i had never heard of sweet potato casserole until i met my ex husband's family. we had just started dating and went over to have some thanksgiving dinner with them. it was the first 'real' thanksgiving that i felt was like home to me. the dodson family is all from tennessee and cook great southern style foods...no matter what it is....so yummy! i fell in love with the family and their food that day :) one of my favorite things (which everything has become my favorite for the holidays) is the sweet potato casserole. i asked for the recipe. i see looks flying across the table....uh oh....what had i done now....i had experienced people telling me they don't share their recipes, so i was thinking fast as how to save this situation with declining needing it.....then the story came out....
it was from my {then} boyfriend's ex girlfriend. seems it was a secret family recipe of her family that she shared to win this family over to her. it wasn't supposed to be shared, but guess what????? i got it ;)
and as in most of my recipes, as i am sure you do, it has been changed....to protect the innocent to make it my own. one year -- and many since then, our family has not been eating white sugar or white flour. so i made some changes to it to make it more healthy, and no one seems to take notice and its really good.
Sweet Potato Casserole
- 2 C. sweet potatoes, baked
- 1 C. sugar (I use 1/2 C. honey)
- 1/2 t. salt
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1/4 C. butter
- 1/2 C. milk, maybe more
- 1 t. vanilla
Mix these together and top with:
- 1 C. brown sugar (I have used sucanat, but not as good)
- 1 C. chopped pecans
- 1/2 C. flour--i usually use whole wheat, but this year will experiment with gluten free ingredients
- 6 T. butter
Bake at 350 for 35 minutes.
this recipe, the biscuits with cranberry sauce and the turkey and gravy are the ONLY things my family will eat for left overs....I am left with all the other good stuff :)
ok...this has to be one of the best turkey recipes I have Ever found....and the story behind it is pretty good too :)
I had a friend (i say had because I haven't seen her in YEARS)...who was single. cooking and the kitchen were not really her specialty. one year, she came home from visiting family boasting about this magnificent turkey recipe....she cooked it for us on New Year's day...I asked for the recipe...she said no, it was a family secret and I could not have it....ok...I don't know about you, but when someone tells me that, I am determined to find it or figure it out :D. She would not tell me ANYthing...I remember it tasting almost cajun, and it was soooo yummy. I tried to let it go. Fast forward a year or two down the road. She was moving. Needed help with packing. She put me in charge of packing up the kitchen, 'since I was a natural in the kitchen and all'. well, I was packing away, just minding my own business, and went to the top of the refrigerator. ALLLLL these papers came pouring down...and wouldn't ya know it? that recipe for the turkey was RIGHT on the top of the stack....ah, my luck.....well, I knew she did not want me to have this recipe, so copying it was out of the question...so I wrote the main parts on my hand...yep...I was determined to get it....but what i didn't count on was the sweat washing some of it off.....when I realized that had happened, I read it and re-read it and repeated it to myself so much I memorized it. I went home and quickly wrote it out. I didn't make it until the next Holiday season, so I was going off a pregnant and nursing mama's memory...not much there--so it became my own rendition...