Do you ask the Lord to help you be a good steward with your grocery budget?  I do.  Cooking for 11 is a lot, but doable.  Staying within the grocery budget in order to cook for 11 sometimes feels like a mountain, but God is faithful to provide in unexpected ways!

A couple months ago I ran across a sale on turkeys… 50 cents a pound!  That’s half the price of my Costco whole chickens, and I bake the whole thing at once, so I save on dinner and electricity.

I used to wonder how rotisserie chickens had so much flavor.  I’m sure I am still not sure exactly how they do that, but a little info here and a little info there and our family has developed a pretty flavorful recipe for a rotisserie type chicken.

Part of the secret to flavorful meat and broth is placing the seasoning between the skin and the meat.  I prepare a “rub” made of either avocado or olive oil.  I add himalayan salt, garlic powder, onion powder, thyme, basil and whatever other seasonings I feel like.  Tonight I added some sage and parsely.  What seasonings do you like?

After mixing the seasoning rub, I loosen the skin on the “bird” and scoop the seasoning in, rubbing it around by hand to cover the breast meat and drum sticks.  Then turn the bird over, rub seasonings into thighs and bake it breast down.  Breast meat tends to be more dry than the dark meat and cooking it upside down allows juices to flow into the breast meat to add moisture.  The broth will be so tastey!

Bake it anywhere from 325 degrees to 375 degrees.  Keep an eye on it.  My 15 pound turkey was well done in 2-1/2 hours.  I brought it up to 180 degrees.  The best part was having my 16 year old smile across the counter while I was prepping dinner and tell me how she loves turkey.

We will make several meals out of it. 😉  And now you know my secret to a flavorful chicken (or turkey).