Happy Monday everyone!!!  It’s been a crazy week but that didn’t stop Thomas and I from making our weekly grocery stop and buying ourselves a 15 pound turkey!!  Anyone want to learn how to cook a turkey in a cast iron skillet?  Well, if you do, this is the post for you!  Thanksgiving is coming up and I have so much to be thankful for.  And one of those things is having a Home Goods Store 20 minutes from me!!!  Well, 30 minutes if you hit traffic but whose counting!  Look at this adorable table for two with dishes and table decor I bought last year at Home Goods.  I set a table for just the two of us, wanted to light a Spice Pumpkin Latte candle (but forgot), and we enjoyed a delicious meal with the dogs laying next to our feet!  Oh where did I get the candle you ask????  I made it myself and they will be available on my store front very soon!!!

Check out this gorgeous Butterball turkey!!!  Here are the steps we took in creating this masterpiece:

*Take giblets out of turkey
*Clean and dried the turkey
*Create a marinade of 2 sticks salted butter, garlic salt, pepper, and parsley and baste your turkey until it is completed covered in a separate pan
*Let the turkey sit for 10 minutes to marinate
*Placed in a large cast iron skillet and into the oven to bake
*Bake the turkey at 275 degrees for 2 1/2 hours
*Take out, cover with aluminum foil and let sit for 15 minutes to seal in juices
*Take off aluminum foil, put turkey back into the oven, uncovered, and bake at 500 degrees for 1 1/2 hours

Turkey will be crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside!  For baking a turkey, we followed the formula of 13 minutes per pound.

Our sides consisted of potatoes, stuffing, gravy, and broccoli and the recipes are as follows (well, honestly, I threw it together on a whim so I don’t have exact measurements):

Washed and cut potatoes into squares (leaving skins on), mixed a pack of onion mix, olive oil, salt, and pepper together and baked in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes covered with foil

Bought a bag of chopped Broccoli.  Tossed with olive oil, salt, and pepper and cooked at 350 degrees for 20 minutes

Bought 1 bag of Stuffing with seasoning.  Mixed 1 stick salted butter, 1/2 sweet onion (chopped), 1 stick celery (chopped), 1 cup beef broth, salt, and pepper.  Mixed together and baked at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

Used the juices from the turkey, sprinkled 3 tablespoons of flour and mixed until all clumps were gone.  I added 2 small cups of water because the gravy was getting thick.  

I made us a fizzy punch to drink by mixing 1 cup of pink Moscato, 1 cup orange juice, and 1 cup sprite and filled these fun glasses I bought from Kroger.

Did you think I forgot about dessert??  No way!!!  Try my fast and easy cupcakes!!!

1 box French Vanilla cake mix
1 bag of white chocolate morsels
1 tablespoon coconut oil

Follow cake mix instructions and ingredients
Melt bag of morsels and coconut oil together
When cupcakes are cool, spoon icing onto cupcakes and decorate!

I have to admit that years ago, I was intimidated by cooking a turkey but it is the easiest thing you can cook.  We tried something new today rather than just tying the turkey up in a bag and all worked out.  I wasn’t scared at all :-).  Turkey day is coming fast.  Set your table now and check that off your list!  Go grocery shopping as early as you can and don’t forget to make a list!  If you buy a frozen turkey, allow enough time for it to thaw in your refrigerator.  Ours took 5 days to thaw!!  

If you have candles that you want to elevate on your table, use ingredients and dishes that you already have that match the theme and holiday.  In this case, I filled an antique dish with cranberries and set the candle inside.  You can use coffee beans, crystals, stones, berries, greenery, or work with a bigger dish and use pine cones, ornaments, and fake snow!

Want more holiday, food, and doggie blog posts, check out my previous posts here:

Can dogs eat turkey?

My turkey table!