Jessamine County 95 Park Drive Nicholasville, KY 40356 (859) 885-4811 Fax: (859)885-7491 Jessamine.ca.uky.edu

Family & Consumer Sciences Newsletter

November/ December 2018Homemaker Membership

is past DUEIf you have not paid your

Homemaker dues yet, please doso. This will be the last notice in

the mail. Membership dues are $8.Send in your payment to 95 ParkDrive Nicholasville, KY 40356 by

November 15th. If you do notrenew your dues, this will be thelast newsletter you will receive.

The Jessamine CountyExtension Office will be

closed for the ThanksgivingHoliday November 22nd-

23rd. We will also be closedfor Christmas/ New Years

December 25th-January 1st.

When Jessamine CountySchools are closed due to

snow, Homemaker events andFamily and Consumer

Sciences Programs arecancelled.

Snow Policy

Follow us online!**We post all classes on our Facebook page

and website! Following us online is an easy way to stay "in the know" with Jessamine County

FCS Extension. 

Search Jessamine County Family andConsumer Sciences on Facebook and likeour page to stay up to date on upcomingevents. University of Kentucky Family and ConsumerSciences Extension Podcast: https://ukfcsext.podbean.com/

Check out our county website for a variety ofinformation: http://jessamine.ca.uky.edu/

I hope everyone has a fun andsafe holiday season!

Jessamine County Extension Family and Consumer Sciences Agent

Hearts N' Hands Club Membersmaking adult bibs for a local

organization.

4-H Mothers Club Members servingmeals at the Homeless Shelter.

Jessamine County ExtensionHomemakers won the award for the

biggest increase in membership at theFort Harrod Area Homemakers Annual

Meeting. We had 21 new memberslast year!

Elizabeth Hunter, Area Food, Nutrition, &Health Chairman presenting Ovarian

Cancer Awards at the Fort Harrod AreaHomemakers Annual Meeting.

"A picture tells a thousand words"

For many of us, Thanksgiving dinner is the largest mealwe prepare all year. So much time and effort goes intoplanning the meal. There’s the decorations, the placesettings, the side dishes, the guest list and oh yeah, theturkey! Follow these food safety tips to ensure a safeand delicious turkey at your Thanksgiving dinner. If you’re planning on cooking a fresh turkey, purchase itno more than two days before Thanksgiving. I wouldrecommend calling ahead to make sure your grocer willhave fresh birds at that time. Frozen turkeys can be purchased several weeks before. Just make sure you allow enough time for thawing. Thawing should never be done at room temperature onthe counter. Thawing should be done in the refrigerator,in the sink using cold water that is changed every 30minutes or in the microwave if followed by immediatecooking. Contact your local Extension office for detailedinformation on thawing your turkey. Before you start the cooking preparations, wash yourhands with soap and warm water for 20 seconds. Don’t wash the turkey. This can spread bacteria ontokitchen surfaces. All raw meat contains bacteria.Washing the meat will not remove the bacteria. Theonly way to remove the bacteria is to properly cook theturkey. Keep the turkey away from all other foods beforecooking in order to avoid cross contamination. Don’tprepare any other foods until you have the turkey in theoven and have properly cleaned and sanitized the area. If possible use a different cutting board and knife whenpreparing the turkey. Wash and sanitize everything thattouched the raw meat, even counter tops. Cook the turkey until it reaches 165 degrees F,measured with a metal stem thermometer. Thetemperature should be checked in three places; thethickest part of the breast, the innermost part of thewing, and the innermost part of the thigh. It is always safer to cook the stuffing separately. However, if you choose to stuff your bird, use a metalstem thermometer to check the temperature of thestuffing too. The center of the stuffing should reachat least 165 degrees F. Refrigerate leftovers within two hours. Do not store stuffing inside the turkey. Remove thestuffing from the bird and refrigerate it in a separatecontainer. Remove the meat from the turkey before storing in therefrigerator. Legs and wings can be left whole.Remember to eat those leftovers within 3-4 days. If themeat will not be eaten within 4 days, freeze the meat forup to 4 months for best quality.

Turkeys must be kept at a safe temperature during thethawing process. They should never be left out at roomtemperature on the counter, in the basement or any placewhere the temperature is above 40 degrees F. When afrozen turkey begins to thaw, any bacteria that may bepresent on the meat before freezing will begin to grow. If themeat stays in the Danger Zone, 40-140 degrees F, for morethan 2 hours, bacteria can grow rapidly. USDA recommendsthree ways to safely thaw food: in the refrigerator, in the sinkusing the cold water method or in the microwave. When thawing in the refrigerator, make sure you allowenough time. You will need about 24 hours for each 4-5pounds of turkey in a refrigerator set at 40 degrees F. Also,place the bird in a large pan to collect any juices that maydrip and contaminate other food. Use the chart below as areference. For a whole turkey in the refrigerator: 4 to 12 pounds – 1 to 3 days 12 to 16 pounds – 3 to 4 days 16 to 20 pounds – 4 to 5 days 20 to 24 pounds – 5 to 6 days A turkey thawed in the fridge can remain in the refrigeratorfor 1-2 days before cooking. If necessary, the bird can befrozen again without cooking, but there will be some loss inquality. The cold water method is simply thawing the turkey in a sinkof cold water that is changed every 30 minutes. You shouldallow about 30 minutes for each pound of turkey. Be sure touse cold water and make sure the bird is wrapped securelyin a leak proof bag in order to prevent cross contaminationand a watery bird. For a whole turkey in cold water: 4 to 12 pounds – 2 to 6 hours 12 to 16 pounds – 6 to 8 hours 16 to 20 pounds – 8 to 10 hours 20 to 24 pounds – 10 to 12 hours A turkey thawed using the cold water method must becooked immediately. When thawing in the microwave, follow the manufacturer’sdirections for defrosting a turkey. They should haverecommendations for the cook level and time according tothe size of the bird. Plan on cooking the turkey immediatelyafter thawing as some areas of the bird warm up quickly andbegin to cook during the microwave thaw. Turkey should notbe held for later cooking after thawing in the microwave asthis increases the chance for bacterial growth. A turkeythawed in the microwave must be cooked immediately.

Turkey Tips

Thawing Turkey

There is no better time to strengthen the most importantrelationships in your life than the holiday season!Holidays can be very busy and stressful, but they canalso be opportunities to celebrate life with the peopleyou love. Here are some ideas for strengthening familyrelationships during the holidays. Shift your focus from what has to be done to what youwant to experience with the people you care about. Somany things around the holiday season have to bedone. It can make the holidays feel like one big giantobligation. Shift your attitude from obligation to yourhopes for your family during the holidays. It maysurprise you how much a shift in focus can do! Make your goal clear. Let your family know that your No.1 goal is to strengthen your family during the holidayseason. Use language that makes it somethingeveryone will want to do rather than something peoplefeel forced to do. Communicate your goals for how youplan to strengthen relationships with each member ofyour family. When you communicate that you care aboutpeople and tell them they are your No. 1 priority, it canbe amazing how they will respond! Practice self-care. We are happiest and most likely tohave positive exchanges with our families when we aretaking proper care of ourselves. Get enough rest andeat regular meals. Do something you enjoy or havewanted to do and take a little “me time.” You willsurprise yourself when you realize how much morepositive your family interactions can be after you havetaken some time to care for yourself! Put down the technology and focus on each other! Weall spend too much time on computers, iPads, smartphones and other technologies. The best way tostrengthen family relationships is to do somethingtogether and focus on each other. Play a fun familyboard game. Volunteer at a food pantry or nursing homeas a family. Bake your favorite dessert together. Telljokes together. It does not matter what you are doing,just do it together! Spend time reflecting together as a family. What areyour favorite memories from past holidays? Whattraditions are important to your family? How can wework together as a family to keep a focus on thepositive? How can we work as a family to reducestress? Sharing these reflections can help to reducefuture conflict and feel better understood

The last two months of the year can be very busy forfamilies. Often in the hustle and bustle of daily life andholiday planning, many people overlook the importance ofyear-end tax planning. There are several things you can doto realize some year-end tax-savings. One of the mostcommon ways to reduce your federal tax obligation isthrough charitable giving. The winter months are also a perfect time to considercharitable giving. Need is often the highest for organizations,who are either trying to meet year-end budgets or provideadditional services during the holiday season. People oftengive donations in the form of cash or household goods,however, you may also give charitable donations in the formof stocks or even real estate. The actual amount of taxsavings realized through charitable donations will vary fordifferent people based on tax bracket. If you make a cashdonation, it is always a good idea to write a check; yourcancelled check provides appropriate documentation of thecontribution. If you make a donation of household goods or actual cash toan organization, be certain to get a receipt. If you donatenon-cash items, such as clothing or other household goods,you will need to estimate the fair market value of the itemsdonated. For example, if you donated a bag of clothing to thelocal thrift store, make a list of all items in the bag, note thecondition of the items as excellent, fair or bad, and thenestimate the sales price for the items. Be cautious, as this isnot the price you paid for the item, but what it will sell for atthe thrift store. The thrift store may be able to provide apricing guide. If your non-cash donations exceed $500, there will be anadditional tax form to complete. If you prepare your owntaxes using a computerized software program, you’ll beprompted by most programs to complete the additional form.If you have an accountant or other tax professional prepareyour taxes, they will complete it. Donations of stock or real estate can be slightly morecomplicated, but are an excellent way to reduce or avoidcapital gains taxes while reducing taxable income. Becautious if you choose to donate a car or boat to charity.Typically the deduction is not the fair-market value of thevehicle, but the amount the charity receives for the sale. Ifyou are considering donating stock, real estate or a vehicle,talk to your accountant or tax professional prior to making thedonation

Strengthening Family

Relationships during the

Holiday Season

Charitable Giving and

End-of-Year Tax Planning