I tried something new as we celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving this weekend with The Vinkle Family.

It was so simple, and I had never thought of it before. My friend Nancy told me about it so I decided to free up my oven and make my turkey breast in the crock pot.

Yes, the crock pot!

With a small kitchen and an apartment sized stove (I blame poor measuring skills on the former homeowner, and that's probably just being nice), having the open oven for a big dinner is a lifesaver!

I, of course, had to be slightly different than the instructions which were told to me as "1 can chicken broth and put turkey in breast side down, cook on high 1 hour, low 5 to 6 hours". I threw in some celery stalks, some onion, salt, pepper, and a half stick of butter (think rich, delicious gravy with the drippings).

Let me just say, a turkey breast is something that can turn out very dry, even when cooked and treated properly. Not this time! It was literally fall off the bone tender. I wanted to throw it under the broiler to crisp the skin, but it was falling off the bone to the point I could not even do that. Fortunately, there was no need. Wow, it was really good! I will for sure do this again.

I also have cast my vote that even though fresh butternut squash is not the most user friendly, it is 100% worth it.
Try this:
Preheat oven to 375
Peel, clean, and chop 2 large butternut squash into cubes
Place in 9x13 pan, drizzle with a little olive oil, a little fresh maple syrup, salt, pepper, and some butter chopped into small pieces
Roast for 30 minutes.
Yum, comfort food at it's best.