Grandma’s Sweet Potato Casserole with The Merry Gourmet {Tales from the Trenches}
This is the latest installment of my Tales from the Trenches Series. An ongoing series where friends and readers share their stories and recipes about the great food they fit into family life. We all have tips and tricks to share with each other: when we cook, what we cook and how we cook the delicious food we love to eat. If you are interested in contributing a story and recipe please feel free to contact me. Today my friend Merry-Jennifer from The Merry Gourmet is sharing her dear Grandma’s Sweet Potato Casserole recipe with us in honor of the Naptime Chef Thanksgiving Week.
Naptime Chef Thanksgiving Week!: Don’t forget that this week we are talking Thanksgiving over here at Naptime Chef. Come share your recipes and ideas and enter below to win an Aluminum Professional Non-Stick Roasting pan and set of lifting forks, official rules below.
Thanksgiving is probably my favorite holiday, but like many of you, the stress of the preparation can be overwhelming. Several years back, my in-laws and my parents decided to have a joint Thanksgiving meal with us, an easy solution for bringing both families together for the holiday. Now, bringing in-laws together for several hours and for such a major meal could be have been overwhelming and scary, on multiple levels, but it was not at all. It turns out that it was probably one of the best decisions we’ve made – and it’s turned into an annual tradition.
Our trick for keeping the Thanksgiving meal stress as low as possible is to have a potluck meal. Everyone makes something special, something that they’re known for or a dish that everyone associates with that person — like my father-in-law’s smoked ham and my mother’s squash casserole. My trick for enjoying the holiday – and the days leading up to it – without wanting to poke my eyes out is to make as much as possible during day or two before that Thursday.
This sweet potato casserole, originally from my father’s grandmother, is one of those dishes that’s a breeze to prepare in advance. You can prepare everything the day before, making it easy and simple to have at least one side dish taken care of (mostly) before the big Thanksgiving meal.
Another trick for a low stress meal involving lots of family? Serve a good bottle of wine. Or two.
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* Items generously donated by www.BigKitchen.com
Recipe
Grandma’s Sweet Potato Casserole
This casserole can be made the day before you plan to serve it. Pour the prepared sweet potatoes into a tightly covered dish; store the streusel topping in a separate covered dish; store both in the refrigerator. When ready to bake, pour potatoes into the prepared casserole dish and let sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes. Top with streusel topping and bake as directed.
Serves 6 to 8.
Ingredients
Ingredients for Casserole:
| 5 | medium-to-large sweet potatoes |
| 1 | cup light brown sugar, packed |
| 2 | eggs, beaten well |
| 1 | stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted |
| 1 | tablespoon vanilla extract |
Ingredients for Streusel Topping:
| 1 | cup light brown sugar, packed [You could also use dark brown sugar instead.] |
| 1/3 | cup (about 5 ½ tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened |
| 1/3 | cup all-purpose flour |
| 1 | cup chopped pecans |
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place sweet potatoes on a foil-lined sheet pan and pierce each several times with the tines of a fork. Bake for 1 hour, or until the potatoes are tender. Allow to cool to the touch, then peel and mash well in a bowl.
Decrease oven temperature to 350 degrees and make streusel topping: Blend brown sugar, butter, flour, and chopped pecans together with a pastry blender or fork. Set aside.
Mix mashed sweet potatoes with sugar, eggs, butter, and vanilla. Pour into a 9 x 9 inch lightly buttered casserole dish. Sprinkle sweet potato mixture with the streusel topping, as much as your heart desires.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, or until the casserole is set.
Naptime Notes
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Naptime Reviews
Favourite Thanksgiving Casserole has to be Homemade Green Bean Casserole! Last year I found a recipe that prepares the entire dish from scratch, meaning no canned soups or processed foods. It was the best I’ve ever tasted and can’t wait to make it again this year!
My favorite casserole is sweet potato, but i make mine with corn flakes and cinnamon.
You may have just saved my Thanksgiving! I always get my Sweet potato casserole from the church ladies casserole sale, but this year they decided not to have it. I’ve been trying to track down THAT recipe but not successful yet. Still holding out hope I’ll get a hold of it in time, but if not, I’ll be trying this!
I think a low-stress Turkey Day is not achievable in my family’s household. But this might change my mind!
Any recipe from Grandma is like gold to me! Looks perfect for Turkey day!
I love my mom-in-law’s sweet potato casserole and, of course, the old standby – green bean casserole!