Fragrant Roasted Vegetables and Creamy Mashed Potatoes

I was thinking what I could serve for side dishes when I made my Chicken Sherry.  I had a lot of fresh vegetables to use in the refrigerator, I wanted to make something interesting to use them up.  I had yellow and green zucchini, baby colored peppers, onions, butternut squash and carrots.  I started peeling, paring, trimming and slicing.  Onto a baking sheet with some salt, pepper, fresh thyme, garlic and a little olive oil.  The whole time they were roasting in the oven, the house smelled wonderful.  

 My other side was creamy mashed potatoes, everybody loves those.  I used 8 medium to large red potatoes, washed and peeled them, boiled until soft, then drained them.  I poured them back into the pan, added 4 tablespoons of butter, then put the lid on the pot so the butter would melt.  Next, I beat the potatoes with a mixer, added 1/2 cup of light sour cream, salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons of  skim milk.  Continued to mix until all was combined.   The potatoes were creamy, fluffy, tasty and guess what - no lumps!

Sweets for You and Me

This is the first time I have tried homemade mashed sweet potatoes.  My mother always made them from the can with brown sugar and butter and then baked them in the oven.  Don't get me wrong I thought they were good.   Now that I am older I venture into worlds I have never gone into before, and started making and combining foods that I never had. I am trying mashed sweet potatoes for the first time, really, can you believe that!  Who new they could taste so good, even my son, who does not eat any vegetables, ate them! Recipe below.

Mashed Sweet Potatoes

4 large sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped

1/2 stick of butter

1/2 cup of sugar

2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 cup of milk

Boil the potatoes in a medium size stock pot.  The potatoes are done when a fork inserted into the potato will slide out easily, test a few at a time.  Sweet potatoes are very fibrous so be sure they are soft before draining them and mashing.   Drain the potatoes and put back into the pan.  Cut the butter up into pieces, add to the potatoes and start mixing with a mixer or potato masher.  Add the sugar and the cinnamon and beat.  Next start adding the milk a little at a time to reach your desired consistency of the potatoes.  They should be very smooth with no lumps when the mixing is done.  Four large potatoes served 6 people in my house with a little leftover.  Enjoy!

TIP:  You can also use pure maple syrup in these if you like in place of the sugar.