Sunday Family Dinner #2 - "A Touch of Glamour and...TURKEY?"

Happy Sunday everyone!

Well, after our first "Sunday Family Dinner" was such a success, I'm going for a new look for this Sunday Family Dinner.

The theme of this family dinner is 

"A Touch of Glamour and....TURKEY??"

Yes I did say that correctly!!!  Turkey is a great food around the Holidays, but it is also a great meal for anytime!  It is one of the least expensive meats available to us...I stocked up on a few Turkeys right after Christmas because they were so cheap (88 cents per pound!) and I put them in our deep freezer in the garage.  They make a great meal, and the leftovers also make meals after that.   A great, economical food that is yummy and healthy!

I made my very first turkey at Christmas time when we had family and friends over.  The times before that, either we were at others' houses, or if we were at my house, my father in law would cook the turkey.  He's a good cook and he loves doing it!   He also had made many turkeys in his time, so I had NO trouble passing that job on to him!!!  

This Christmas, however, my parents in-law were not coming until about 2 hours before Christmas Dinner, so I could not wait for my father in law to make the turkey.  I had to tackle the job myself!  I turned to the amazing SANDRA LEE from the Food Network and made her "Butter Herb Roasted Turkey".   It turned out really good!

Here is the video on how to make it.  It was a really yummy turkey and fairly easy to make!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQMDKvwT4Jk

This time I changed the recipe up just a little.  I made the butter mixture with some poultry seasoning and a packet of Mediteranean Chicken seasoning.  I think it was Sun Dried Tomato, garlic flavor.  

Then I went ahead and coated the bird outside and under the skin in a mix of butter and that seasoning, as well as sprinkled some more of the seaoning over the top.  I stuffed the turkey with chopped carrots, chopped onion, a few slices of lemon and orange and some fresh rosemary.  Delish!

I also used the dripping packet with 1 1/2 cups of water and put it in the bottom of the pan.  They made great drippings mixed with the melted butter and seasonings.  Then I added some of the drippings to a half-jar of turkey gravy and it was so good!

Here's a picture of how it came out.

I also made a neat recipe that I found on Pinterest which turned out very tasty!   Baked Cheddar Broccoli Rice Cups!  They were easy to make too, and added a little something to our special dinner.

Source

Here is the recipe!   Baked Cheddar Broccoli Rice Cups.

Here's how they came out.  We made them in the larger muffin tins.  We also ended up using a stick blender and blending the ingredients, instead of just stirring them around.  It was something fun my "little home boy" could do while helping in the kitchen..he loved it!  They were still very good, but next time I would have just mixed them like in the recipe. 

I also would have added some more seasonings....they turned out just a little bland for me and needed salt.  The next day when we re-heated them, they tasted better...but I will definitely add maybe even some ranch seasoning or something to give a little more zest! 

I also made some Roasted chickpeas.  An easy recipe, but I added too much seasoning so they were a little too "seasoned".   I used steak seasoning, but I am thinking I probably shouldn't have used that.  The kids weren't as thrilled with these, but I think if I could figure out the right amount of seasoning, it would be better.  I did like them, but they weren't my favorite.

Here is a pic of them.

For drinks we had fruit infused water.  I cut up a small orange and half of a lemon, and added 2 to 3 slices each to a pitcher of water.  This went over well!

Here is the entire spread!  Note the lovely new Big Lots 75% off finds included in this buffet decor!   LOVE THEM!  =D

Here is our tablescape for the dinner as well!   I tried to add that "touch of glamour" with our turkey....so I made the theme black, white and silver!

I took these pictures before I added the silverware and the napkins...oops!   I ended up putting the napkins in the glasses and the silverware, just in the usual spots!  lol

These sparkly ornaments were from Christmas, but who says you can't use them to add a little "bling" to a glamorous table????   =)   I found this black short candle holder and put a pretty white petal bowl that I found at our church's local thrift store for 1 dollar!  I sure wish they had more of those white petal bowls, but that's the beauty of thrift store shopping...you never know WHAT great things you're going to find when you go! 

You might recognize the candleabra and plate from my new bathroom vanity decor!  That's the beauty of those "multi-functional accessories!"   I can take it back to the bathroom once the dinner is done and it has served two great purposes!

This floral was made with a candle holder,  a flower petal plate for just $.50, a $1 glass vase, two dollar store flower bouquets and some sparkly silver ornaments I got on clearance after Christmas.  I just basically strategically placed the ornaments in the bouquet!  I really like how it turned out!

The kids wanted to help me make dinner so my "little home girl" helped me prep the turkey by mixing the butter mixture and helping me make the roasted chickpeas.  My "little home boy" helped me make the broccoli cheese and rice cups.  We all got a little dressed up, lit the candles and had a nice formal dinner.  Unfortunately, my "Home Boy" is a little under the weather, so he didn't get to fully enjoy it...but it was still nice!

Hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I have enjoyed sharing it!  Have a great week!


This post was added to:
DebbieDoo's Power of Pinterest,
Stone Gable's On the Menu Monday,  
Piggy in Polka Dots' Linky Party,
Between Naps on the Porch's TABLESCAPE THURSDAY,
Cuisine Kathleen's "Let's Dish",
Style Sisters' "Centerpiece Wednesday" 
The Rose Garden in Malevik
Rattlebridge Farm's Foodie Friday and 
"Under the Table and Dreaming's" Sunday Showcase!
Petite Hermine's Sunday Linky Party
Uncommon Designs Monday Funday
The Tablescaper's Seasonal Sundays