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Holiday Turkey

Submitted By : Michelle Reynoso
Serving Size Suggestion : 1/4 - 1/2 Lb. of bird weight per person
Prep. Time : See chart below

1 turkey
1/4 cup butter OR margarine - softened
1/4 cup dried basil
1/4 cup dried oregano
3 Tbls. ground cinnamon
3 Tbls. dried rosemary OR 1 sprig fresh rosemary
2 Tbls. ground cumin
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
2 med. apples - peeled, cored, diced
2 sm. orange - peeled, diced
1 stalk celery - diced
1 bay leaf - crushed

-Spray bottom of roasting pan with cooking spray.
-Remove turkey from bag, reserving the bag, and remove giblets, neck, and excess skin.
-Pierce the breasts and thighs with a fork several times.
-Rub butter over entire turkey; reserve remaining butter.
-Place turkey in a greased roasting pan; insert a meat thermometer in the thickest part of a thigh; set aside turkey.
-Combine basil, oregano, cinnamon, rosemary, cumin, salt, and pepper; set aside.
-Toss together apples, orange, celery, bay leaf, and 1/4 cup of the prepared seasoning blend.
-Loosely stuff the turkey cavity with the fruit mixture; place any remaining mixture under bird in the pan.
-Tie turkey legs together with string and tuck wings under breast.
-Sprinkle remaining prepared seasoning blend over entire turkey and rub into skin.
-Create a loose "tent" over the turkey using aluminum foil.
-Roast turkey in a 325 degree oven according weight:

-Baste turkey with juices in pan every 30-45 minutes; if there's no juice in the pan, melt remaining butter and use that to baste.
-Uncover turkey for the last hour and increase basting to every 15 minutes.
-Before removing turkey from the oven, make sure the thermometer has reached 185 degrees.
-Allow turkey to cool 15-20 minutes before carving.