Liz’s Sweet Potato Casserole ⁑

I was reminded at my 2016 Thanksgiving Day dinner, with all my descendent family except grandson Camden (some 14 of us) were present, that not all my recipes need to follow my strict dietetic guidelines. Others, who are not overweight, hypertensive, and diabetic, and who are fortunate enough to be able to enjoy seasonal fare gustatorily without guilt or health issues, need also to be fed.

As a case in point, my grandson Max’s bride, Elizabeth, made this sweet potato casserole that everyone just raved about, to the extent that my wife asked for the recipe. That means that she wants me to fix it for her sometimes as an alternate side dish more to her liking than delicious one I prepared for my own diet. It is recorded here so that I may do just that.

I have added some suggested substitutions (within parentheses, below) that are intended to reduce calorie and carbohydrate counts. In furtherance of that goal, you may also replace the sweet potatoes with canned, unsweetened pumpkin, which has significantly fewer carbs than sweet potatoes, and the end product will have a slightly different taste. But, if made this way, the casserole mixture will require a little more <sugar> than listed below. These interpolations are my own, not in the original received recipe.

  • 4 cups sweet potatoes, cooked and mashed
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 4 eggs, beaten (or just use X)
  • 1 cup granulated sugar (or <sugar>)
  • ¼ lb butter, melted (or <butter>)
  • 1 tsp salt (or <salt>)
  • 1 cup milk (or fat-free, low-carb dairy beverage, such as Hood® Calorie Countdown)
Topping:
  • 1 cup brown sugar (or ½ cup Splenda® Brown Sugar Blend)
  • 2¼ tbsp butter, melted (or <butter>)
  • 2/3 cup flour (or use lower-carb flour mix†)
  • 2 cups walnuts, chopped
  • marshmallows, to cover

Add all of the casserole ingredients to a large mixing bowl and whisk until ingredients are evenly and uniformly distributed. Place in a large greased casserole dish.

Separately, mix all of the topping ingredients, except marshmallows, and spoon evenly over the top of the sweet potato mixture.

Cover the casserole and bake it in the oven at 350° F for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake another 15–20 minutes until the topping has browned.

Serves about 14.

baked yams, apples, and bacon

No Thanksgiving’s Day dinner would be complete without a yam dish. It’s tradition. But you can keep with the tradition and also make it interesting with this recipe.

  • 4 medium sized yams, parboiled, peeled and sliced ½” thick
  • 2 medium apples (McIntosh, Baldwin, or Jonathan), peeled, cored, and cut in ¼” rings
  • ½ tsp <salt>
  • 8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
  • 1 tsp mustard, prepared hot
  • 2 tbsp light brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp butter or <butter>

Preheat oven to 375°F. Layer yams and apples into a buttered 2½-quart casserole, sprinkling with <salt> as you go. Spread lightly with mustard and sprinkle with bacon. Sprinkle with sugar and dot with butter. Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes until apples and yams are tender and the sugar is lightly glazed.

Serves 8 to 10.