"Basket of Kindness" Turkey Tips and Recipes

Our community partner, eMeals.com, is collaborating with us to bring practical nutrition information to food insecure families. This Thanksgiving, we will give this printed information from eMeals to every family that receives a frozen turkey and "Basket of Kindness" with all the ingredients they will need for a full holiday dinner. The eMeals team developed instructions for safely thawing, handling and preparing the turkey, and included a classic corn recipe that makes delicious use of some of the ingredients in the "Basket" (now a tote bag) along with a treasured and time-tested eMeals family recipe for leftover turkey (try it!) We were so intrigued by the content of the eMeals hand-out, we thought you might enjoy learning these tips and recipes as well. Happy Turkey Day!


How to Cook a Thanksgiving Turkey (the Easy Way!) 

To thaw: Place a 12- to 14-pound frozen turkey (still wrapped) on a tray, and thaw it in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days.

#1 Unwrap turkey, and remove bag of giblets and neck. Drain juices, and pat turkey dry with paper towels. Tip: If you like, place the giblets in a saucepan half full with water. Boil 30 to 45 minutes. Chop meat; add to your gravy while it heats.
#2 Place turkey on a rack in a greased pan. For extra flavor, stuff a cut-up onion or a few pieces of celery inside the turkey. Rub turkey all over with 1/4 cup softened butter (half of a stick). Generously sprinkle turkey with salt and pepper. Tip: Be sure to wash your hands after working with the raw turkey.
#3 Preheat oven to 325°F. Roast turkey 2 hours, loosely covered with foil, basting once or twice with melted butter. Uncover and roast 1 to 1 1⁄2 hours longer or until turkey is done, basting often. Turkey is done when you can wiggle the legs, the juices run clear, and a meat thermometer inserted into the breast registers at least 165°F. Tip: Generally, you can count on cooking a turkey 20 to 22 minutes per pound.
#4 Let turkey rest, covered with foil, up to 45 minutes before slicing.

Tip: A 12-pound turkey typically feeds about 12 people. Eat or freeze any leftover turkey within 3 days.


Turkey Crunch 
Serves 6 to 8

This dish makes great use of leftover turkey meat. 

3 cups chopped cooked turkey

1 cup chopped celery

1 sweet onion, chopped

2 (10.75-oz) cans cream of chicken soup

1 (6.5-oz) can sliced mushrooms, drained

1 (2-oz) pkg slivered almonds (optional)

1 Tbsp curry powder

1 cup mayonnaise

1⁄2 cup milk

1 1⁄2 cups rice

1 (5-oz) can chow mein noodles

1. Preheat oven to 350°F; lightly grease a 13- x 9-inch baking dish.

2. Mix turkey, celery, onion, soups, mushrooms, almonds (if using), 1 tsp salt, 1⁄2 tsp pepper, curry, mayonnaise and milk in a large bowl. Pour into dish.
3. Bake 30 minutes.
4. Cook rice according to package directions. Serve Turkey Crunch over rice; top with chow mein noodles.


Corn Casserole 
Serves 6

1 (8.5-oz) box corn muffin mix
1 (15-oz) can whole kernel corn, drained

1 (15-oz) can creamed corn

2 large eggs, beaten

1 stick butter, melted

1 (8-oz) carton sour cream


1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Stir together muffin mix, corn, creamed corn, eggs and butter
2. Stir in sour cream. Pour into a greased baking dish.
3. Bake 45 minutes or until set.