I recently got two deals on sweet potatoes. One was 35 cents a pound, and the second deal was 28 cents a pound. I sold a good portion of the first batch, but kept all of the second batch, which was 40 pounds. How I wish I would have bought yet another box, but maybe I can snag a deal at the farmers market soon. How do I use sweet potatoes? In many, many delicious ways.
My family loves sweet potato fries. We cut sweet potatoes into fry shapes, vacuum seal and freeze into portions for my family of four. It’s so handy to pull out a bag of sweet potato fries when I need an easy side dish, that’s healthy to boot. Then, for the first time, I canned sweet potatoes which are good in sweet potato pie, casseroles, and just mashed with butter. I also froze some in chunks for roasting. You can also make sweet potato powder to save shelf space. Last but not least, I made sweet potato casserole for Christmas to accompany a ham, kale with bacon, cranberry salad (some whipped cream, nut marshmallow concoction my husband likes) home canned green beans, home canned corn, and mashed potatoes.
Because I don’t like anything too sweet, this recipe works for me because it’s lighter than the traditional recipe. I put my sweet potato casserole, unbaked, in the freezer a few weeks ago, along with pumpkin pies. For a smaller, non-holiday meal you could cut this recipe in half and give your family a weeknight dinner treat, and serve with fried ham steaks and green beans.
When prices on something like sweet potatoes plunge in price, stock up and diversify the ways you preserve them – – it’s a way to save money, and enjoy the sale prices all year long. If you have any questions on how to preserve a type of produce or meat, visit the Preserved Home Community Facebook page and ask me a question!
Sweet Potato Casserole – – Make Ahead Holidays
5 pounds of sweet potatoes, boiled and mashed
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup half-and-half
1/2 cup maple syrup (if you make corn cob syrup that would work too)
1 large egg
Topping
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup chilled butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup chopped pecans
Combine mashed sweet potatoes with vanilla through egg.
Make sure the sweet potatoes aren’t piping hot to avoid scrambling the egg! Mix well, and put into a greased 9×13 casserole. Pictured here is a smaller dish since I cut the recipe in half for my family.
Cut butter into the flour and brown sugar. Add chopped pecans, and sprinkle on top of casserole. You can place in freezer, or cover and bake for 20 minutes at 375, then uncovered for about 20 minutes or until done. After freezing, let thaw before baking.
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