Thanksgiving Morning (Turkey and Stuffing) Part 1

We are hoping to eat today around 2 o'clock.  Since we have a MASSIVE turkey it had to go in the oven pretty early today.  But first I had to get a start on the stuffing.

Stuffing:

For the last couple of months I have saved the ends of my loaves of Udi's bread in freezer.  These pieces are usually a little more dry than the rest of the loaf and are perfect for making stuffing.  Unfortunately, I didn' have quite enough bread ends so I had o use a little of the middle also. 

Before I put the Turkey in the oven I chopped the (unfrozen) bread slices into about 1 inch cubes and laid them (one layer only) on a couple of cookie sheets.  With the oven at 300 degrees place the bread in the oven to dry out, stirring every 5 minutes for a total of 15 minutes.

Here is what the first stage of my stuffing looked like.

Turkey:

According to all of my sources Turkeys must be cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees.  That means that our 23 lb. turkey will probably take about 4-5 hours to cook.  Before I put the turkey in the oven I made my wonderful husband pull out the gizzards and whatever else was inside.  Then I took some melted butter (just enough to baste the turkey with) and covered the turkey with the butter.  Then I seasoned the turkey with a little thyme, rosemary, poultry seasoning and salt and pepper.  Finally, I added a little water and chicken broth to my roasting pan (to help keep the turkey moist).  I really don't have a specific recipe for my turkey this year.

 Here is what my turkey looked like before it went in the oven.