Wednesday, January 8, 2020

Sweet Potato Casserole with Crunchy Pecan Praline Topping




SPC 4 life, baybeeeee.
This was so good during the holidays.  Even my picky eater loved it.
The crunchy praline topping was just the right thing to finish off the smooth, buttery taste of the sweet potatoes.

PSA:  Despite the contradictory markings required by the FDA on the can that say both names on different parts of the label, sweet potatoes and yams are 2 completely different vegetables.
Yes, they are both orange in color.
Yes, they are both root vegetables.
Yes, they are often used interchangeably in recipes.
But no, they evolved as two totally different things from separate parts of the world.
Sweet potatoes originated in Central and South America (now grown in the U.S.).
Yams originated in Africa and Asia.  They are more like a yucca root with a starchy, tree-barklike texture.

The more you know *rainbow*.
Anywhooooo, here is a recipe for our tasty "sweet potato" casserole.
*If you don't like your casserole very sweet, you can reduce the sugar by up to half.  We liked ours the sweet way.

Ingredients:
1 40-ounce can cut sweet potatoes
*1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup butter, melted (for topping)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and butter a 2-quart sized baking dish.
2. Empty the entire can of sweet potatoes (including the liquid in the can) into a medium saucepan
and bring to a boil.  Cook about 15 minutes, until hot and tender.  Remove the pan from heat and mash up the sweet potatoes.
3. In a medium bowl, mix the mashed sweet potatoes with the white sugar, eggs, 1/3 cup butter, milk, and vanilla extract.  Spread the mix evenly into the buttered baking dish.

4. To make the topping: In another bowl, mix the brown sugar, chopped pecans, flour, and 1/3 cup melted butter.  Spread the crumbly mix evenly over the sweet potato mixture.
5. Bake 35 minutes, or until a knife inserted near the center of the casserole comes out clean.


Tasty Creamy Parmesan Dressing (mayo based)




So many prepackaged salad dressings made by the big brands are overloaded with corn syrup, overly strong or sweet flavors and weird things.  Gross.  But here is a very simple, quick, fresh, and inexpensive dressing that tastes great on any green salad or as a dip/sauce.  It has a Caesar Salad type of flavor.  Once prepared, it can last up to 2 weeks in your refrigerator. You'll probably use it up sooner, however.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (freshly grated, if possible but prepackaged is fine)
1/4-1/2 cup lemon juice (start small and add to taste)
4 teaspoons Dijon mustard
4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
salt and pepper to your taste

Directions:
Whisk together everything: mayo, Parmesan, lemon juice, Worcestershire, and Tabasco in a medium-sized bowl.
 Add salt and pepper to taste.
Refrigerate for at least one hour before using.

That's it.