It's the age old question......what kind of sweet potatoes are we making this year for Thanksgiving?  Everyone seems to have an opinion and everyone likes them a different way.  A few years we made 2 different types of sweet potatoes but with the other million sides our family serves at Thanksgiving we have to narrow it down to one.  Here are two of our family's favorites....although there is a 3rd which I didn't post today.....Sweet Potato Pie.  I promise to post that recipe soon.

Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Toasted Marshmallows

 Roasted Maple Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients:

Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Toasted Marshmallows:

4 large sweet potatoes

4 tablespoons margarine

3 tablespoons pure maple syrup

salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Bake sweet potatoes, skin on in a 400 degree F. oven for 30-45 minutes until very tender.  Let cool enough to handle and then slice each potato in half and with a spoon scoop out the potato from the skin and place in a large bowl.  Discard the skin.   Add margarine and maple syrup and mash well or use a hand mixer to whip the potatoes until smooth.  Season with salt and pepper and stir to combine.  Transfer whipped sweet potatoes into a oven proof dish and top with mini marshmallows in a single layer.  Place potatoes back in oven for just about 5 minutes until the marshmallows on top are golden brown.  Watch the potatoes carefully so the marshmallows don't burn.  Serve immediately.

Roasted Maple Sweet Potatoes:

4 large sweet potatoes

6 tablespoons margarine

4 tablespoons light brown sugar

2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Peel potatoes and cube.  Place potatoes on a sheet pan lined with foil.  Dot potatoes with margarine and sprinkle with brown sugar.  Drizzle maple syrup over the top of potatoes.  Place in oven and let roast for about an hour checking every 15 minutes and stirring with a spoon.  The potatoes will burn on one side if you do not move them around every so often.  They are done when they are fork tender and nice and caramelized.  Tranfer to serving dish and serve immediately.



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I saw this recipe posted on the The Family Kitchen and I thought it was the cutest thing.  I was also happy to see something heathly with a Halloween theme.  I sat with my kids and we had so much fun making these.  I used the sharp knife to cut into the sweet potato pumpkins and they used a two pronged fork to pop out  the shapes.  It was definitely time consuming but the result is super cute.  I would suggest maybe using one potato to make jack-o-lanterns and then just make plain "faceless" pumpkins out of the second potato to help speed up the process.

Ingredients:

2 very large sweet potatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon cayenne

Preparation:

Prehat oven to 400 degrees F.  Choose sweet potatoes that are round and fat and are fairly even all around.  Peel the skin from both sweet potatoes. Slice the tip ends from the sweet potato, leaving the thickest part of the middle. Use a sharp knife to cut a small “V” shape in the center of the sweet potato. Slice the sweet potato into 1/8″ thin slices. Use a small, sharp knife to “carve” jack-o-lantern faces into each sweet potato slice. Put "jack-o-lanterns", olive oil and spices in plastic ziploc bag.  Place the sweet potato fries on a cookie sheet and bake in an oven preheated to 400 degrees for 20-22 minutes, or until barely golden brown around the edges.

Carve "v" shape arcross the  top of your sweet potato

Slice 1/8" thick to make little pumpkin shapes

With a sharp paring knife cut out a Jack-O-Lantern face on each pumpkin slice

Toss in a bag with oil and spices and lay flat on a greased cookie sheet

Bake at 400 degrees F for about 20 minutes until just starting to get golden brown on edges

Linked to Strut your Stuff Saturday

Linked to Seasonal Inspiration by Crumbs and Chaos

Linked to Made it on Monday by Lark's Country Heart

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My daughter Rachel and I both love sweet potatoes. I am always looking for new ways to make them besides just plain old baked. I came up with this version of mashed sweet potatoes. The caramelized onions and mushrooms really help cut the sweetness of the potatoes. They were delicious!

Ingredients:

4-6 large sweet potatoes

1 T olive oil

1 large onion sliced

8 0z. sliced shiitake mushrooms

2 T butter or margarine

1/4 Cup soy milk

1 T maple syrup

salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Bake sweet potatoes in a 450 degrees oven for about 45 minutes or until you can pierce a fork through them easily. Cool for 5 minutes. Remove the skin from the potatoes and place the flesh into a large bowl or dish. Mash the flesh with a fork until smooth.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet and add the onions. Sautee until they start to turn golden. Add the mushrooms and continue cooking until the onions and the mushrooms are a dark golden brown. Set aside.

Add the soy milk, margarine, and maple syrup to the sweet potatoes and season with salt and pepper. Smooth the top and spread the onion and mushroom mixture over the sweet potatoes.

Serve hot.

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