You guys are going to like this spin on a Thanksgiving classic side dish.   And trust, me I know exactly what you’re thinking.  You’re thinking “Peaches AND Sweet Potatoes?!?!”  “Is this woman out of her ever lovin’ mind?!”  Well, as a matter of fact, probably.  But yes, peaches *do* go well with sweet potatoes and I’ll prove it to you.  It would actually work better if you made this dish so you had additional evidence with which I could prove just how right I really am.

The story starts with me, frantically preparing Thanksgiving dinner one year, I accidentally opened a can of peaches instead of sweet potatoes.  Not wanting to waste the peaches, I threw them in and played around with the ingredients. To my surprise it was delicious! And others thought it was really good too.  It wasn’t until I had people “mmm’ing” over them that I dropped the surprise on them that I’d accidentally put peaches in with the potatoes, but didn’t want them to go to waste so I improvised.  Nothing like a recipe being born out of sheer dumb luck.  I know my blog says ‘Sheer brilliance’, but sometimes, just plain ugly happens in the kitchen my friends.  And we dare not speak its name!

Sweet potatoes were normally not served at our family Thanksgiving, however I vaguely remember my Aunt MarJean, (or maybe it was my Grandma)  making sweet potatoes one year and she was kind enough to feed my marshmallow addiction by covering the “candied yams” with a nice, thick layer of spongy, sugary blissfulness.  The only thing I ate were the marshmallows.  The more I think about it, that poor sweet potato was never going to win when put up against a layer of toasted marshmallow.  Nope- sorry.  I wouldn’t even choose a date with Johnny Depp dressed like Captain Jack Sparrow over a nice layer of roasted, gooey marshmallows.  A girl has to have priorities. Mine is clearly marshmallows.  I should probably start finding a therapist because that cannot be normal.

The one picture I have of this dish is almost indistinguishable, so I’ll post a picture after Thanksgiving.  It doesn’t look much different than any other casserole dish filled with sweet potatoes and covered with marshmallows (if you want to add them).  As nice as a picture is, I know you guys are fabulous enough to live without one for a bit. Remember, Google can be your friend, or you can always email me and ask me to send you something that closely resembles it.

Peachy Keen Sweet Potatoes

Recipe by: Real Food Girl: Unmodified

Serves:  Makes four 1/2 cup servings

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 30-35 minutes

Total Time: 50-55

Feel free to play with additional spices, like a pinch of nutmeg, or a dash of cinnamon.

INGREDIENTS:

• 8 ounces of frozen peaches thawed OR 1- 8¾ oz. can sliced peaches drained and rinsed.
• 3 Medium Sweet Potatoes (about 1 Pound) or, 1-18 ounce can (drained) sweet potatoes
• 1/2 cup Brown Sugar
• 2 TB Butter
• 2 TB heavy cream
•  1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
•  ⅛ tsp. ground ginger (or 2 tsp. candied ginger- finely diced.  A little goes a long way!)
• Peaches love ginger.  Or maybe it’s ginger loves peaches.  Either way, Mary Ann now has a chance   with the Professor. 😉
• 1 cup Miniature Marshmallows
•  ⅓ cup Toasted, chopped pecans (may use whole pecans if preferred)

I kept the dish in the oven too long and my marshmallows “melted” into the casserole, so I had to top it with fresh ones.  Not as pretty, but still tasty.

1.   Peel and cut the raw sweet potatoes into 1-inch cubes.
2.   Place into a large stockpot with salted water.
3.   Bring to a boil and cook until a knife inserted into the center of the potato almost comes out on its own.
4.   These will finish cooking in the oven, so it is better to slightly under cook them so you don’t end up with mush.
5.   Drained your under cooked potatoes, and set aside.
6.    In a small microwave safe bowl, combine brown sugar, butter, cinnamon and ground ginger.
7.    Microwave until butter is melted and sugar is bubbly.  Stir well, then add the cream, and stir again then set aside.  This mixture should be thick and    syrupy.
8.    Cut frozen peaches into 1” chunks, OR drain can of peaches and rinse- set peaches aside in a bowl.

• Arrange the pieces of sweet potato and the peaches in the casserole dish.
• Sprinkle the toasted pecans on top.  Pour the brown sugar/butter/cream/spice mixture over the peaches and potatoes.
• Bake uncovered in a 375-degree oven for 25-30 minutes.
• Top with marshmallows 15 minutes into the baking time.
• To check if your fresh sweet potatoes cooked through, just insert a small pairing knife into the center of the casserole dish- if the knife removes easily, you should be good to go.
• Cool for 5 minutes, and serve.