Sweet Butternut Squash

OMG!  I am back in the groove again.  I have been decorating for Christmas for the last 6 days and I am still not done!  Why, oh why, do I do this every year!  I wasn't even going to decorate this year, but my youngest decided to come for the holiday, and to my surprise she is coming home to stay.  She has had enough of living in a foreign country and wants to be back at the old homestead.

Yesterday was Thanksgiving, and in between preparing food I was still decorating.  It was hard for me to cook this year, there were only four of us eating. I have never in my life cooked for so few people for this holiday, I always have a houseful for Thanksgiving.  One of the four of us that was eating is a vegan, so no turkey for him!  I had to make something he would eat, he also does not eat anything white, so mashed potatoes were out too!  It is difficult when you are a meat eater, cooking for someone who is not, and you have to come up with a tasty dish that they can eat. So my gears were going and this is what I came up with.

Instead of the traditional sweet potatoes for dinner, I made butternut squash instead.  My mother used to bake sweet potatoes in the oven with butter and brown sugar, so that is how I always made them.  Well, the vegan does not eat butter.  SO, I had this package of cleaned and cut butternut squash in the fridge, I pulled some light brown sugar, honey and cinnamon out of the pantry, tossed it all together in a casserole dish and baked it at 350  degrees for about 40 minutes.  Let me tell you, it was way better than sweet potatoes!

Herbed Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Sweet potatoes are a now a new favorite of my family, having a vegetarian in the house has brought us to try a lot of different food items.  I usually only serve sweet potatoes at Thanksgiving, but now I am finding new ways to make them.  I mash them with cinnamon and nutmeg, sometimes just salt and pepper, made a casserole out of them with pecans and now making all kinds of baked fries.  They come out of the oven crispy on the outside and smooth and creamy on the inside.  This is how I make them - 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  I used 3 big sweet potatoes for 4 people (that was plenty, even had some leftover), olive oil and my fry seasoning from WS (love this store!), this seasoning mix is FANTASTIC!. They also have it in a chili flavor.

 This is the garlic herb flavor.

 I do not peel my potatoes, I wash them and then hand cut them into fries.  Toss with a little olive oil and the seasoning, bake for 20 -25 minutes until browned and crispy.  You can also toss with a little canola oil and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar, or toss with canola oil and serve with pure maple syrup  for a sweet dessert or snack.

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.