with some salsa and warmed tortillas. Maybe even some Guacamole. What's good about this dish is there is no sugar in it. You won't miss it. I promise.

ingredients:

For the turkey:

• 1 TBS rapeseed oil
• 400g turkey breast steaks, cut into thin strips (about 1 pound)
• 1 medium red onion, peeled and cut into wedges
• 1 red pepper trimmed, de-seeded and cut into thin strips
• 1 yellow or green pepper trimmed, de-seeded and cut into thin strips
• 1 tsp hot smoked paprika
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• salt and black pepper to taste

To serve:

• 8 ice berg lettuce leaves (cup shaped)
• a handful of fresh coriander leaf, coarsely chopped (cilantro)
• 100g full fat Greek Yogurt (about 1/2 cup)
• 1/2 tsp green Tabasco sauce
• lime wedges

instructions:

How to cook Turkey Fajitas

1. Heat the oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add the turkey, onion and peppers. Cook, stirring and tossing together, until the turkey is cooked through and the peppers and onions are crispy tender. Add all of the spices, and salt and black pepper to taste. Cook for another minute or two. Scatter the coriander leaf over top and serve immediately.
2. Stir the Tabasco sauce into the Greek yogurt, just to marble it. Spoon the turkey mixture into lettuce leaves to serve. Top with a dollop of yogurt and pass the lime wedges.

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There are less than 200 calories in this tasty dish, which is in fitting with the 800 Fast diet. If you are only low carbing it, you could certainly have some cheese on top, or even if you are not on a fast day a bit of cheese would be okay.  I don't think, on a non-fast day, a small tortilla would even be out of line, but I am holding to the less carbs the better school!!  Interestingly I haven't felt like I was starving.  Oh, I have had cravings for sure . . . but that's all they were.

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Teriyaki Turkey Meatballs

 

I have always been fond of the flavours of Teriyaki.  Teriyaki is a Japanese term for fish or meat that has been marinated or cooked in a Teriyaki sauce/marinade, which is generally composed of soy sauce, sake or mirin, ginger, and sugar (or honey). Sometimes garlic is also added

 

When my children were growing up I used to make something which I called Amanda's Steak, which was basically Flank Steak marinated in a teriyaki marinade.  My youngest daughter Amanda loved it, which is how it eventually got called Amanda's steak in our home. I can't believe I have never cooked it on here.  Time to rectify that I guess because, it is really, really good and I am sure you would like it.

 

Today I decided to adapt my favourite Teriyaki Meatball recipe to use ground turkey instead of beef, with excellent results.   We like ground turkey in our house, but if you don't, feel free to use ground beef in it's place, or even pork or ground chicken! 

 

Just make sure you use a mix of ground breast and thigh meat for the best results.  Using all breast meat will result in dry meatballs.  Just a warning here.  You want a bit of fat to help to keep them succulent! 

 

There is plenty of garlic in the meatballs themselves, plus some spring onions, an egg white, lemon juice and seasoning.  No bread crumbs are used and if you use gluten free soya sauce in the sauce, these are completely gluten free for those who are gluten intolerant.

 

Just mix all of the meatball ingredients together, making sure they are well combined. (Do use a light touch, as too rough a handling will toughen ground meat. )  Wet your hands and shape them into balls about the size of a walnut.

 

You should get about 20 balls. I like to brown them in a bit of oil in a hot skillet.  Just keep turning them as they brown, until they are golden brown all over.  I use an old pair of tongs for this and it works fine.  They shouldn't stick.

 

Once they are all golden brown, I pop them into a baking dish and pour the teriyaki sauce over and bake until the meatballs are cooked through and the sauce has thickened a bit.  Sometimes I double the sauce because it is really very yummy and we like a lot of sauce.

  

These are great served with steamed or fried rice.  I think steamed rice is actually best, but today I did broccoli fried rice as I had some broccoli which needed using up.  Delicious! 

Yield: 4Author: Marie Rayner

Teriyaki Turkey Meatballs

prep time: 10 minscook time: 25 minstotal time: 35 mins

I converted my favourite Teriyaki Meatball Recipe to use ground turkey instead of chicken or beef.  Make sure you don't use the really lean turkey as they will be a bit dry.

ingredients:

1 lb ground turkey (use a mix of breast and thigh meat)

3 spring onions, finely minced

3 cloves garlic, peeled and grated

1 large free range egg white

1 1/2 TBS fresh lemon juice

1 tsp fine sea salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Oil for shallow frying

(use a mild flavoured oil, such as sunflower)

For the sauce:

80ml Japanese Mirin (Sweet Rice Wine)

2 TBS dark soy sauce

1 TBS liquid honey

1/2 tsp ground ginger

Thinly sliced spring onions to garnish

instructions:

Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6.  Have ready a shallow
baking dish large enough to hold the meatballs in a single layer.

Mix
 the turkey, onions, garlic, egg white lemon juice, salt and black
pepper together with a fork to well combine.  Shape into around 20
meatballs, setting them onto a parchment lined plate as you go along.

Place
 a thin layer of oil in a heated skillet.  Once it is hot add the
meatballs in a single layer and cook, turning frequently, until browned
all over, about 5 minutes.  Place them into the baking dish in a single
layer.  Whisk together the Mirin, soy sauce, honey and ground ginger
until well amalgamated.  Pour over the meatballs in the baking dish,
turning them to coat them in the sauce.

Bang
 into the preheated oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the
meatballs are cooked through and the sauce has thickened.  Serve hot
with the sauce spooned over, and garnished with thinly sliced spring onions. We like fried or steamed rice with these.

Note - you may want to double the sauce ingredients. I often do.

Created using The Recipes Generator

 

The sauce on these is not really thick and cloying, but it is really beautifully flavoured.  If you don't have any mirin in your cupboard, no worries, it is a bit of an unusual ingredient.  Simple subs and hacks can easily mimic mirin’s sweet-tangy flavor. Dry sherry, sweet Marsala wine, dry white wine, and rice vinegar will do the trick, for instance, if you mix in about 1/2 teaspoon sugar per tablespoon. I really hope you will try these and enjoy them!  Bon Appetit! 

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