Dear Just Be: Yikes! It is my first time hosting Thanksgiving dinner...how do I carve a turkey?

Happy Thanksgiving!

With a little confidence and by following a few simple steps, you can have a beautifully carved turkey on your holiday table! After your turkey is finished cooking, remove the turkey from the oven and let set for 20 minutes before carving.

To carve the turkey:
1. Place bird, breast up, with legs to carver’s right if right-handed and to the left if left-handed. Remove ties or skewers.

2. While gently pulling leg and thigh away from body, cut through joint between leg and body. Separate drumstick (leg) and thigh by cutting down through connecting joint.

3. Make a deep horizontal cut into breast just above wing. Insert fork in top of breast, and starting halfway up breast, carve thin slices down to the horizontal cut, working from outer edge of bird to the center.

4. Now repeat steps 1 through 3 on the other side of the bird.

Special Note: Remove and separate drumstick (leg) and thigh as directed above, and serve them whole or carve them. To carve, remove meat from drumstick (leg) by slicing at an angle, and slice thigh by cutting even slices parallel to the bone.

A special cooking tidbit is to cook the bird in a cooking bag and place the turkey upside down to ensure juicy and flavorful breast meat. For the last 30 minutes of cooking time, remove the turkey from the bag and finish cooking right-side up so as to brown the top of the turkey.

We hope this helps your holiday dinner go smoothly and you have a wonderful holiday with your friends and family!

Dear Just Be: I have been hearing about House Bill 1094- what does it mean?

Many of us spend hours every week sitting behind the steering wheel of our cars. And during those hours many of us are multi-tasking; catching up on work, communicating with friends, etc. via our cellphones. But how and when you use or cellphone in a motor vehicle is about to change. On Tuesday, December 1, 2009 House Bill 1094 goes into effect in Colorado.

The bill prohibits:
1. Operators of a motor vehicle who are under 18 years of age from using a wireless telephone while a motor vehicle they are operating is in motion.
2. Persons who are 18 years of age and older from using a wireless telephone to send text messages while operating a motor vehicle.

According to the bill, the fines will be as follows:
$ 50.00 Fine Plus a $6.00 Surcharge for a First Offense
$100.00 Fine Plus a $6.00 Surcharge for a Second Offense

The new driving law is in response to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reporting that nearly 80 percent of vehicle crashes and 65 percent of near-crashes involve some form of driver inattention.

So next week, as we all return from the long Thanksgiving holiday weekend, remember the new Colorado state law.

Dear Just Be: What do I do with the turkey leftovers from Thanksgiving?

Great question. The National Turkey Federation reports that 88% of Americans eat turkey on Thanksgiving. The average weight of a turkey purchased for Thanksgiving is 15 pounds. That is a lot of bird! And it doesn't seem to matter how many people you have over, there is always leftovers. So what do you do with all that meat?

A great leftover recipe that uses up turkey, and your other leftover ingredients that is light on the calories is: Cranberry-Turkey Spinach Salad. This light recipe is also easy to make.

Ingredients

• 8 oz of canned jellied cranberry sauce


• 1/3 cup cider vinegar


• 2 teaspoons coarsely snipped fresh sage or tarragon or 1/2 teaspoon dried leaf sage or dried tarragon, crushed


• 1/4 teaspoon salt


• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper


• 12 cups fresh baby spinach


• 8 ounces cooked turkey breast, thinly sliced, coarsely chopped, or shredded


• 1 medium cucumber, halved lengthwise, and thinly sliced (about 2 cups)


• 6 oz jicama, peeled and cut into thin bite-size strips (about 1 1/2 cups)


• 6 medium radishes, thinly sliced


• 1/2 of a red onion, cut into thin wedges

Directions

1. Cut jellied cranberry sauce into 1/2-inch-think slices. Using 1 to 1 1/4-inch cutters, cut 16 designs from the cranberry sauce slices; set aside.

2. For dressing: Place remaining scraps of cranberry sauce in a blender; add vinegar, sage or tarragon, salt and pepper. Cover and blend until combined. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, toss together spinach, turkey, cucumber, jicama, radishes and red onion. Divide among eight serving bowls. Add two of the cranberry cutouts to each serving; drizzle with dressing. Makes 8 (2-cups) main-dish servings.

Nutrition Facts

Servings per recipe 8 (2-cup) main-dish servings; Calories 120; Total Fat (g) 1

For more great leftover recipes check out:

• National Turkey Federation


• Better Homes and Gardens


• Food Network

Dear Just Be: How can I avoid frustrations when traveling this holiday season?

The holidays are upon us and that can mean getting together with friends and family to celebrate. If your Thanksgiving holiday plans keep you around the Colorado area, you are in luck this year - the weather forecast looks pretty good with temperatures in the mid 50's, with a decent amount of sunshine up through Saturday.

But what if your gathering isn't happening locally? Keep these few pointers in mind to ease your stress when traveling this week.

1. Check in on-line if possible and avoid lines at the airport.

2. Follow carry-on rules. Remember, liquids must be in containers 3 ounces or smaller and all liquids carried on must fit in a 1-quart size plastic bag. Use your own zip-loc from home and have liquids placed inside the bag BEFORE you arrive to the airport.

3. Have your ID and boarding pass in an easy to locate place to show at the security check point.

4. Check your flight departure time the day of travel and before you leave for the airport. Try to arrive about 2 hours before departure.

Be prepared for increased traffic on our roads and crowds at the airports. AAA reports there will be a .3 percent increase in travel this week. Planes could be more full this year because airlines serving DIA have cut capacity. Luckily though, weather related issues should not be a problem at DIA this year.

For more travel information and statistics, visit AAA.

Dear Just Be: How good are the Black Friday deals?

31 days to Christmas
18 days to Hanukkah
32 days to Kwanzaa

With the holidays right around the corner and the economy not at peak performance people are looking for deals to help make their holidays bright. But Beware!

The deals aren't always what you think. Below are two key points to keep in mind so you don't feel cheated when you go to cash in on these "deals."

1.) Look at the fine print. Retail experts are noticing the phrases "limited quantities," or "while supplies last" in more and more of retailer's mailers. Retailers are using this tactic of offering unbelievable rates on hot ticket items to lure customers in, but doing so with a limited supply or on a product that is not equal to the advertised item.

2.) Shopping online guarantee. Don't think that because you ordered your gifts online you will get what you ordered. Retailers generally don't have live inventory online, so be aware that you could receive an email weeks after your purchase telling you your order has been delayed or even canceled because they no longer have the item in stock.

On top of all of this, some retailers are opting out of rain checks.

So bottom line, to watch your bottom line.... do your research.

More on Black Friday tricks and deals.