THANKSGIVING'S ONLY A MONTH AWAY! ENJOY SOME THANKSGIVING FOOD EARLY

Even though Thanksgiving is nearly still a month out, I decided the cool weather provided the perfect opportunity for some delicious Thanksgiving inspired food! We invited some friends over, and grubbed on turkey, stuffing casserole, homemade macaroni and cheese, green beans, and banana pudding. The banana pudding recipe was posted earlier, but I thought I should share the rest in case you're feeling in a turkey and stuffing mood too! I'm also going to throw in a recipe for baked apples, because they are so yummy to pair with the stuffing and make your house smell amazing to boot! All of this stuff is EASY…it tastes like you slaved all day, but literally takes an hour or less of actual hands-on time for the entire meal below.

CROCKPOT ROASTED TURKEY
1, 3-4 lb. roast (white and dark meat)
1 cup chicken stock
1 tsp. dried rosemary
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste

Pour chicken stock into crockpot. Place turkey roast (skin side up) in the stock. Sprinkle rosemary on top of turkey, and salt and pepper the turkey to your preferences. Cook on low 7-8 hours.

STUFFING CASSEROLE
1 stick butter, melted.
1 pkg. Pepperidge Farm cornbread or herb-seasoned stuffing
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of celery soup
2 cups chicken stock

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix ingredients in a large mixing bowl, until stuffing is completely moist. This can be put into a 9x13 pan, but I prefer a 9x9 to make it extra moist (doesn't even need gravy)! Once ingredients are well-mixed, spoon into 9x9 baking dish or stone. Cook on 350 for 30-40 minutes, until cooked through. This dish is fine to mix up the night before and store in the refrigerator until time to cook.

HOMEMADE MAC-N-CHEESE
1/2 stick of butter, cubed
11 oz Velveeta cheese, cubed (about 1/3 block)
1/2 cup milk (or add milk to desired consistency)
16 oz medium-sized macaroni shells.

Cook macaroni shells as normal, until desired tenderness is reached. Drain macaroni thoroughly. Add butter, cheese, and milk to pan. Pour macaroni shells back in and stir over low heat until all cheese and butter are melted. You may chooise to add more or less milk, depending on the consistency you like for the cheese sauce. Salt and/or pepper to taste, although I like mine just as it is.

OLD TIMEY GREEN BEANS
2 cans whole green beans, drained
5 pieces bacon, chopped
Kosher salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
Sugar, to taste

In an iron skill (or any skillet if you don’t have an iron one), brown bacon. Drain off approximately ½ grease after bacon has cooked. Pour in green beans, and cook over medium heat until some beans begin falling apart. Add salt, pepper, and sugar to taste (this will require you actually tasting them as you cook to make sure you have the right amounts).

EASY BAKED APPLES
5 gala apples, cored and sliced into wedges (leave skin on)
2 cups sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ stick butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat 2 or 2.5 quart baking dish with cooking spray. Place apples in dish, and cover with sugar and cinnamon. Cut butter over top of mixture. Cook 1 ½ - 2 hours at 350 degrees. Baked apples may also be cooked in a crock pot on low for 8 hours or on high for 2 ½ hours. Either way, your house will smell amazing!