So I fell in love tonight. Yes I know that I’m married and so that’s probably fairly awkward that I fell in love with someone else, but I don’t have time to dwell on minor details like that. I fell in love with a woman on recipezaar who goes by the username “MommyMakes.” Here’s how it all happened: My husband came home tonight hungry and we realized that we didn’t really have anything at the house we wanted to eat so we decided to run to the grocery store and grab something to make quickly. After picking out what to make (one of those pre-cooked pork roast things…and I was surprised at how good it was by the way!), my husband randomly decided that he wanted sweet potatoes with it. Now, I have never cooked a sweet potato before in my life, but my husband LOVES that marshmallow gooey casserole that you usually see on a table at Thanksgiving (I’m not a huge fan) so I thought I’d humor him and just try to figure it out quickly when we got home.

I was very unpleasantly surprised to find out that most of the sweet potato casserole recipes took about an hour to make, and I had already put the roast in the oven so I only had about 20 minutes till that would be done! That is when I came across this recipe: “Baked Sweet Potatoes with Brown Sugar-Pecan Butter“: cooking time: 17 minutes. Decided to try it, and we LOVED them (ended up taking me 15 minutes)! I asked my husband how it compared to his beloved Thanksgiving sweet potatoes, and he said that he might even like these better because they taste SO much healthier (not that he’s a health freak by any means, but come on now…marshmallows on vegetables?). We both thought these tasted great, and I loved that fact that they were done before my pre-cooked roast! So, here you go, if you or anyone in your family likes the casserole, and you don’t want to spend an hour to make it (or if you want your sweet potatoes to actually be able to still be considered a vegetable by the time they hit your table) I definitely recommend you try this recipe! Thanks, MommyMakes!

Baked Sweet Potatoes with Brown Sugar-Pecan Butter

• 4 sweet potatoes
• 2 Tbsp butter, softened
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1 1/2 Tbsp finely chopped pecans, toasted (see 1st note)

1. Try this method for toasting the pecans: Sprinkle chopped pecans on a paper plate and microwave on high for 1 or 2 minutes, they should smell toasted when they are done.
2. Scrub, but do not peel, the potatoes.
3. Pierce them in several places with a fork.
4. Microwave on HIGH for 12 minutes until done.
5. Meanwhile, combine the butter, sugar, & pecans.
6. Once potatoes are done, slice lengthwise, about 2/3 of the way down (do not cut through) and push ends towards each other to “fluff” the potato and create a well for the butter.
7. Place a scoop of butter mixture into the center & wrap in foil until serving.

Recommendations

• Microwaving: You might be surprised, but microwaving these really made them turn out perfect!
• I used about one and a half times the brown sugar/pecan/butter mixture (the first time I mixed it together I just didn’t think it would be enough) and I thought it was perfect that way.

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