Here is the one you should use:
1 tablespoon butter
7 to 8 sweet potatoes, or yams, peeled and sliced 1/2-inch thick
1/2 cup orange juice
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 to 1 cup mini marshmallows (to add after cooking)
Use a 4-quart slow cooker. Rub the butter onto the inside of your slow cooker. Layer in the sweet potato slices. In a small mixing bowl, combine the orange juice, vanilla, cinnamon, brown sugar, and kosher salt. Pour this mixture evenly over the top of the sweet potatoes.
Cover, and cook on low for 6 to 7 hours, or on high for 3 to 4 hours. When potatoes are soft, scoop into an oven-safe dish, dot with marshmallows, and broil in the oven for 3 to 5 minutes, or until marshmallows have JUST begun to brown.
Enjoy!!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Day 10.
It is not Thanksgiving. But I promised the kids that I would make something yummy tonight. They chose "those really good potato things that grandma makes with marshmallows."
I am pretty sure that my mom makes them from a can. Which is totally fine--but I did happen to have a bag of sweet potatoes in the crisper drawer. (new ones. not the bag from here.)
After opening and closing cabinet doors way too many times, I settled on the following:
The Ingredients:
--12 oz bag of peeled and sliced sweet potatoes (or 3-4 peeled and chopped real ones)
--1 t vanilla
--1/4 cup brown sugar
--1/2 t cinnamon
-- a teeny tiny pinch of Kosher salt
--pat of butter (not a lot, it's just to grease the crock)
-- 1/4 cup of orange juice
--enough mini marshmallows to dot on top
after I took the photo I realized I didn't account for any liquid. Luckily, we had these little guys:
The Directions:
Butter the inside bottom and sides of your stoneware. Dump in the chopped sweet potatoes and all ingredients. Toss with your hands (or spoons if you are feeling dainty). Dot enough marshmallows on top to satisfy young children. Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hrs or 2-3 on high.See how the marshmallows are all clumpy and weird looking? That is apparently what happens when you buy marshmallows 18 months ago and then forget all about them.
The Verdict:
I'd make this again, but I think next time I'll use the small 1.5 qt crock or double it. This was plenty of food for a side dish for one meal for us four, but there weren't any leftovers.
It tasted amazing. I could have gotten away with 1/2 of the sugar amount. The taste was exactly like the canned stuff. But this cooked for 5 1/2 hours--so it has to be better, right?
right?
The marshmallows completely disappear while cooking. Warn small children.
Trust me.
updated 12/08: I made these for our Thanksgiving dinner, and they were amazing. I doubled the recipe and didn't add the marshmallows until the very end. Instead, I scooped the finished sweet potatoes out of the crock, and put in a round corningware dish. I added the marshmallows, and broiled in the oven for 3-5 minutes until the marshmallows were browned nicely. We had 10 adults and 5 kids for dinner, and everyone loved them. It seems the secret to feeding kids is to starve them beforehand... ;-)
other great side dishes to make for a holiday meal:
company's Coming Potato AuGratin
pecan-topped baked sweet potatoes
traditional stuffing
cornbread stuffing
corn risotto
