What kind of blogger would I be if I didn’t participate in the obligatory Christmas recap? I hope you enjoy some scenes from our celebrations:
Walt playing Santa for the police toy drive. Two-hundred and twenty children recieved gifts this year.
Christmas Eve: fireplace weenie roast (mine was chicken-apple sausage, served on a toasted whole-wheat bun with horseradish dijon. Yum!)
After church we put our jammies back on for present-time. It was so nice to have Grandma join us.
You all thought I was kidding, didn't you? Best gift of the day.
Pepper was... a challange, but no worse than usual.
Returning to my turkey roots. We didn't feel like cleaning the grill this year, so I fell back to my earlier method of roasting it in a paper bag.
Edited to add: See comments below for paper-bag roasting instructions.
Oops! We forgot to get a picture before carving...
It turned out perfectly. Fully cooked, but moist and juicy. Good thing we don't live close to the Bumpuses.
Beware the orange-shirted turkey snatcher.
And that's all folks!
This was truly a wonderful Christmas for us.
There were no grand parties, just us and Walt’s mom. When compared to some other years, the gifts were fewer, but truly loved and appreciated. Our day was quiet and simple with plenty of time to sit back and enjoy.
I think that was the key to what made it extra special this year. Instead of frantically running around trying to create the perfect day, we just let the day unfold around us.
And it was perfect.
I love that your did a fireplace weenie roast! And you can cook turkey in a paper bag??? I’d love to know how. That’s looks delicious! We didn’t have turkey for Christmas, but I bought one for later. 🙂
Paper bag roasting is so easy. I may have to do a full post on it next year, but in a nutshell… prepare your turkey as you normally would: rinse and pat dry, rub with olive oil and/or melted butter and whatever herbs and seasonings you prefer. Place in a large, new paper grocery bag. Poke a meat thermometer through the bag into the meatiest part of the thigh (make sure not to touch the any bone). Fold over bag opening and staple shut. Place, breast side up, on a roasting pan with rack and place in oven, making sure that bag does not touch sides or heating elements. Roast as usual. (I cook it at 350 until the internal temperature is 180 degrees.) Cut bag open and allow to rest for 30 minutes before carving. Turkey will be very moist.
A lot of the drippings will have filtered through the bottom of the bag to the roasting pan. These make wonderful gravy.
If you decide to try it and you have any questions, feel free to email me.
Great pictures and I love the fireplace weenie roast! Thanks for the info about brown bag turkey roasting too! 🙂