Herb Roasted Turkey Breast with Pan Gravy

This year's turkey was possibly the best ever. For the first time, I decided to cook a fresh turkey breast instead of an entire turkey. I figured that we only had five adults eating and a 4-lb turkey breast and 4-lb Honey Baked ham was probably plenty of meat! I was right because we have plenty of yummy leftovers for tomorrow and the next couple days!

I followed a Rachel Ray recipe, and in the end, the turkey was delicious. It was moist and incredibly flavorful. I even made the gravy, which turned out spectacular.

1 small (golf-ball sized) onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 lemon, scrubbed clean
12 fresh sage leaves
Large handful fresh flat-leaf parsley (about 1/2 cup, from 12 stems)
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for oiling pan
1 teaspoon salt, plus more as needed
6 fresh bay leaves
4 tablespoons butter
2 boneless turkey breast halves, skin on (about 2 to 2 1/2 pounds each)
Freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup apple or regular brandy (recommended: Calvados)
2 to 3 cups apple cider
Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Oil a roasting pan and set it aside.

Put the onion into the bowl of a mini food processor. Using a vegetable peeler, peel the zest from the lemon in thin strips, being careful not to cut into the bitter white pith. Add the lemon zest to the food processor and reserve the whole lemon for another use. Chop the onion and lemon zest until fine. Add the sage, parsley, olive oil, and 1 teaspoon salt and pulse until it forms a coarse paste.

Put 2 of the bay leaves and the butter into a small pan and heat over medium-low heat until the butter is bubbling. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Put the turkey breasts on a work surface. Carefully run your fingers between the skin and the flesh from 1 end, being careful not to pull it completely off, creating a pocket. Season the turkey breasts generously with salt and pepper. Stuff half of the herb paste under the skin of each breast, and spread it evenly under the skin. Transfer the breasts to the roasting pan, and slide 2 bay leaves underneath each one. (The heat of the pan will release the bay leaf oils and flavor the breast.) Using a pastry brush, baste the breasts with half of the bay butter. Place the turkey in the oven and immediately decrease the temperature to 400 degrees F. After 20 minutes, baste the turkey breasts with the remaining butter, and roast for an additional 20 to 25 minutes, until cooked through, and a thermometer placed in the thickest part of the breast registers 170 degrees F.

Remove from the oven, transfer to a platter, cover, and let rest for 10 minutes before carving while you make the gravy.

Put the roasting pan over the burner on medium heat. Sprinkle the flour over the pan juices, and cook, stirring, for a few minutes. Add the apple brandy, and scrape the pan to lift the bits that are stuck to the bottom. Cook for a minute to burn off the alcohol, then, while stirring, pour in the apple cider. Bring to a simmer, and stir until thickened. Season with salt and pepper.

Slice the turkey breast on the diagonal, and serve with warm gravy.

How to Support our Troops This Holiday Season

For several years, our family has been involved with Neighbors International. Neighbors is a foundation that provides funds and volunteer services to local charitable, educational, religious, public safety, and similar organizations that serve our neighborhoods and communities. Specifically, we have been involved with the care package donation efforts for our troops. We collect items to fill care packages. For example, we've collected Halloween candy, Girl Scout cookies, and helped organize and facilitate donation drives at work. We've always really enjoyed preparing care packages for the troops. A simple thank you for what our troops do seems a little inadequate; preparing care packages helps us actively give back.

I researched other ways we could give back to our troops this holiday season and found several opportunities:

Holiday Mail for Heroes: You can send holiday cards to servicemen and women.

Help Them Call Home: You can buy prepaid phone cards for servicemen and women.

Let's Say Thanks: You can send a free printed holiday card to servicemen and women.

Operation Hero Miles: You can donate your frequent flier miles to servicemen and women.

I thought I'd share my findings. I'm looking forward to writing a couple thank you/holiday notes with Sydney. We'll also probably buy a prepaid phone card. It's the least we can do for those who are spending their holidays far from home protecting our freedom.

Moroccan-Style Stuffed Acorn Squash

This dinner was great for a variety reasons: it was so far from what we normally have for dinner, it was a nice change of pace; it was incredibly filling - especially for a "vegetarian" meal; and it tasted great (really - what else matters?). Tom had initially said he didn't want couscous, but then he changed his mind. In the end, he couldn't stop raving about it!

2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon butter, melted
2 large acorn squash, halved and seeded
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 cup garbanzo beans, drained
1/2 cup raisins
1 1/2 tablespoons ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste
1 (14 ounce) can chicken broth
1 cup uncooked couscous

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Arrange squash halves cut side down on a baking sheet. Bake 30 minutes, or until tender. Dissolve the sugar in the melted butter. Brush squash with the butter mixture, and keep squash warm while preparing the stuffing.

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the garlic, celery, and carrots, and cook 5 minutes. Mix in the garbanzo beans and raisins. Season with cumin, salt, and pepper, and continue to cook and stir until vegetables are tender.

Pour the chicken broth into the skillet, and mix in the couscous. Cover skillet, and turn off heat. Allow couscous to absorb liquid for 5 minutes. Stuff squash halves with the skillet mixture to serve.

Giving Thanks

This week, I lost a friend I've known since I was 14 years old. I also learned about a friend whose son (about the same age as Cole) is battling a malignant tumor. These two events along with Thanksgiving next week have me thinking about all the things I'm thankful for.

- Two healthy, happy children.
- A wonderful husband, who is also a phenomenal father.
- Having family that will support us no matter what.
- Grandparents who love, love, love to spend time with their grandchildren.
- Hitting the jack-pot when it comes to my sister-in-law.
- Tom's job - he loves it, and the company is stable - can't ask for more than that!
- Argon ST - a family friendly company that has afforded me more flexibility than I could ever imagine.
- Having long-term friends who love us the way we are.
- Having amazing mommy friends who help me be a better mother.

I can't say enough about our family and friends. If we haven't told you recently, please know we love you very much. We hope you feel as blessed as we do this holiday!

Operation Christmas Child

Sydney's preschool curriculum includes two service projects per year. I absolutely love this because it starts teaching compassion and charitable giving at an early age. Her first service project was Operation Christmas Child (www.samaritanspurse.org). We compiled a variety of toys, school supplies, and hygiene items and packed them in a shoe box to be sent to a needy child. All this week, we discussed how some children do not have toys and how nice it would be to send them some. We also discussed how sometimes giving presents can be just as fun as receiving them. At first, I didn't think our conversations were sinking in. Then, Tom said that last night before she went to bed, Sydney thanked him for all her toys! How sweet!

Today, we went to school, and Sydney got to present her shoe box at chapel. I think the entire process was an excellent learning opportunity. In fact, I'm really looking forward to a party we're attending soon that is also sponsoring an Operation Christmas Child build party. I think it will be great to reinforce what we've already learned. Also, because I have every intention of sending Syd back to school again next year, I'm going to start collecting fast food toys and books to donate next year. Our playgroup goes to the mall once a week for lunch. If we each donated a toy or book every other week, we'd have hundreds of toys or books to donate by the end of the year! I think I may approach the group and see if they want to participate.

Funny Stories

A couple quick stories about the kids that I want to remember to tell them when they get older:


- I took the kids to visit mom's school last week. They have a school dog - very sweet - who hangs out in the guidance department. The dog was sitting so nice in the hall, and someone asked Syd if she'd like to pet him. She took one look and said, "No, thank you."

- The other day at breakfast, Syd said, "Um... I have a little problem here." She'd spilled yogurt down her front. Just the way she said it was hilarious.


- When Syd first started talking, she'd surprise us all the time with random words and sayings. One time, Tom said, "I can't take it!" And Syd said, "Not another day." ("I can't take it! Not another day." is a tagline the Washington Post uses in their ads for the Mega Jobs section. Tom and I had never realized how he usually says "I can't take it!" and I always answer "Not another day.") It's amazing what they pick up!

- Cole recently got his hands on a crayon that had made its way under the couch. Although I was able to take it away almost immediately, he did shove it in his mouth pretty quickly. Before I knew it, he'd rubbed his blue hands all over his face. Thank goodness for non-toxic crayons! He was a pretty cute smurf.

- Syd recently told her dad, "I love you, dude."

- Syd was playing in the living room and blurted out, "We cut prices, not corners!" Wow - and I thought we were pretty good about letting her watch TV!

Happy Half Birthday to Cole!

At the end of October, Cole turned six months old. This little boy has certainly been through a lot in the last six months. When Cole was about four weeks old, we started to notice that Cole was experiencing digestive difficulty. After five months of testing, we uncovered an allergy to peanuts and a severe case of GERD. Thankfully, things seem to be getting better! Cole has been thriving lately (he weighed in at 18.5 lbs at his six month checkup). Here are some milestones we've been proud to celebrate with our trooper of a little boy:

- Cole can roll from his back to his belly and from his belly to his back.

- Cole started eating solid foods! He currently enjoys pumpkin, butternut squash, carrots, and sweet potato. Next on the menu is acorn squash and then green beans.

- Cole can sit up unassisted for about 30 seconds at a time. We're crossing our fingers that he can sit up for his Christmas picture.

- Cole can scoot backwards.

- Cole can get up on all fours and rock.

- Cole recently tried a Cheerio. He's not quite ready, so we'll try again in a couple weeks.

- Cole can grab his binky and put it in his mouth (about 60% of the time).

Cole's puking has decreased significantly. He still pukes after almost every meal, but the amount has decreased and he's not in pain. For him, the "right" combination of medication seems to be Prevacid, Pepcid, and Gaviscon.

In other news, Sydney really spoiled me when it came to sleep. To this day, she's still a very good sleeper. As for Cole - we're still working on things. For the longest time, he'd wake up (and not go back to sleep) after 40 minutes. Now, we're slowly getting on a decent schedule with three predictable naps: usually a 40-minute nap in the morning, a 90-minute nap in the afternoon, and a 40-minute nap in the late afternoon. His morning nap has been as long as 90 minutes and his afternoon nap has been as long as two hours! At night, Cole usually sleeps from 7:30 pm to 6:15 am with a feeding around 2:30 am.

We have come so far. Happy half birthday Cole!