Hey, Sugar!

I love my clients for many reasons, but it's always a good day when they give me a family recipe that they love using for special occasions! They sit in my chair and talk it up so much that I just have to ask for it! I always preface my request by trying to be understanding in case it's a "secret", but usually, they're more than willing to share the well-loved (and eaten) recipe!

So that being the case, I am sharing a recipe given to me by my client and her husband who were given it by his mother, who honestly, just found it somewhere and is so surprised that I'm using it for every holiday dinner. Seriously though, it's that good! I've even handed it over to a few clients myself!

I never used to love sweet potatoes or even sweet potato fries. Growing up, my mom would always use canned yams for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner, spooning butter and brown sugar over them in a skillet, but they still seemed weird to me. Sweet potato casserole sounded a little more appealing, until I saw walnuts throughout and burnt marshmallow clouds strewn on top.

So back to that one day that my sweet client kept gushing over her mother-in-law's sweet potato casserole. She insisted she disliked the use of walnuts and marshmallows as well and that her husband would email me the recipe because she couldn't remember it! Be warned, it is amazingly delicious! Goodbye walnuts and marshmallows! Hello brown sugar streusel goodness! Who knew?

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This can easily be made the night before and refrigerated until time to heat it. The heating process will take a little longer if it is cold from the fridge, so plan accordingly. Where the recipe calls for 4 sweet potatoes, make them either big ones or use 5-6 smaller ones.
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INGREDIENTS:

3 cups mashed sweet potatoes (about 4 medium sweet potatoes)
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. butter
2 beaten eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1/3 c. milk

Topping
1/3 c. melted butter
1 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. flour

  LET'S DO THIS:

1. Bake sweet potatoes at 400 degrees for 1--1.5 hours.

 --Wash and then prick each sweet potato with a fork. Wrap each potato individually with foil. And because sweet potatoes can leak their natural sugars (which can sometimes escape their foil confinements), I like to place them all on a baking sheet to keep the bottom of my oven clean!

2. Scoop out the pulp and place in a mixing bowl. 

  --While the pulp is still hot, beat in the other ingredients. (I can't refrain from eating a few spoonfuls at this point!)

 3. Place in 13x9 baking dish. 

4. Mix the ingredients for the topping and sprinkle on top of the sweet potatoes. (The topping will be soft yet firm enough to actually sprinkle using your hands)

5. Bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees. If the casserole has been previously refrigerated, bake until the top is bubbly and turning golden brown.

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I told you! It even sounds so good before even having made it! Everyone raves about it! You do not have to keep it in the holiday or special occasion recipe file, but because it is so rich and horribly bad for you, that's where it stays in this family! ;) I'm not about to call myself an expert and create for you a healthy version of this recipe, but if you're into eating clean and would like to add it to your holiday menus or would like to enjoy it more often throughout the year without guilt, feel free to doctor up this recipe and let me know how it turns out! From what I do know, I don't believe it would be incredibly hard to do so!

Either way, enjoy each and every spoonful!