Happy Friday, friends! I have a ton of fun things to share with you this week, so I’ll keep my intro short and sweet. We’re planning a zoo trip this weekend before the weather gets gross Sunday night. Do you ever get used to tornado watches and hail? Asking for a friend.
This week was a busy week, but today is our 11-year anniversary, so I’m looking forward to spending some time with Mr. Hungry. Sitter lined up, reservations made. It will be fun! We have a tradition of going out to dinner and then shopping for Christmas. For many years, on our anniversary, we found each other’s Christmas presents while shopping after dinner. Neither of us is really a “gift” person; we both prefer hanging out together and the experience of shopping, picking out clothes, or whatever together. We also often shop for the kids too. It’s been a fun “kick-off” to the holiday season for us every year!
Around the blog:
Gift guides! I’m finally done publishing gift guides. I really hope they help save you some time because they took me FOREVER! On a happy note, though, I’m knocking out my Christmas list already.
- Gift Guide for Him
- Gift Guide for Her
- Gift Guide for Preschoolers and Kindergarteners
- Gift Guide for Babies and Toddlers (Up to 3)
On the Gram:
- My Hormone and Weight Loss Story
- When to Take Supplements
- 4 Gut Health Foods to Eat In 2024
- Reducing Menstrual Cramps
For a static Instagram post, I don’t think I’ve ever had a recipe that is quite as popular as my IP tortilla soup post!
Turkey Day Shirts
I’m all about making a beautiful tablescape and delicious dishes. I love cooking, and I love hosting; I just love making the holidays extra special. It doesn’t feel like work to me at all; I’m so blessed to have a house full of people to make the day extra special. 2021 was the year I realized how much I love to create a beautiful holiday and how lucky we were to spend it together post covid.
Anyway, all that to say, I don’t share the same enthusiasm or effort in what I’m wearing. It’s a day of cooking and eating, not fashion statements. So, I went to Amazon to look for a funny shirt. I went with the WTF shirt because it’s funny and matches the baby girl’s outfit from Burts Bees.
Baby Girl’s outfit from Burts Bees.
Then I ended up ordering these shirts for the boys, one in blue and one in green (their fav colors.) They can both wear them to their school feasts, so I feel like I’ll get decent use out of them!
Bacon Wrapped Turkey
So, for the last couple of years, I’ve made a turkey ahead of time for the blog to make fabulous leftover turkey recipes for you guys and me. I’m all about the turkey leftovers. I used to cheat and use rotisserie chicken to make up these recipes, mostly because I used to be 3 months ahead in my content calendar. After the second kid, I’m lucky if I’m prepared for next week. In any case, turkey flavor is very specific, much stronger than chicken, so since I’m not that ahead on content, turkeys are available by early November (or earlier with Butcher Box), so I can use the real thing for recipe development.
I’m no turkey master, but since we have often hosted Thanksgiving, it’s fun to kind of “practice ahead of time.” This year, I saw a bacon-wrapped turkey and thought I would try it! I used this recipe from The Kitchen, which started with a batch of spiced bacon butter that you were supposed to rub all over the turkey. Then, you wrap it with the bacon.
The recommendation was to let it come to room temp for two hours before baking. Mine was out for about an hour before my impatience won, and I stuck it in the oven. The trick to keeping the bacon from shriveling into nothingness and falling off the turkey was putting two cups of water in the roasting pan.
Baked at 425F for 30 minutes and then 325F for 3 hours.
Verdict? The bacon for sure had an initial WOW factor, but that quickly wore off when you realized that none of that flavor really imparted on the turkey. The bacon butter spread got stuck to the underside of the bacon layer, and kind of hijacked the flavor. I wouldn’t say it was a disappointment because it was still a fun and delicious turkey. But, if I did it again, I would NOT make the bacon butter. Instead, I would do what I usually do: cut holes all over the turkey and stick butter down in the holes. Grease the outside with butter and douse it in poultry seasoning (not just sage and thyme like what was in their recipe.) Then, I would put the bacon on top and follow the instructions.
KJ looked excited there, but he took one bite and was done. In reality, the seasonings stuck to the underside of the bacon grossed him out, and he was disappointed there was no crispy skin. So, we will likely brine our turkey and skip the bacon for Thanksgiving, but it was a fun experiment!
Drying Matt
Speaking of Thanksgiving and lots of dishes, I just ordered a second of these drying mats so I could have a clean one to swap in when one needs to be washed. I’ll never ever go back to a dishrack ever again. Not only can the matt be hidden, but it’s also just so much more sanitary as it can be washed with minimal effort…. in the laundry machine. Drying racks are the worst; they get so grimy that you have to hand wash them. Never again in my house.
Books Sweaters
I can’t believe I almost forgot to add these book sweaters to my gift guide! I quickly went back and added them. They are so cute!
Wolf Hotel Series
Speaking of books. Okay, soooooo. I read all five of these books in less than a week. The first few books were addictive. The last two were only good because I was invested in the characters. Pretty typical of any series, I guess. Either way, I loved this series enough to re-read it. To date, the only series I’ve ever re-read was ACOTAR.
Tempt Me: Innocent virgin farm girl runs away to a job in Alaska to get away from jerk cheating boyfriend and overzealous uber-religious parents. She accidentally meets a big business tycoon and the honor of the resort. The way the other wrote in the actions of “Mr. Wolf” is nothing short of genius. I’m on my seat for both of them as they continually shock me, BOTH characters.
Break Me: The not-so-innocent farm girl starts to come on her own, but the book is about emotional turmoil caused by steroids.
Teach Me: She’s not the girl she was. You think 5 years went by, not a few months.
Surrender to Me: The love story, finally told.
Own Me: What surprises me most about this book is the farm girls’ maturity. Her ability to know Henry inside and out and to respond to his needs, WITH CONFIDENCE. The story isn’t quite as dramatic, but watching these characters mature was fun and a satisfying end to the series.
Friday Flashbacks
Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup
It is so popular on IG that I thought I would share it here, too!
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