Thanksgiving a week early

Thanksgiving is my second favorite holiday and my favorite meal of the year.  Why do we have to do it only once?  I made the most amazing Thanksgiving dinner tonight. I made a Pioneer Woman feast.  I have yet to come across a recipe on her website that isn't delicious.  It took most of the afternoon to prepare, and I made quite a mess in the kitchen, but my taste buds thanked me.  Lucky for me Matthew was the busboy so I didn't have to clean my mess. What a wonderful husband I have!!

I have never tried a brine before, but it made the most juicy and tasty chicken I have ever made.  This is my new favorite way to make chicken. (I used chicken because I couldn't find turkey breast at the store.)

The sweet potatoes were like candy.  They could have been dessert, that is how sweet they were.  Matthew loved them, no surprise there!  Matthew doesn't like nuts and Kaelyn can't have them yet, so I decided to use oats in place of pecans in the recipe.  I only had 1/2 cup but it worked well.

I love green bean casserole, but I like the old can of beans and can of cream of mushroom soup.  I decided to try something completely different with this recipe.  It was fresh beans, a cheesy béchamel sauce, and a little kick of heat.  I am a convert!   Everything is better with a little bacon.

Here are the recipes:
Green Bean Casserole
Ree's Favorite Turkey Brine
Soul Sweet 'Taters