When my husband pulled this huge, imperfect sweet potato from the ground, my first thought was “what am I going to do with this monster?” It was huge!
I used to shy away from cooking sweet potatoes because I thought I had to peel, cut up, and then boil the potatoes. How time-consuming!
So my quick, simple way is this. Wash the potatoes.
Leave whole, or if they are the size of mine, cut into 2-3 pieces.
Place on a foil-lined cookie sheet to avoid a mess (easy clean-up!)
Bake at 350 until soft. It will be at least an hour.
Let cool, peel, mash and add all of your favorite ingredients. Like orange juice and zest, cinnamon, and butter. Whatever you like to add to your sweet potatoes!
Use your imagination if you want to bake further with a topping. We usually just whip and eat plain, but for Thanksgiving I’ll often add a topping of brown sugar, cinnamon and chopped pecans.
So put the canned sweet potatoes away for Thanksgiving this year! Bake up (a couple days) in advance FRESH potatoes from the store or your garden – you can store in the fridge. And on Thanksgiving Day, they’re ready to whip up and serve!
There’s nothing like fresh garden goodness! And tasty sweet, sweet potatoes!
What’s your method of cooking sweet potatoes, or what’s your favorite recipe?
Come back tomorrow for my Turkey Philosophy and No More Bags or Brines post!
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We’ve always baked our sweet potatoes – eat them just like a regular baked potato, with a little butter {and we usually add a little brown sugar}. Yum! I’ve never grown my own, though – what a treat!
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I love sweet potatoes too and eat them just like the above poster. Now I wish I had one in the house!
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I posted my favorite recipe with sweet potato…it has a wonderful oat topping..oh yum!
sandy toe
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Yum! We love sweet potatoes mashed up with a little bit of sour cream, then we cozy them up to mashed potatoes. It’s amazing comfort food!
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We eat baked sweet potatoes a lot. I just microwave them until tender (about 5 minutes) and serve them like a baked potato…but add butter, salt, and a little brown sugar. Yum!
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I poke holes all in our sweet potatoes with a fork, wrap them in foil, then bake at 425 for about two hours. We serve with lots of butter and brown sugar, yum!
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We microwave them usually – then serve plain or with salt and butter or with brown sugar. Or for a real treat, I half bake them in the microwave, then slice in thick circles and fry in canola oil with a bit of brown sugar until they are crispy and carmelized outside and so soft inside!
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Thanks for the great tips.. Ill have to try this, sounds delicious and easy.
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I usually wash and quarter them (leave on the skins). Then I roast them for 40 minutes with a little olive oil and seasoning.
I also have a recipe for whipped sweet potatoes that is like eating a dessert!
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I love the Cooking Light sweet potato casserole with pecan streusel topping. Here’s the link if you want to check it out:
http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1545713
Shannon
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Love sweet potatoes…bake them all the time and then put a sugar and spice butter on them. (recipe posted on blog today)
However…I don’t think I have ever seen a sweet potato such as yours! WOW!
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We bake ours too. I trim each end off then wrap each one in foil and bake. Each person peels his own, after baking the skin almost slips right off. Serve with lots of S&P and butter.
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We just bake the washed potatoes as is (I use foil to catch the drips too) Slit them open, insert a pat of butter and a drizzle of maple syrup. We eat them right out of the jackets. Simply and yummy~
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On special occasions…..We bake sweet potatoes whole, making sure they are not overdone (mushy). Then remove the skin, cut into large chunks. Layer in a crock pot with crushed pineapple, brown sugar and cinnamon. Cook all day, or until dinner is ready….yum!
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Hi, greetings from sunny Cape Town. I’ve never heard of canned sweet potatoes over here. In winter tho, there’s always sweet potatoes in the fruit/veg section and I put them in straight on the oven racks for an hour or til I can smell the sugar caramelising just beneath the skins. I slit them open and we eat it with a spoon straight outa the skins, makes a yummy ’starter’ or dessert. Also usually a first food for my babies.
Noticed from the comments that you add lotsa butter/sugar etc. I’ve never thought to do that. This is just the way I know swweet potaoes in my family. I have known people who make it in a pot with sugar and butter and serve it with custard, tho. But then you’re not tasting the yummy sweet potatoes!
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We peel and slice into rounds. (I buy only the long skinny ones.) Place on bake sheet that has been sprayed with olive or canola oil. Lightly spray potato rounds after on bake sheet. We season with a homemade seasoning that is simular to old bay or johnnies. Bake at 425 until crisp. They ususally disapper before dinner. I sometimes use yams, and sometimes sweet potatoes. Whichever is on sale and long and skinny so easy to slice.
Happy Thanksgiving to all of you in blog world.
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I’ve made fries, add them to my mashed potatoes and I’ve added them to my brownies!! I have a recipe for black bean chili topped sweet potatoes…but haven’t tried it yet
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I just posted my sweet potato recipe on my blog. It is my favorite dish of the holidays!
Our centerpiece is usually easy too…my son and I collect things from the yard and we paint a small runner with Indian symbols (what they are studying in school) and the names of those at the dinner.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Holly
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I love baked sweet potatoes, they are so amazing. That one in your first picture is the weirdest one I’ve ever seen though! What are you feeding those plants?!
I like a baked sweet potato (halved or whatever depending on size) with a bit of butter as a side, simple and delicious. Or even with come cottage cheese or cream cheese.
When I was in Texas recently I had a sweet potato as a side to my steak and they asked me if I wanted marshmallows and caramel sauce with it! I was thinking these Texas folk are just plain crazy for sweet stuff! Although I read above something about sugar or custard, maybe this is perfectly normal and I’ve just been missing out!
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