Sweet Potato casserole and Homemade Applesauce
Thanksgiving is such a festive time with friends, family and of course food! I like to lighten up traditional recipes and omit as much added sugar as possible keeping it simple and tasty. Lets start with the sweet potato casserole. You will need; 4 med/large organic sweet potatoes, organic unsweetened butter, ceylon cinnamon, 1/2 cup toasted pecans, organic coconut oil [or more butter] Swerve brown sugar replacement and a clementine or orange. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Peel potatoes then slice on a diagonal about 1/2 inch thick. Place a few thin pats of butter on bottom of a casserole dish. Add a layer of sweet potatoes to dish, sprinkle with cinnamon, top with a few more pats of butter then continue to layer in this manner until done. If desired squeeze the juice of 1 clementine or 1/2 an orange over top of casserole then sprinkle with cinnamon and add more butter. Bake covered approximately 40/45 minutes until soft not mushy, testing doneness at 30 minutes.
While casserole cooks dry pan roast pecans on medium/low heat a few minutes, stir and careful don’t burn. When ready let cool a couple minutes then add to a food processor with 2 teaspoons Swerve brown sugar, 1 teaspoon organic coconut oil or if you prefer use 1 teaspoon of butter. Pulse until they look like small chopped pieces. Add chopped pecans to top of sweet potato casserole bake an additional 5 minutes uncovered.
APPLESAUCE; 6-8 large Gala apples and cinnamon. Core apples, place in a microwave safe pan [apples will throw off liquid] and microwave for approximately 10-12 minutes or until soft but not mushy unless you like it that way. I prefer it to be a little chunky. Once done cut in half and let cool to the touch. Run thumb over flesh feeling for any core remnants and remove. Scoop out flesh using a tablespoon. Cut up any large pieces or mash with a fork if you like it smoother. Sprinkle with cinnamon if desired. These do not need anything else. Gala apples are naturally sweet and delicious! Enjoy!
INGREDIENTS USED: casserole-organic sweet potatoes,Trader Joe’s organic unsalted butter,Frontier organic Ceylon cinnamon, raw Pecans, Wellsley Farms organic virgin coconut oil. APPLESAUCE; Organic Gala apples, Frontier Ceylon cinnamon.
TIP OF THE DAY: Rather than using artificial or processed sugar Dates are a great way to get natural sweetness into your food. Chop or put in food processor, you can modify and add to recipes.