October Recipe of the Month

October ushers in my husband's favorite time of year. He loves loves autumn and all that comes along with it. He likes the colors of the leaves changing, he likes the temperature trending lower, and one of his two favorite holidays happens this month. Since we have been married, I think his next favorite part of fall is the food that accompanies it. As soon as the pumpkins and other gourds start appearing at the grocery store, he starts bringing them home and asking me to make certain foods.

One that he never seems to be able to get enough is Sweet Potato Casserole. My mom makes it every year for our Thanksgiving feast but once my husband got a taste of it, it became a regular dish in the fall. (The way she makes it is actually more like a pie but since we don't use a crust we call it a casserole.)

I've managed to clean it up a bit and make it a little healthier but for those of you who are purists (like my husband), I'll give you both options for it.

MOM'S SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE

Ingredients:

•   2 eggs

•   1 cup granulated sugar (can substitute with Stevia)

•   1/4 cup butter, softened (I use Earth Balance)

•   1 teaspoon vanilla

•   1 teaspoon cinnamon

•   ½ teaspoon nutmeg

•   3 cups cooked mashed 
sweet potatoes

Topping:

•   1/2 cup brown sugar (brown sugar from stevia recipe here)

•   1/3 cup gluten-free flour of choice (for a healthier kick, I use a 50/50 mix of blanched almond flour and ground flax)

•   2 tablespoons butter, at room temp (Earth Balance again)

•   3/4 cup chopped pecans (sometimes I add more)

  Topping:

1) Bake sweet potatoes in oven at 400 degrees F for about an hour (depending on the thickness). I usually line a pan with foil, poke holes in the sweet potatoes with a fork and then set them for an hour. When the sweet potatoes start to ooze from the holes then I know they are done. 

2) Allow sweet potatoes to cool to touch before peeling. You can turn the oven off during this time. 
**This step can be done ahead and the sweet potatoes can be refrigerated for later use. 

3) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 2 quart casserole dish or two 8x8 square pans. 

4) In a large bowl, beat eggs, granulated sugar, 3/4 cup butter, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and the mashed sweet potatoes with an electric mixer 
5) Spoon mix into dish(es) for baking and spread out evenly 
6) Combine brown sugar, flour, 2 tablespoons softened butter, and pecans, mixing until crumbly 
7) Sprinkle topping over sweet potatoes. 
8) Bake at 350° for 45 minutes