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It is turkey time again! Who can complain about this time of year, with all the food, family, and fun? The only real complaint is preparation for T-Day! To ease the stress, I have assembled a few helpful hints and ideas to make Thanksgiving a breeze. I will also supply a DELICIOUS no-fail recipe for all you turkey enthusiasts who like to experiment and want to cook your bird beautifully — but that’s a bit later in the post.

Christmas usually gets all the attention, but there are ways to make Thanksgiving Day a bit more special. We all love spirit and decorations (we’re big on stress ball decorations here at QLP), so I hope this guide will help set the mood for an often-overlooked holiday that deserves decorations and a mascot, too! Let’s start with a few seasonal giveaways.

First, there is the ever-squeezable Turkey Stress Ball. It’s ideal for décor or to help ease the tension when inevitably you have to achieve a balance between crazy cooking and crazy relatives insisting they know what’s what. For better or for worse, you can’t control your family, but you can control and ease that stress with this adorable turkey!

Next, I would like to show you some fancy wares to help kick off your day. Your relatives, employees, or customers will love this unique carving set. You can personalize and engrave your company’s name on it, which would certainly catch some attention with its beautiful design and quality (it may even be an heirloom someday). I know people often use the modern electric knife, but what says more about tradition than doing the slicing with this beautiful, classic set?

While you’re cooking, you don’t want to forget about that beautifully tacky sweater that Grandma gave you (and insists you wear). How do you politely cover it up? Give the gift that keeps on giving with personalized aprons! Get these for yourself and everyone you know, and put your brand name and logo on it! When you are disguising that fashion faux pas in the kitchen, you can let everyone know what brand you demand. Trust me, your employees, customers, or friends will give thanks to you for such a neat gift. To top it off, the apron I mentioned comes with a mitt to match and it is eco-friendly! Who says you can’t be super trendy in the kitchen?

Okay. Now that you have your stress relief, your cutlery, and your trendy kitchen duds, you are ready to cook! So, to send you off to Turkey Day the right way, here is a recipe that is guaranteed to give you a marvelous bird so tasty your friends and relatives will be awed and never trust turkey cooking to anyone but you!

Serenity’s Tasty Turkey Recipe

You will need:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
• 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
• 1 tablespoon crushed garlic
• 2 large onions, large dice
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon pepper
• 3 (3/4-ounce) packets fresh herbs poultry herb blend (sage, thyme and rosemary). It is best if it is fresh.
• I find it’s better if you use your usual homemade stuffing
• 1 beautiful turkey (thawed, approximately 12 pounds)
• Sandwich bag
• 1 lemon
• ½ cup olive oil
• Tin foil

1. Preheat oven to 450° F.
2. Before you cook your turkey, combine poultry seasoning, Italian seasoning, crushed garlic, and ½ diced onion in a medium-sized bowl. Dice up your poultry herb blend and melted butter. Now pour the mixture into a sandwich bag and stick it in the freezer for 15 to 20 minutes.
3. Once you take it out of the freezer, you should have a nice solid brick. Take it out of the bag and cut it up into cubes.
4. Line your pan with foil.
5. Wash up your turkey and dry it of (it is easier to separate the skin) and place cubes underneath the skin. Try to get as many cubes as far in as you can. Use remaining butter cubes for the top and sides of the outside of the bird. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Now take the remaining onion, dice it up, and put in and around the turkey.
7. Slice the lemon and squeeze juice all over the turkey. Stick the remaining lemon slices inside the turkey (on top of your stuffing). If you want more than just stuffing, you can place veggies on the sides, but not too much (you don’t want it to get soupy). I like my pan to be very minimal so that the turkey really cooks.
8. Slather your turkey in olive oil and make sure every side of the bird is covered in it.
9. While all of this is in your turkey pan, put the finishing touches on it and sprinkle with some salt and pepper. Do not cover the bird completely (I recommend tin foil with an opening so the steam can escape). Don’t forget your meat thermometer! The turkey is done when meat in the thigh reaches 180°F.
10. Place in the oven (lower temp to 380°F) and use standard weight to cook time depending on the size of your bird. Check bird every 20 minutes to make sure it is not drying out. If it seems to be cooking too fast, then lower the temperature and add a little more olive oil or baste with the juices in pan. Ovens all vary, so please adjust temperature accordingly to ensure a well-cooked bird!

When you're all done, it should look something like this...

This recipe is typically used for a 12-pound bird, so you’ll want to adjust ingredients depending on size of your turkey. I have used this recipe for years and it is an amazingly flavorful turkey experience that needs to be had by all. Try it out and let me know how it went! Have a HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Gobble Gobble!

How long does it take you to prepare for the Thanksgiving holiday? Do you have any special family recipes to share? What are YOU thankful for?

Article by Serenity Morris

Serenity is on the support staff for Quality Logo Products. Cynical and straight to the point, this no-nonsense gal is loveable and passionate about her various nerdy interests. When she is not geeking out about music, British television, and politics she is usually doodling her troubles away! Her artistic abilities are often commissioned for internal and external QLP promotional materials. You can also connect with Serenity on Google+.