Easy Roast Turkey Breast - Video Recipe

Roast a whole turkey for Thanksgiving? No thanks!! I'll go the easy route and just roast a turkey breast - it's quick and easy to do my way. Take the pressure off and keep it simply delicious.

And as a bonus, I add Stuffing under the flap of the breast wishbone skin and I add an extra mound of Stuffing that the turkey breast rests on. So you get it all with my Easy Roast Turkey Breast recipe.

The advantage of only cooking a Turkey Breast is you don't have to worry about dark meat when cooking a whole turkey. Usually, dark meat takes longer to cook than white meat, so often the white meat will dry out even when covered with aluminum foil to help keep it moist.

I don't know about you but I like a succulent slice of turkey breast, not a dry bite of bird. 

Of course, you have to be a "white meat" person for this recipe, I like both white and dark...can't we all get along?

Turkey breast comes in many sizes/ weights starting at about 5 pounds, so you will serve 3 or 4 guests easily and there's little waste, without a lot of carcass bones and skin to throw out.

The good old days.

These days.

You could just buy a whole Turkey on sale and break it down. Practice on a whole chicken first. It's economical and you can make separate meals with dark meat and wings later. Defrost a frozen turkey in the refrigerator so it stays cold. It may take 3 to 4 days until the whole turkey is soft enough to slice apart.

The trick to breaking down a chicken or turkey is to slice into where the poultry leg and wing connect to the main body until you see bone. Next, grab the leg or wing and pull away from the body until you hear a crack - that is the joint separating. Finally, just slice around the round joint and continue slicing until the part is free. You can try to cut through bone, but you need a cleaver or saw for hacking. For a whole breast, I slice easily through the rib cage and break the joints just underneath the breastbone.

Refreeze the dark meat legs, thighs, and wings. The backbone is great for a veggie-loaded Turkey Soup. Of course, you can roast a breast and a leg or thigh together if you are feeding a few.

Usually, figure about 15 minutes of roasting per pound of the breast at 350 degrees. My (about) 5-pound Turkey Breast cooked in an hour and a half - that's half the time of roasting a whole turkey!

 The skin gets crackly and the meat stays moist. Always allow a few minutes of resting time once the Roasted Breast is out of the oven while setting the table and finishing side dishes.

I can't resist Bread Stuffing with Roast Turkey Breast and I'm not particular. I use a typical boxed stuffing from my local 99c only Store and add a few sauteed veggies for good measure. I like cornbread or plain white bread stuffing. 

A chopped stalk of celery and some chopped onion, mushrooms, and garlic all sauteed together, are what I add, then follow the box directions. If I have a small package of breakfast sausage I'll saute that too and mix it all together. My Easy Stuffing Recipe is a click away here. 

Almost everything in the grocery store is on sale this time of year so keep a lookout and click here to see some of my yummy side dishes -- Bacon Wrapped Brussels Spouts or a Green Bean Casserole with French Fried Onions, anyone?

You don't need the whole bird to make a satisfying Thanksgiving meal, my Easy Roast Turkey Breast will do the job!

Easy Roast Turkey Breast - Video

Play it here. The video runs 1 minute, 38 seconds.

Ingredients (serves 3-4)

4-6 pound turkey breast - It comes in various sizes so cooking time will vary. But in general, it's about 15 minutes per pound at 350 degrees -- the internal temperature of the thickest part of the breast should be 150-155 degrees. My turkey breast took an hour and a half at 350 degrees. 

Salt and pepper to taste - just sprinkle on as much or little as you like, about a teaspoon total.

Optional - a box of favorite Stuffing. Follow the box directions or see my recipe by clicking here.

Directions

Nothing to this recipe really, just preheat the oven to 350 degrees and sprinkle on some salt and pepper. Okay to put some fresh or dried herbs under the breast skin if you like. Rosemary is a pungent herb, or sage and rosemary, too. 

Place the turkey breast skin side up and let it roast until done, about an hour and a half or until the juices run clear when sliced, or the internal temperature is 150-155 degrees in the thickest part of the breast.

If you are a stuffing fanatic then add some to the turkey breast before roasting. I like to stuff the wishbone area which usually has a large flap of skin to enclose the stuffing. 

Turn the breast cavity facing up and lay in the stuffing against the wishbone. Raise up the skin and fasten with a couple of toothpicks. Finally make a mound of stuffing on your roasting pan and place the breast right on top of it, covering it with the breast cavity.

The turkey juices will flavor the stuffing perfectly. And you get a little crunchy layer of stuffing that cooks against the pan.

If you are looking for a few side dishes to go along with the plump roasted breast then click here to see what I recommend.

Whether you roast the breast with stuffing or without, try my Easy Roasted Turkey Breast for Thanksgiving, or anytime.

🌹 Happy Birthday Mom! - Mom's Favorite Family Recipes 💖

Mom turns 88 years young on November 11.

And I owe it all to her, at least where I get my cooking chops (and any good sense I have.) Just check out our cooking videos below to see what I mean.

She grew up in Texas on the Gulf Coast in a small shrimping town called Port O'Connor. There, I learned to love seafood.

Her father was a shrimp boat captain. So, while we couldn't afford steak, we had all the fresh-caught seafood Big Daddy would bring home, including shrimp that fell off the big boat's conveyer belt while unloading his catch. 

Big Daddy & Big Mama

Mom had movie-star looks (like a young Elizabeth Taylor) and smarts, and a scholarship to college if she wanted it, but had no extra help from her parents.

So after high school graduation, she was soon married and I arrived on the scene, followed by my brother and sister.

Billy, Berry, and Brenda

My Dad was in the military so we moved around. Mom and us kids eventually settled back in Port O'Connor, after a divorce. Dad was quite a character and the life of the party, but he was also a little too profligate in the alcohol consumption department.

Billy Doyle Robinson

Mom went back to work as a waitress, so I learned how to literally pinch pennies when she poured handfuls of customer tips on the kitchen table for us kids to separate and count.

Mom got back on her feet and found love again with this shuffleboard-playing fellow below, Ken.

Click on any photo to see larger.

After a couple years, Mom remarried and a final sister, Denise, was born (catch up with my youngest sister Denise's Eggplant Recipe, video here.)

Denise & Radish

We moved to neighboring Louisiana the year I enrolled in Junior High School. There she picked up a whole other way of cooking, Cajun-style.

My high school daze were spent in Gonzales, Louisiana, the self-professed Jambalaya Capital of the World. So you know this town is serious about chow. Click here to see a culinary video tour of some local Cajun cuisine at the weekend Flea Market, including Crawfish Pie, Boudin Balls and, of course, Jambalaya.

And here's our first video we made together in my Los Angeles kitchen - and my dear late wife, Amy, even makes an appearance at the very end of the video. You'll get a kick out of Mom rockin' the cast-iron kettle. I make her Cajun Jambalaya more than any other recipe - it's simply delicious.



Here is a link to her Jambalaya recipe with text and yummy photos.

And our latest video together is a gut-bomb Breakfast Taco with Curly Fries! Her cooking is always incorporating ingredients suggested by the family, this time from her grandkids Zak & Matt (I first had frozen fries, but not Curly Fries, in an egg taco cooked by Zak.) 

Mom was always popular with my high school buddies...especially during lunch or dinner time. She brought her Tex-Mex Enchiladas to Cajun Country, and my Louisiana friend Marvin ate them up!

Me, Marvin & Dennis

During my last visit to Louisiana, I had him over when I filmed Mom making Tex-Mex Enchilidas. Marvin liked the Enchiladas so much, he had a flashback to our high school daze.

Make sure to watch my wacky recipe video to the end, that's when our flashback hijinx really gets to smoking (wink, nudge.)



Mom takes a star turn with her next video recipe, her popular Chicken and Sausage Gumbo.

It's a traditional Southern dish and it's cheap, too. Just chicken, sausage, and the Cajun veggie trinity of bell pepper, celery, and onion. What gives Gumbo its unique taste is a dark brown roux, which is flour cooked in oil until chocolate brown.

Just check out the video below - Mom will take you through the steps. And, as an added bonus, my oldest sister Brenda makes a nagging appearance a few minutes in.



Click here to read all about making Mom's homemade Gumbo, from roux to rice!

My Mom's Cajun Potato Salad is the perfect side to her Gumbo and Jambalaya. When she visited me in Los Angeles I got her to do it on camera. I couldn't help but give her a hard time with the recipe. I called it Cajun Mashed Potatoes and she called it Cajun Potato Salad - well, I guess you'll have to watch the video below to see who wins that argument!

I satiate my sweet tooth during visits with Mom. And the best of her pastry delights are Mini-Pecan Pies. If I couldn't make it for the Christmas holiday, then she would send a shoe-boxed size package with a dozen of these tasty pies.

In the video below, Mom attracts a kitchen full of hungry relatives when these pies come hot out of the oven. And it's a miracle they were done right because this Chef de Shutterbug was shoving a camera in her face (and a hot oven) during the whole procedure. We butted heads a few times, but fortunately, it all turned out fine.

I even came up with a way to dodge the high prices for pecans - so check out the video below to learn my budget secrets.

And click here to see Mom's Mini-Pecan Pies recipe with text and tasty photos.

Now, Mom is no angel -- hey, who is? Recently my brother from another daddy, the Swamp Chef, made an appearance with his Spanish moss and all.

When I asked Mom: "Who's the Swamp Chef's daddy?" Her reply was: "That's a very good question!" I guess Mom will spill the beans one day, until then, check out the video below for a dessert good enough to cajole the Swamp Chef out of the bayou!

Cherry Pie - Recipe Video

In Louisiana, there are fast food drive-thru's serving slushy Daiquiris. I don't know how the heck they get away with it. Every time I go back to visit my Mom and Sis, I am reminded about this quirky Cajun roadside icy, thirst-quenching to-go cup.

Now, there are rules to this. Louisiana has an open container liquor law. So, when you get your Daiquiri, as both Mom and Sis reminded me several times: "Do not put the straw in!" That is a DUI violation if you are stopped. However parched you are, resist plunging the straw through the drink top -- until you get home. Fortunately, Mom's house was less than 5 minutes away.

Check out my last video below, and ride along with my sister Brenda and Mom for a cool beverage on a hot Louisiana summer day.

Happy Birthday Mom -- I love you !

National Greek Yogurt Day - Recipes

I always have plain yogurt in my refrigerator and often it's Greek Yogurt. Of course, I like almost any type of yogurt. On National Greek Yogurt Day read on how I often start my day with cool yogurt.

I noticed Greek Yogurt a few years ago and immediately liked how thick and creamier it was. You can read all about the difference between regular and Greek Yogurt by clicking here. 

Mainly, Greek Yogurt is strained and has the whey and other liquids reduced or removed. So the texture is thicker and a bit sourer in flavor.

I never cared for yogurt as a kid, but I love it now! I guess the sourness was too extreme, but when it hit the market with fruit, well, the added sugar was too much, too. Prices have again increased this year, so you won't find these deals below but yogurt is still a decent deal.

These days yogurt with fruit or other flavors is reduced in sugar, but I still only buy plain yogurt and add my own fresh fruit. Check out my video below to see how I do it.

Almost any fresh fruit you can find will work. I find sliced banana and seedless grapes are the easiest to add and they show up cheaply at my grocer. 

I go by what's in season so that way the price is right. You want to keep a watch out for peach and cherry season especially.

Peach season runs throughout the summer months. When you buy fresh peaches they are usually firm, but I always wait a few days for them to soften and sweeten. I also leave the fuzzy skin on, but you can remove it if you like.

The cherry season starts around May and only lasts a couple of months, and the prices are highest in the first and last weeks of the season, too. This year during Covid, the prices were in the $2 to $3 dollar range, unlike years past like below.

How I love cherries. Just give me a bowl of them and the seeds will fly! It takes a little work to slice out the seeds but you only need 6 or so cherries for a small container or bowl of plain yogurt.

Cherries are usually ready to eat, unlike peaches. So check out my Cherries & Yogurt video below. One note, for this simple recipe I use Yoplait French-style yogurt but any favorite yogurt is fine, including Greek Yogurt.

Blueberries are easy to get now. I get mine from the 99c only Store, these days the plastic bins hold about 6 ounces, enough for several servings with cool and creamy yogurt.

Get a bin of blueberries, give them a quick rinse and add to yogurt like I do below.

Ripe, soft, and sweet mango mixed into yogurt is another fave of mine.

We get them cheap here in Los Angeles with our proximity to Mexico. Now, they need to ripen when you bring them home. Usually, they are hard to the touch and may take a week to soften, but they are well worth the wait. Here is how I peel one.

You get a lot of fresh mango in a piece of fruit. Once peeled the soft fruit will only last until the next day in the refrigerator. But that's okay as you will gobble it up anyway. Do you want some Mango & Yogurt? Here it is!

Now raspberries are hard to get. And they are extremely delicate. But when they show up at my local 99c only Store I jump on it!

I find their flavor subtle sweet and tangy when compared to other berries like blackberry. I do get them when on sale as they can be quite expensive, just for variety's sake.

If I have guests overnight then I will make a larger Fruit Salad with yogurt and use a variety of fresh fruit.

Happy National Greek Yogurt Day!

National Candy Day

Halloween was only 4 days ago and I can't eat any more candy...NOT! I have a sweet tooth that will not be satisfied, I'll admit it. So join me in celebrating National Candy Day.

Click on any photo to see larger.

I get Chocolate more than any other candy. And I have my cheap$kate connections, too. Just keep scrolling to see what I mean.

Hey, I will not be denied, I like a Chocolate Bar from my local 99c only Store every couple of weeks. They actually have a great selection, too. And new flavors show up all the time. I remember when Dark Chocolate with Salt (crystals) first appeared a few years ago. I didn't think it would work, but it does. Sometimes it can go too far with fruit that is really just jelly jam centers -- it's sweet-on-sweet...whew.

As kids we did not have the selections of chocolate bars they do now, it used to be a Hershey Bar and foil-wrapped Kisses and that was about it. 

Chocolate with nuts like Cashews and Macadamia is what's hip now, peanuts are so passé.

A sweet-on-sweet I do like are old school Milk Chocolate Cordial Cherries, that is, Chocolate Covered Cherries. I get mine from the 99c only Store and Dollar Tree. Click on the video below to see my yummy review.

Chocolate Peppermint Bark is a tasty combo. It's like a crushed Candy Cane encased in Chocolate.

Have you tried White Chocolate Bars for baking? They are sooo goood and often thicker than the typical Chocolate Bar and usually include an extra ounce of weight. 

Lately, I'm seeing Organic Chocolate on the shelves. It's organic everything these days, that's cool. I cannot tell the difference in taste from regular bars of Chocolate.

You can always find holiday-themed Chocolates, thank god, and amen. 

They are often a hand, a religious symbol, or a hollow-shaped animal like a bunny for Easter, and a jolly Santa Claus for Christmas.

On Valentine's Day, you will see Chocolate Roses with plastic leaves and stems in a long thin box, sappy but kinda fun. My funnily romantic Valentine's Day slide show below includes a Chocolate Rose, check out "The 99 Cent Lover."

I am lucky to live right down the street from a See's Candies Factory on La Cienega Boulevard in Los Angeles. 

A famous "I Love Lucy" scene was shot there. In a hilarious segment, on her 1960's TV show, she and her best friend, Ethel, work the assembly line wrapping Chocolates until it all goes haywire. Check it out.

It can drive you crazy if you are stopped in traffic in front of the See's Candies building. The thick sweet smell of Chocolate is in the air, sometimes I have to leave the windows rolled up when I drive by, it's too much! There's always a long line snaking out the door during Mother's Day and Valentine's Day. 

When L.A. opened the Expo Line metro train stop, half a block from See's Candies, I made a video about all the good eats along the train route and had to include getting free samples from See's. Do check out the fun video.

The most outrageous candy I've ever licked is a Scorpion Lollipop. Yeah, that's right, a real scorpion encased in hard candy..Whoa! 

It was during a trip with my now wife, Linda, from Colorado back to Los Angeles. We had a bathroom break at Papa Joes Stop & Go in Cresent City, Utah. At the cash register, they had a row of Insect Lollipops and I picked the Scorpion, of course. Check out my slideshow below, for the strange trip I took after taking a few licks. 

When California became the first state to legalize marijuana use, it was only a matter of time before Cannabis Candy Edibles were introduced. You can call this Candy for Adults, or in my case, Candy for Seniors.

The manufacturers definitely have a sense of humor, just look at the classic candy names they goof on like Starburst Candy. I'm sure this type of Candy is not what National Candy Day has in mind.

I feel conflicted about having Candy Marijuana Edibles on the market, similar to Nicotine Vape Pen Cartridges that are fruit flavored. It may be confusing to teens and young adults as to the potency and ease of abuse.  

But I do like my Cannabis Edibles from time to time, as I came of age in the late 1960s and have done my share of mind-expanding. I am glad they are legal though, I think being jailed for the personal use of drugs is the real crime.

I grew up with Candy Cigarettes. I'm surprised they are still legal. These Candy Cigarettes were in Gonzales, Louisiana on a gas station checkout counter right by the Lotto tickets. 

I seem to remember they had red tips like they were burning. We would puff on the sugar sticks like our parents smoking cigarettes. I should have asked the cashier if you have to be 18 or 21 years old to buy these?

While Chocolate is my favorite type of Candy, I rediscovered regular sweets in Amsterdam, Netherlands this summer while on my Honeymoon. 

I indulged in some unusual types of Candy from Kruidvat, a retail, pharmacy, and drugstore chain.

I became addicted to Licorice (or Liquorice), especially when intertwined with molasses and having a cream center. This Licorice is called Trollendrop.

I was never a Licorice fan as a kid, but now I like the addictive savory taste which reminds me of anise or fennel, with added sweetness. And Amsterdam locals are definitely hooked. Just go to the candy aisle of any grocer and you will see a dozen brands and flavors. 

There are typical fruit flavor candies like Banana. I liked Cola flavored, It's The Real Thing.

On National Candy Day, if you can handle it, revisit your childhood and grab a bar of Chocolate, some Candy Corn, or just lookie-loo at my sweet imagery, that way you stay tooth cavity free!