Stove Top Casserole

A good stove top casserole needs two key items, a wok and hot sauce.

Brown your beef in the wok with a little olive oil and garlic.
Add your favorite box casserole mix - with milk and water, as the box directs.
Add a couple good shots of hot sauce and let simmer.

Jam bands playing, while you mix this together, is also helpful. Music of the Grateful Dead and Los Lobos is good.

Serve this stove top casserole with you favorite vegetable, and that's a tasty dinner.

Brine and Roast!

Basic Brine: 1c sea salt, 1/4c garlic, 1/4c black pepper, and a small bottle of molasses.

The Brine works with time and allows other spices and seasonings to be absorbed. Use 1 cup of sea salt and small bottle of molasses, increase or decrease brine time to size of turkey. Other spices can be adjusted in amounts, according to your taste.

If the turkey is frozen, it should be thawed in the fridge and kept cold.

Mix and heat the brine ingredients in a pan with water. This helps the salt and other spices dissolve. Let cool. With the turkey in a large container, add the cool brine and more water so that the turkey is completely covered with brine water.

Set the container with brine and turkey in a cooler of ice or in the fridge. Pictured is a small 12-pound turkey. Set in brine, in cooler of ice, for around 10 hours.

Add or change spices you like to this basic brine. Always keep the sea salt and sugars - molasses, these are the ingredients that allow other spices to be absorbed.

I rubbed the turkey with olive oil, and then into the slow cooker.

The turkey roasted all day, and family and friends enjoyed a tasty dinner.