For some, sweet potatoes are the best potatoes. Here is a sweet potato casserole from our intern Sarah that she makes for her family.  She made this recipe up as she was making it last Thanksgiving and it was a hit with them!

Tools:

Good Chopping Knife

Preferred method of vegetable peeling

Potato masher or a Big Spoon

8 x 8 Baking Dish (Depending on the deepness of the pan, you may need to do more than one batch)

Large Pot

Colander

Cutting Board

Ingredients:

2-3 large Sweet Potatoes

Water (for boiling the potatoes)

Brown Sugar

Cinnamon

Salted Butter

Milk

Mini Marshmallows

3 cups of Pecans (leave these out in case of allergies!)

Preparation:

Preheat your oven to 350*. Then first peel and dice up the potatoes. Take your pot and put in the potato pieces with enough water to cover. Bring the water to a boil, and leave for 5 minutes. Check the potatoes with a knife or fork every five to ten minutes. When they slide off the utensil easily, they’re ready to mash. Drain using your colander. This step is according to taste. Start by adding small amounts of your cinnamon and sugar, being sure to taste it as you go. If you’re going to put marshmallows on the top, make sure your cinnamon flavor is stronger than your sugar flavor. If your mixture starts to get too thick from stirring the starch, add a splash or two of milk. A bit of butter can be added for some extra richness and to get some salt to enhance your flavors.(Optional) If you’re sure no one eating this dish is allergic to them, chop pecans into small pieces, making sure they don’t have any shell remnants on them. Even the pre-shelled pecans can have some. Fold the nuts into your potato mixture. Take your potato mixture and lay it into your glass baking dish. Smooth it with a spoon to level and for even baking. If your potatoes are still warm you may skip the additional baking. If they are cooled, once your oven is preheated, put just the dish in for about 10 minutes to heat them through. Remove your potatoes from the oven, and place your mini marshmallows. Put the dish back in the oven, keeping an eye on it! The marshmallows brown fast and can catch fire. Once brown, carefully take the dish out to cool.