Sweet potato casserole

 
Thanksgiving is right around the corner! I'm very excited! Definitely one of my favorite holidays.  Thanksgiving is one of those days where its perfectly acceptable to eat all day long lots of rich yummy foods and not feel guilty about it, even as you loosen the button of your pants (unless you planned ahead and wore elastic waistband pants!).  Not only is Thanksgiving itself a great holiday for eating and giving thanks and spending time with friends and family, its also the start of the Christmas season too! Another of my favorite holidays!  Between Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years, its a month and a half of eating and partying! I love it!

"Give thanks to the Lord for He is good!"

Psalm 107:1

In honor of Thanksgiving, one of my favorite dishes my mom always made for us growing up is sweet potato casserole.  Now as an adult I make my mom's recipe myself.  I just made some this weekend for a Thanksgiving-type potluck at my church.  A lot of people do the whole marshmellow topping with sweet potatoes. For us, we skip the marshmellows and do a different type of sweet topping for our sweet potatoes.

Usually, I also use canned sweet potatoes but this year I decided to get some fresh sweet potatoes from the farmers market.  A little more time and work but a lovely fresh taste.  Here's what you'll need:

Mom's Sweet Potato Casserole

Ingredients: About 8-10 medium sized sweet potatoes (or 2 large cans in syrup, drained); 2 eggs; 1/2 cup whipping cream; 1/2 stick butter softened; 2 tsp cinnamon; For topping: 1 cup uncooked oatmeal; 1/2 cup brown sugar; 2 tsp cinnamon; 1 cup chopped pecans; 1/2 stick butter melted

Wash fresh sweet potatoes thoroughly and gently dry with a paper towel.  Place them on a baking sheet and bake at 350 for an hour.  Let them cool slightly. Then peel and mash them.

With mashed sweet potatoes in a mixer, add eggs, whipping cream, softened butter, and cinnamon.  Mix until well blended and spread into a 9x13 baking dish.

For topping, mix together oatmeal, brown sugar, cinnamon, pecans, and melted butter.  Mix until well blended and spread over potatoes.

Bake the dish in a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes.  The pecans topping will be lightly toasted and add a sweet crunch to the potatoes.

So for this Thanksgiving, if you're looking for a sweet potato casserole minus the gooey marshmellows, this one is sure to be a crowd pleaser!

Fake-Baked Apple Oatmeal

Ok, first let me start by saying, I have hated oatmeal ever since I was a kid.  It always tasted like flavorless, bland, sticky, grey mush that always got cold too quick which made it even grosser! Yuck! There is not enough sugar in the world to make that stuff taste edible!

I sometimes can be a texture-eater (ya know those weird people who won't eat certain things simply because they don't like the texture of the food...yeah, that's me). And I would claim that one of the reasons I didn't like oatmeal was because I didn't like the texture of it but then I always liked cream of wheat and grits which are kinda similar in texture so I guess it was just an excuse to not have to eat it.

So I don't like oatmeal...That is until earlier this week.

About a month ago I discovered this recipe for oatmeal on another food blog I follow.  And I thought, hmm, that sounds good but I don't like oatmeal.  But maybe I should give this recipe a try because it does look pretty tasty and I know oatmeal is supposed to be super healthy for you and I totally need to get more healthy foods in my diet.  So it took me about a month to get up the nerve to try it.  And now that I have...(wait for it)...I think I actually LOVE oatmeal now!!!!!! Even I can't believe I just said that!

 First of all, I figured out one reason I hated oatmeal growing up was because all I ever had was that over-processed instant stuff...now THAT is gross and I still will never eat that stuff!  Especially now having had real, cooked oatmeal.  And you might think to yourself...."but instant is so much faster!"  First of all, faster does not mean better.  Second of all, instant oatmeal takes maybe 1 minute in the microwave; real oatmeal takes 5 minutes.  Ooooh, that's so much longer (sarcastic wink)!  Now I did modify the original recipe slightly but its still pretty healthy and super yummy.  I guarantee if you like oatmeal and apples, you'll love this! And if you don't like oatmeal...well, consider giving this a try...you just might surprise yourself and fall in love with it like I did.

Fake-Baked Apple Oatmeal

(my recipe is for 2 servings because I share with my hubby but you can easily cut it back to one serving by following the directions on the oat container)

A side note: its called "fake-baked" because the apples are cooked or "baked" in the microwave!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups water...1/4 cup heavy cream...1 cup oats (I use Irish-style oats)...1 medium apple...1 tbs butter (I use Brummel and Brown spread)...cinnamon and sugar (or sugar substitute) to taste

Note: if you want to keep it even healthier, skip the cream and increase water to 1 3/4 cups

Directions:

 Put water in a small pot on medium heat. While the water is heating up, core apple, cut into chunks and place into a microwave-safe bowl.  

Top apples with butter and cinnamon and sugar.  "Bake" in microwave for 3 minutes.  Just as the water is starting to simmer, add the cream.  When it just begins to boil, slowly stir in the oatmeal.  Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.  

The oatmeal and the apples should be done around the same time.  Divide the apples evenly between 2 bowls (for 2 servings) and top with several spoonfuls of oatmeal.  

The oatmeal, cinnamon, apples, and the juice in the bottom of the apple bowl will all mix together in a yummy bowl of sweet goodness!

To see the original recipe, check out Baked Apple Oatmeal recipe on the Foodie Nutritionist from my list of favorite food pages!! Her recipe even includes pumpkin butter...yummm!!!

(Here's the aftermath...)