Friday, October 15, 2010

Grilling Turkey Tips - How To Cook A Moist Turkey On A Grill

By Bryan Bennett

Grilling turkey is a lot of fun and a great break from a traditional oven roasted turkey. If you use the right technique, grilling turkey will produce a wonderfully delicious, juicy bird. Here are a few tips and techniques you should use to ensure great results.

Thawing - A properly thawed bird is essential to healthy results and reduced the risk of bacteria. Many people wait too long before thawing their turkey. They then try to rush it by running water over it or microwaving. The worst thing you can do is cook a turkey that's still frozen in the middle. So plan ahead and use the following guidelines and thaw your bird in the refrigerator.

  • 8 - 12 lbs. thaw 2 - 3 days
  • 12+ - 16 lbs. thaw 3 - 4 days
  • 16+ - 20 lbs. thaw 4 - 5 days
  • 20+ - 24 lbs. thaw 5 - 6 days

Cleaning - Be sure to remove the packets containing the giblets and the neck. There will usually be two packets so ensure both are removed. Thoroughly rinse your bird inside and out. Remove excess water by patting it dry with a kitchen towel. Paper towels should not be used since they tend to stick and leave a residue.

Crisping - I recommend this if you plan a slow method for grilling turkey. Preheat your oven to 475 degrees. After your bird is cleaned and dried, rub it with 1 tbs. of unsalted butter then sprinkle it with salt and pepper. Once the oven temperature is reached, place the turkey in the oven for 20 minutes.

This will quickly cook the skin and seal in the juices. As you grill your turkey, the skin will crisp and will allow the bird to cook in its own juices, keeping the breast moist and flavorful.

Temperature - When grilling turkey, it's important that your cooking temperature is maintained. Use an oven thermometer next to your bird and ensure that you keep your grill at the desired temperature. Insert a meat thermometer deep into a breast, insuring that it doesn't touch bone.

Do not serve your turkey until it reads 185 degrees F.

If you've stuffed your bird, the stuffing should reach a temperature of 165 degrees F before serving.

If you haven't reached your desired temperature an hour prior to serving, increase your cooking temperature 50 to 75 degrees and continue to cook until these temperatures have been reached.

Resting - A common mistake made when grilling turkey (and serving most other meats) is to immediately start carving as soon as it is removed from the grill.

All meat should be allowed to "rest" before taking a knife to it.

This allows the outside to cool slightly and the inside will absorb the juices. Immediately slicing will cause all the juices and flavor to end up on the cutting board. Let your turkey rest 15 to 20 minutes prior to carving.

Recipes - Recipes and techniques vary, but when you're grilling turkey for a holiday dinner or just a family get-together, use recipes and techniques that have won awards. Average backyard chefs get award winning results and tons of complements without trial and error by... Click Here to Continue

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Bread Machines Are Cool for Baking in the Hot Summer

By Naomi Gallagher

The aroma of freshly baked bread can bring out one's appetite and remind them of home at the holidays. During the cold months baking is like a national past-time. We have so many great recipes for pies, cakes, cookies and specialty breads, it's a shame to not use them. But who wants to be in a hot kitchen with the oven on for any amount of time during the summertime? Most of us find other activities during the heat of summer.

A lot of people do baking only at the holidays and for special occasions. It takes time and planning to put together a great dessert or to bake a fresh loaf of bread from scratch. Many of us find it hard to come up with the time to do baking, so we take shortcuts when we can like using a bread machine to make bread and other goodies.

Bread machines can help to fill the void when you don't have time to cook, let alone bake. It's as simple as measuring ingredients into a mixing pan, selecting a bread cycle, and hitting the start button. In a few hours the bread will be perfectly done and ready when you are.

Many bread machines have a delay cycle where the bread cycle doesn't start for the selected time period. This feature allows you to ready the machine at night and have freshly baked bread in the morning. Or, you could set up the bread maker before you leave for work and come home to a fresh loaf. Be forewarned that some recipes won't work well on a timer-delay cycle. Basic breads that don't have any ingredients added during the kneading cycle, like raisins, seeds, or nuts, are good candidates for a timer-delay cycle.

One fantastic thing about bread maker ovens in general is that the heat they produce is contained very well. It won't heat up your house or the kitchen when you make bread using a bread machine. If you enjoy baking breads and cakes, try using a bread machine in the summer.

Bread machines can also make your bread up to the dough stage. In other words the machine will mix all the ingredients, knead the dough, and let it rise in a warm atmosphere. All you need do is measure in the ingredients and take out the dough after about an hour and a half. Then, you can let the dough rise again, shape it into a loaf or scoop it into a baking pan. During the colder months try using the bread maker to make the dough and finish off the bread in your oven. That way, you can have the best of both worlds by having the machine do most of the work, yet you can enjoy the added heat given off by your kitchen oven.

Naomi Gallagher is a writer and a fantastic cook with a love for machines that help her make the most of her time in the kitchen. Making homemade bread has become one of her specialties. Learn more by visiting her sites where she likes to write about making bread and cooking great food: http://carouselspicerack.com/ and http://sunbeambreadmachine.com/.

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When Your Pee Tube Refuses To Pucker

By James R. Norris

Okay, you had prostate surgery about eight months ago and you think you've pretty much got the peeing-your-pants thing whipped--once in a while you have few drops after you finish taking a leak, but it's no big deal. In fact, your doctor said you were doing so great you might even be able to get Mr. Happy to wake up and get back in the saddle in a few months.

You smile, smugly, when you think about a couple guys who had the same surgery and have to wear diapers to keep from peeing their pants.

You sit on the couch and the cat jumps in your lap--it purrs and rubs against your hands and flicks its tail across your nose. Your face screws up and you let out a glass-shattering sneeze--the cat is clinging to the ceiling and you're suddenly sitting in something that's warm and wet. You stand up and look at the widening wet spot--you not only peed your new Bermuda shorts, but you also peed the couch, and pee is running down your leg onto your flip-flops. Your dog comes over, sniffs your leg and does the same thing he'd do if you if you were a fire hydrant.

Doctors call it "Stress Incontinence"--you pee whenever you sneeze, cough, laugh, exercise or simply get up from a chair. We call it "Random Peeing"--it happens to a lot of guys who've had prostate surgery or radiation treatments. Your pee tube pucker muscle (sphincter) has weakened and the increased pressure from your belly on your bladder probably means you're going to pee anywhere, anytime especially when you laugh, cough, sneeze, get up from your seat or do any kind of exercise.

So what can you do about it?

One possibility might be a collagen injection into your pee tube, which would bulk it up and make your pee tube pucker muscle work better and, hopefully, stop you from peeing your pants. (I'm sure Angela Jolie would be thrilled to know that the same stuff that's used to fatten her lips is used to keep you from peeing your pants). The advantage of collagen injections is that they can be done under a local anesthesia in your doctor's office. The disadvantages are that they're not usually successful and you'll more than likely have to have more injections after a few months.

And guess what? There are risks and side effects.

You could get an infection, you could still pee your pants, you could have problems getting Mr. Happy to perform, peeing could be a painful experience and you could have sudden, frequent urges to take a major leak.

Another option is the artificial pucker muscle--it's a mechanical device that has a cuff, a pump and a reservoir. The cuff fits around your pee tube and compresses it except, of course, when you're peeing. The pump and reservoir are are surgically implanted in your ball sack, which means you now have two balls, a pump and a reservoir hanging between your legs. And this could be dicey, especially if you play tennis--think of what stopping a 100 mph serve with your crotch would do to all those goodies between your legs.

Anyway, the pump controls the deflation of the cuff and the reservoir regulates the pressure in the cuff. When you need to take a leak, you squeeze the pump two or three times until it's dimpled, which pulls the fluid out of the cuff, releasing the pressure on your pee tube. And when you're in the mall and you suddenly start squeezing your package and running for the can, just tell all those folks who are staring at you that you have a problem because you were shot up pretty bad in the war.

You'll have spinal or general anesthesia and you'll spend the night in the hospital. Then you'll have to wait four to six weeks for everything to heal before you can use the device. Until then, don't cough, sneeze or laugh, and when you get up from a chair or couch do it very slowly--having been there when you peed on the couch, the chances are your wife won't even let you get near anything that isn't made of wood or metal.

The artificial urinary sphincter has been used to treat random peeing for more than 20 years and according to the urology folks, the long term success has been very good with only 15 percent of the devices failing after seven years. Wouldn't you think that after damn near a quarter century they would come up with something less crude and longer lasting than a pump in your ball sack and a cuff around your pee tube? The device sounds like it might be something you'd see at a sixth-grade science fair or at a flea market, right next to the picture of dogs playing cards.

James Norris is a University of Wisconsin graduate and seasoned investigative journalist. His writing skills were honed during the 50s and 60s under the mentorship of (the late) Wilson Hicks, Executive Editor of Life magazine. Mr. Norris has written hundreds of articles and stories that have appeared in newspapers, a wide variety of magazines and in scholarly publications. He is the author of "To Pee or Not To Pee" and the ebook, "Biting The Poison Bullet".

"I wrote 'To Pee or Not To Pee' after I scoured the shelves of way too many bookstores trying to find something about the plumbing, procreation and recreation package between every guy's legs, and everything I found was dull, clinical, boring and written in a language only an M.D. could understand. 'To Pee or No To Pee' is the result of more than a year's research and is written in plain, everyday language and tells you everything you need to know about your prostate gland and the rest of that stuff between your belly button and your knees."

For everything you need to know about your prostate gland go to: http://www.prostateandcancer.com

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Prostate Cancer Diagnosis - 3 Reasons Why You Must Not Give Up

By King J. For

I know how you might feel now after being diagnosed with the deadly prostate cancer condition. I know you might feel the world has ended for you. I know you might want to start preparing to say your "good byes". But guess what? It's not over until you WIN against this condition. Yes, keep reading and you will learn 3 important reasons why you shouldn't give up but instead fight to win against this cancer.

1 - Others have survived it so you can survive it too: It's a fact that not everyone who is diagnosed with this condition die of it. Many people have survived and lots of more people keep surviving this cancer, even those that their cases were dire. The fact that they have survived it means that you can survive it too. You should find out what they did to survive it and start doing the same things.

2 - You owe it to your loved ones to fight and survive: Your loved ones still want you here. There are still many things you haven't done with them. They need you around for many more years. So, you should fight to survive this cancer so that you can be with them for as long as possible. If you have that DOGGED and DETERMINED mindset that you will do everything possible and find every way possible to survive this prostate cancer, this will really help you, more than to have a resigned mindset. The fact is that you just don't know what lies in front of you. Tomorrow might just be the day of breakthrough for you when you will finally get a workable solution to the condition, so you shouldn't give up. Instead, you should stay positive all day and continue looking for ways to survive this cancer.

3 - You owe it to yourself to fight and survive: I am sure there are still lots of important things in your life that you haven't done yet, so why give up and wait to die just because of the diagnosis of prostate cancer? You still have your life to live and there are still lots of things you have to do in this life. So, you shouldn't give up. You can win against this disease if you really fight it. Like one motivational speaker used to say, you should LIVE FULL and DIE EMPTY!

Seriously, if you really do all you can to fight this condition, you can survive. Lots of people, not just in the United States of America, but all over the world, have survived this condition. Like I always say - if they could survive it, you can survive it too. So, stay open and keep looking for ways to survive... and you will find the ways necessary to survive!

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Bonding With Your Dog

By Kelly Marshall

You have always wanted to have a dog in your life and now seems like the perfect time to adopt that special canine. You find yourself looking forward to sharing that special companionship that can only exist between man and his best friend. However, you realize that the puppy you have chosen to bring into your life is going to need time, attention, and love to form the kind of bond with you that your truly want.

Bonding with your dog is a one on one relationship, the more attention, love and respect that you give him the more he will trust you and in return the more he will love and be committed to you. It is very important that your dog trusts you and not fear you. Even training your dog should be done with this in mind. Being firm with a dog is fine, as long as he knows that you mean what you say without being afraid of you. If your dog has an accident it is advisable to take it calmly and not react in a way that makes your dog nervous.

As you get closer to your dog and meet all his needs you will find that your dog has steadier nerves and is more confident about himself. Getting a dog to be confident will make him much more relaxed and he will be more apt to give you attention and do your bidding. Letting your dog know that he is doing the right thing, by telling him that he is a good dog and giving him a treat will encourage him to keep doing the right things. If your dog misbehaves, you should never mistreat him or hit him, instead be firm and tell him `No.' A dog is who is firmly but lovingly disciplined is both less fearful and more eager to please.

Bonding with your dog does take time and patience, but it will make such a great difference to the kind of relationship you and your dog will have. It will make your dog want to do things that you ask him to do as well as making him more socialized, and more confident. That trust and confidence will show in every interaction between the two.

Most of the times when you see a dog that is completely comfortable and at ease when meeting strange new people or being put in a new situation it is because he has absolute trust and confidence in his owner. He knows that his owner would never place him in danger and therefore, feels more relaxed and confident.

Seeing the loving bond that has formed between a person and his dog is truly amazing. What is even more amazing however, is you yourself sharing that bond with your own dog. The kind of love and trust that can develop between man and his best friend can improve the quality of your life and make living far more enjoyable. It's an experience like no other.

Kelly Marshall is a popular contributor at Oh My Dog Supplies - where you can find dog crate beds, dog steps, warm dog coats, and more unique dog gear that you'll never find at your local pet store.

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Keep Barking to a Limit

By Sarah Grace V. Villaflor

Sometimes it is pitiful to see your dog being annoyed by your neighbor specifically when they approach to suggest you something regarding to keep your doggie away. And since your pet dog is your best friend, you would not allow to happen no matter what it takes.

I have listed several things you may try to help your dog refrain from excessive barking and hopes this article may also help you to please your circle of neighborhood.

1. Buying a kennel for your dog will be more of a help. However, keeping him inside more than 10 hours will be a depressive time for him, especially for puppies. This is best done only when you are away from your house and no one could take care of your dog. Additionally, if ever he would bark incessantly without you, no one would dare to hurt him out of irritation. You should be sure that whenever you would do this to him, he is comfortably enough to move around the kennel.

2. Sometimes dogs bark because they are not familiar with the things they see in their environment. Try to put him away strangers so he will not be scared.

3. If you feel that your neighbors are already having problems with the excessive barking of your dog, make the first move to talk with them. Make them understand why your dog barks. You can also ask them the definite time of the incessant barking of your dog so you can establish a plan in teaching your dog the right way of barking.

4. Bringing him along with your family activities can stop his barking problems. Sometimes the cause of it is his loneliness. Help your dog to organize his habit like you're going to knock on the door when you get home or cuddling him so tight before you go to bed.

5. Give your dog a stuff that will erase his boredom. Other owners pour their dogs with toys of different colors and shapes that look appealing to dogs. Other than toys, you can also offer him foods or anything that will make his spare time fruitful for him.

6. As the dog owner, you should know why your dog barks - what stimulates him to do so, when and where he often barks. Monitor him so you could identify the very problem you are dealing with your dog.

7. Do not shout at your dog. It is better to talk with him in a gentler manner. It is possible for to him to imitate your way of speaking and bark loud back at you. You can teach him the words "whisper", "sit", or even "sshh".

8. Hand signals can be taught to your dog. A dog can averagely memorize a new trick through repetition by 30 - 60 times. You can ask your children to teach this technique to add their bonding moments with your dog, instead of inviting him to bark loudly.

9. You should avoid your pet by always being too excited. Even people when too enlivened express their feeling through outcry or shouting. It will more likely to be his habit if you would tolerate his usual excitement.

10. Now, if you feel you have tried all the possible attempts to stop your from excessive barking yet still those aren't working, put away your away your mercy for once and confine him away from the reach of your neighbors.

These are the things I have learned through observation when I was finding solutions to my dog's barking problems. This has truly helped me a lot and it will be a great assistance for you and your dog, too. Just take time and lengthen your patience. You can do it.

Find out more about managing your dog barking problems, click on the following links:

Prevent Dog Barking

How To Stop Dog Barking

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