Best Sweet Potato Casserole with Streusel Topping!

Thanksgiving is a time for family fun and much eating and rejoicing. What does one do when one does not like turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce or sweet potatoes? One eats a sad, lonely plate of tossed salad and green bean casserole, that's what. Until one day, when a sweet long-lost relative comes to the table with an amazing sweet potato/yam casserole with a pecan streusel topping instead of those ill-placed marshmallows. Here is my saving grace this Turkey Day - I hope y'all enjoy!

    

     Prep. time: 30 minutes

     Baking time: 30-45 minutes

     Yield: 6-8 

Ingredients

Potato Mixture:

• 3 medium sweet potatoes and 3 medium yams (3 cups)
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 TB. butter, softened
• 2 large eggs
• 1-1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/3 Cup sugar
• 1/4 Cup cream (you may also sub half & half)

Streusel Topping:

• 4 TB. chilled butter (1/2 stick)
• 1/4 Cup flour
• 3/4 Cup packed light brown sugar (dark brown sugar is ok too)
• 1/2 Cup chopped pecans

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly grease a 9x13 baking pan and set aside.
2. Peel, quarter and boil sweet potatoes for 10-15 minutes until fork tender, drain and dry well. Or, pierce 3 sweet potatoes with a fork and microwave until softened. (This can take anywhere from 6-15 minutes, depending on your microwave and the size of the potatoes, so pay attention the first few timesyou do it!)
3. Repeat with the remaining sweet potatoes.When cool enough to handle, peel the sweet potatoes and place in a mixing bowl. Mash with a fork or potato masher. 
4. Add the salt, butter, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, sugar and cream and mix until smooth. Spoon into the baking dish and spread evenly.

 For the Streusel topping: 

1. In a medium bowl, combine the butter, flour and brown sugar. 
2. Mix with 2 forks or knives, a pastry blender or your fingers to the consistency of coarse meal. 
3. Stir in the pecans. Sprinkle over the sweet potato mixture. 
4. Bake at 350° for 30-45 minutes or until the topping is crisp and lightly browned.

Nutritional Information:

Servings 8; Serving Size 3/4 cup (184g); Calories 360; Calories from fat 140; Total fat 16g; Cholesterol 70mg; Sodium 190mg; Carbohydrate 53g; Dietary Fiber 4g.

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Mommy's Meatloaf

Today I bring to you one of my all-time comfy dinners, which is a staple around this house, as well as a tummy healer when sore (it must be the love).

Now, I know you are all thinking, "but, this is meatloaf. How exciting and yummy could this possibly be?"  Well, try it and you'll be converted for life.  The best way to serve this wonderful meatloaf is with your favorite mashed potatoes and one of my other staples: Green bean casserole!

The best thing - correction, the 3 best things about this meal are as follows:

1. This recipe makes a ton, and it lasts for days (saves a ton of $$$$)
2. You can prepare it all in advance and bake it whenever you are ready (like after a long stressful day at work!)
3. Leftover meatloaf sandwiches! I use spicy brown mustard, sliced meatloaf on white bread. It sounds weird, I know, but YUM.

The smells throughout the house when the meatloaf is baking are unbelievably mouth-watering.  Even if you are not hungry when the meatloaf goes into the oven, you sure will be salivating when the oven dings!

And.... ladies and gentlefolk, here is the long-awaited Mommy's Meatloaf recipe, followed closely by the Green Bean Casserole Classic! 

Mommy's Meatloaf

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs ground meatloaf mix (1/3 beef, 1/3 veal and 1/3 ground pork - not sausage meat)
• You can just use ground beef if your local market does not carry this mealoaf mix.
• 1 raw egg
• Italian seasoned breadcrumbs (approximately 1 cup)
• 1/2 yellow onion
• 1/2 potato (any kind will do, I use whatever I have laying around, Russet, Red, a few Nu, Yokon, etc)
• Worcestershire sauce (approximately 1/3 cup)

Directions:

• Put the egg, onion and potato in a blender and puree.
• Mix the puree with all remaining ingredients in a large mixing bowl. 
• Add more breadcrumbs if the mixture is too wet. You can tell that it is the right consistency when you are able to form a cohesive mass (like a giant meatball) and it stays together while in the mixing bowl.
• Grease a 9 x 5 bread pan (I cheat and use Pam, but beware Pam has Soy Lecithin which leaves that sticky stuff on your pan that will never come off no matter how hard you scrub!)
• Roll the ball of meatloaf mixture into the greased bread pan and bake, uncovered at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 1 hour 15 minutes, or until the top is browned and the loaf is cooked fully through.

Green Bean Casserole

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole milk (or 2 % if trying to reduce the fat)
• 2 - 14 oz cans cut green beans
• 1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 1 can sliced water chestnuts
• ground black pepper to taste
• French's Fried Onions

Directions:

• Mix all ingredients but the fried onions in a medium baking casserole dish
• Bake uncovered for 30 minutes or until bubbling
• Remove from oven and cover with fried onions
• Place back in oven and bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown.

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