Sweet Potato Casserole

I feel like I have been a real runner recently. This potato casserole does not make that notion go away, either. Lots of bananas, potatoes, and other power foods for me... which is good, I guess, because all of these are cheap and healthy! I have never eaten so many baked potatoes in my life. I'm so grateful that there are so many things that a person can put on a potato- my personal favorite is barbeque sauce. Sometimes I like to add caraway seeds or pepper, but there's always bbq sauce. It's quite good...

The other day M and I wandered into a running store, looking for new shoes, and I really want a head band to protect my ears, and we saw this brand called Newton. They had the coolest shoes ever- bright neon colours, and the shoes were so light weight. M looked up the brand later, and saw that the shoes were a whopping $150, so I don't think I will be buying them anytime soon, which is quite depressing. But Brooks are still probably my favorite brand. I can highly recommend them, even though they don't look nearly as cool.

This casserole is something that M has been making for eons now, even before we became vegetarian.  It's so good, and satisfies a sweet tooth, no problem.   I love it to death.  I ended up improving a lot, because we still don't have all that many tools.  I ended up mashing them in a plastic container, which was weird but turned out fine.  And I added nutmeg, because we don't have vanilla extract.  It's still heavenly, though, and easy to through together (especially when you have all the tools). 

You might end up with a bit extra topping, like I did.  It's good on lots of things- or you could just make another casserole.  That's what I'm doing.


Traditional Sweet Potato Casserole

Adapted from All Recipes

Serves 8

4-5 large sweet potatoes
½ cup packed brown sugar
½ cup chopped walnuts
½ cup shredded coconut
1/3 cup natural applesauce
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk or silk
Nutmeg, to taste
1/2 teaspoon salt
Wash and prick the potatoes with a fork. Microwave until tender, and allow to cool.
Meanwhile, mix the brown sugar, walnuts, coconut, and applesauce in a bowl, and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 350.
When the potatoes are cool, remove the pulp and mash in a large bowl. Discard the skins.
Combine sugar, eggs, milk or silk, nutmeg, and salt with the mashed sweet potatoes. Optionally beat with an electric mixer (preferred), or mix well with a potato masher or fork.
Put the potatoes in a casserole dish coated with nonstick spray, and top with nut mixture. Bake for 35 minutes, until heated through.