Sweet Potato Pecan Casserole

One thing I learned from making dishes on Thanksgiving? I am excellent at cooking on a schedule. It made me really, really want to host a whole holiday meal once. Not sure how my family would react to a Thanksgiving with no turkey though. Sigh.Thanksgiving is famous for over eating and over indulging so I was very excited to try this lightened up version of a favorite of mine.

Sweet Potato Pecan Casserole
by Ellie Krieger for Food Network Magazine
Serves 8

• Cooking spray
• 3 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed (1-inch chunks)
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 Tb. packed dark brown sugar
• 1/3 cup finely chopped pecans

Spray an 8x8 baking dish with cooking spray and preheat the oven to 350°rees;F. Don't be scared by the small size of the dish...it will all fit, I promise. 

Bring a few inches of water to a boil in a large stockpot with a steamer basket in place. Put the sweet potatoes in the basket and cover. Steam sweet potatoes for 20-25 minutes, or until tender. Don't have a steamer basket? Me neither. I used a large colander and just placed the lid flush in the colander. Not a technical because some steam is able to escape, but it gets the job done! My potatoes were ready to go after 20 minutes.

Transfer the potatoes to a large bowl and let cool slightly. Add the honey, egg, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and salt. The original recipe calls for 1/2 tsp cinnamon in the sweet potatoes and the other half in the topping. But we really like cinnamon. So I added an extra 1/2 tsp to the sweet potatoes. 

Whip with an electric mixer until smooth. Beautiful.

Spread the sweet potato mixture into the prepared baking dish. 

In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, and pecans. Spread evenly across the sweet potato mixture. Note: the picture shows double topping and the use of light brown sugar. Dark brown sugar may have been worth the upgrade for this one though. I will definitely do it next time. Plus, if you're doing a double topping, I would suggest sprinkling all the brown sugar and cinnamon down evenly then doing the pecans. This makes it melt easier. Bake for 40-45 minutes. 

Yummm. This was the bomb! Seriously, I loved how creamy the sweet potatoes were and the honey was the perfect sweetener. If yours comes out with not all the brown sugar melted like mine, just cover it with aluminum foil. By the time I got to the house, the steam had melted the brown sugar to perfection. And of course I forgot to take a picture of it. Lame. That is one thing that cooking a schedule makes me forget. I focus on the food and not the pictures! :)

Nutritional Information (for 1/8 with a single recipe topping): 160 calories, 4g fat (1g sat), 3g fiber, 3g protein

Nutritional Information (for 1/8 with a double recipe topping): 198 calories, 7g fat (1.3g sat), 3.5g fiber, 3.5g protein

Even with the double topping, this was a very nutritious (and delicious!) side to have on the table. I recommend this for all future holiday feasts :)

Enjoy a picture of a precious kitten trying hard to stay asleep while his mama keeps flashing light in his face. 

Until next time...♥