Happy Thanksgiving!

Today I finally fried our turkey. It was a 15 lb. turkey from Sam’s and it was delicious. I got a little nervous when I put it in because I didn’t have enough oil in the pot. It was six inches too short from covering the backend of the bird. So when I added the extra oil, the temperature dropped to close to 200 degrees. I pumped up the heat (it looked like the back end of a fighter jet) which took about ten minutes to get it back to 300 degrees. The oil began to rumble and there was a little bubbling over the edge of the pot as the oil shot out the end of the bird like a poultry volcano. I cooked it for 55 minutes, and it came out a nice golden brown. This was definitely a cool way to cook something!

I had a ladder set up over the pot and rigged it to a pulley so that I could pull it out in case of emergency (along with a fire extinguisher close by) and so that it could drain into the pot.

This was also the first time I carved an entire turkey. I used and electric knife (of course), and separated the white meat from the dark. The hardest part was keeping Hannah-Grace out of it long enough to finish.

We ended the meal by throwing a nerf football around in the backyard and somehow I fell asleep on our living room floor (how or when I don't remember).

Long story short – our house is still in one piece – no fire, fun with family, and one delicious turkey.

Oh, the bottom picture is deep fried oreos -- yum! And did you notice the name of my blog is something to chew on? When I named it that a year ago, I really didn't think it would have anything to do with cooking. Such is life.

This past Sunday our small group had it's last get-together of the cycle so I wanted us to just have some fun. So we had our first annual "Will it Fry?" Everyone was to bring anything they wanted to try fried. I set up some halogen lights, had a fire extinguisher on hand, and set up a table with all the needed instruments.

Kimberly and I had two chickens, someone else brought potato wedges, and then there were many other things to be tried and fried. Here's the list:
oreos (chocolate and vanilla)
fudge brownies
3 Musketeers
Snickers
Rice Crispy Treats
bananas
apples


Everything we tried came out delicious except for the Rice Crispy Treat. It wouldn't sink, so before it could fry it soaked up the oil like a sponge (yuck).

It was a great night, and I have a feeling there will be a second annual "Will It Fry?"

Isaac has taken to water like Scooby to Scooby Snacks. He loves the water and has no fear what so ever of it. So we have started him in the “Inia and Perch” at the YMCA (am I the Inia or the Perch?). The goal of the class is to acclimate the child to the water, and to learn early skills to swimming. We jump off the side to the tune of “I’m a little tea cup,” and we are working on “reach and pull” and kicking while laying his back. Most of all, I just enjoy spending time with my son and watching him grow.

I remember being in the class with Hannah-Grace not that long ago and now she is taking gymnastics! So I am simply enjoying the time.

Beginning this coming Sunday, Daybreak will begin to gather Operation Christmas Child boxes to send to needy children all over the world. So please begin to gather your materials and share in the joy of giving. You can click on the graphic in this posting and it will give you all the information you need. Remember this is an activity that you can do with your family, as a Sunday school class, small group, etc...