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 large 40-ounce can of cut sweet potatoes or 3 smaller 15-oz cans, reserve the liquid syrup

*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)

Kosher Salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and butter a 2-quart sized baking dish.

2. Empty the entire can of sweet potatoes (save liquid separately) into a medium saucepan

and bring to a boil.  Heat about 15 minutes, until hot and tender, while adding some of the reserved liquid to get it to a loose consistency- but not too drippy (like soft oatmeal).  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.  Add a pinch of salt to taste to balance out the sweetness. 

4.  Spread the mix evenly into the buttered baking dish.

5. To make the topping: In another bowl, mix the brown sugar, chopped pecans, flour, and 1/3 cup melted butter. You can also add a pinch of salt to this to taste.

6.  Spread the crumbly mix evenly over the sweet potato mixture.

7. Bake 35 minutes, or until a knife inserted near the center of the casserole comes out clean.

Watch the Sweet Potato Casserole song by Flula Borg

Super Easy Teriyaki Sautéed Mushrooms

This is an incredibly quick, easy, and DELICIOUS way to prepare a batch of sautéed mushrooms to use as a topping on just about anything! It is also extremely inexpensive and the ingredients are likely things you already have in your refrigerator.

I like to put these teriyaki mushrooms on veggie burgers, but I also love them in a rice bowl or noodles, or with other vegetables.

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced

1 clove fresh garlic, smashed and finely chopped

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon Teriyaki sauce (such as Mr. Yoshida’s)

1 tablespoon red cooking wine

Black pepper to taste

1. In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and olive oil together. When everything is melted and it starts to get a little bubbly, add in your fresh garlic and stir quickly. Never let your garlic burn.

2. Immediately add the fresh mushrooms and sauté to let the mushrooms cook a little bit. About a minute or two. They will shrink down slightly.

3. Once the mushrooms are starting to get hot, add in the red wine and teriyaki sauce. You can add extra teriyaki sauce if you like. When the sauce starts to bubble, turn the heat down to simmer. Gently stir everything for about 4 more minutes.  Add some fresh ground black pepper to taste.

4. Use the mushrooms immediately, or let them cool to store in the refrigerator for later use. 

Easy Blackberry Cobbler

I found this recipe after blackberries completely took over our yard and left it looking like a "Life After People" documentary.  I needed a way to use the berries, after all the trouble they'd caused us.  We collected a bunch of the ripe berries before taking down all of the vines.  This recipe is so simple and easy, and oh my...so good.  Don't forget to put a little vanilla ice cream on top when you serve it.  
Theoretically, you could make someone fall in love with you, using this cobbler.  It is just that dangerous.

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt, maybe a tiny bit more.

2/3 cup milk

1/2 butter (1 stick)

16 ounces blackberries, fresh or frozen, cleaned and drained.

1. In a 2-quart baking dish, melt the butter.

2. In a separate bowl, mix all of the ingredients except the berries.

3. Carefully pour the batter over the melted butter in the baking dish. DO NOT STIR - you are gently layering it on top.

4. Add the berries on top of the batter, dotting them evenly over the whole thing.  (As it cooks, the berries will sink down and the batter will rise over them and cover them.  It's kind of miraculous how perfectly it happens.  See my picture below.)

5. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 40 minutes, or until the crust turns a golden brown.

***For extra flavor, I added a pinch of ground cloves and a few drops of vanilla extract to the batter.