Whipped Sweet Potatoe casserole

OOH! COLORED TEXT! HA! Ok, I am a big dork, and just realized this feature! he he! Ok so orange is fitting for the sweet potatoes! I don't like to use canned yams or sweet potatoes unless I have to. I love them fresh. They are packed full of vitamins and other good-for-you stuff, so don't tell the kids they are a veggie! ha ha! Seriously though, they are super healthy! I do add some not so healthy stuff to them, but all in all... not much! I like to cook for a crowd so feel free to cut my recipes in half, or whatever works for ya!

This dish is light and airy, but not calorie free by any means. You could use substitutions I suppose, and it would prob turn out just as good.

My husband loved these so much he ate the entire bag of left overs... cold...ugh! I can't do cold starches... I am a texture eater! HA! Oh well, he cracks me up! You would have swore I made candied yams! LOL. Surprisingly these have little sugar in them. I used the Emerald brand Pecan Pie Glazed Pecans, but any glazed or candied pecan would work, as well as plain pecans tossed on med heat with some brown sugar, cinnamon, and a spoonful of water until they were "glazed". but when cooking a meal this big... I don't glaze my own pecans! haha!

You Need:

6 Sweet potatoes (mid size range) or mix of sweet potatoes and yams. (the brighter colored orange are the sweet potatoes, the yams are yellow-er. Well Really, they are both sweet potatoes, just 2 different varieties and yams are actually a south american tropical tuber that can be up to 7 FEET in length and we don't TRULY have them here, but that's a whole other story, ha ha!) ok, start over, LOL!

5-6 mid size sweet potatoes, washed and peeled ( I know, I usually like to leave peels on, but these are very tough and thick, so we need to peel them) cut into chunks

just enough water in the pan to almost cover the chunked sweet potatoes

a pinch of salt ( to help bring the water to a boil)

3 T butter (Margarine would work, but will not be as good of consistency)

about 1/4 to 1/2 C brown sugar, reserve some to sprinkle on top

a smidgen of ground fresh or dried nutmeg ( just to very gently sprinkle on top)

1 package (about 3/4 Cup) Emerald Pecan Pie Glazed Pecans (or what I explained above)

1/2 C to 3/4 C heavy whipping cream ( not cool whip- like the cream you can drink)

2 egg whites

Okie Dokie...soooo boil the sweets until tender ( I cover mine and stir occasionally to prevent sticking) then drain them ( I know, seems a waste to drain that vitamin filled water! Feel free to save it for a soup or to cool and water plants with... or use it to cook your rice in) mash them with your spoon or fork just to get them started. Now... add the butter, salt and pepper to taste ( I like pepper alot) Now you can whip them with the electric mixer, or if you don't have one, just whip them good with your masher or sturdy whisk. Whip until creamy and smooth with no chunks, slowly adding your cream as you whip ( about 1 minute should do the trick) now if you want them thicker add a 1/2 C cream, up to 3/4 C to make them the consistency your family desires. ( I used a full cup and it was too much, I would use 3/4 cup for the perfect whipped likeness) Now whip in the egg whites and half of your brown sugar and keep whipping until you potatoes can hold the little waves shapes that the mixer makes ( about another minute or so). Take a teeny taste and see if you need the rest of your sugar or not. Remember, the nuts will add a small amount of sweetness too) Save a Small amount to sprinkle atop your dish. Crush the pecans. Spread the sweet potatoes in a glass cake pan, sprinkle thoroughly with pecans and the brown sugar. gently sprinkle nutmeg over the dish, very lightly. pop in the oven at 300 for 1/2 hour to 45 mins, until steaming hot in the center. This is a HUGE hit with EVERYONE, well.. unless they don't like sweet potatoes, or are freaked out by orange foods. ENJOY!!! Oh! And this easily feeds 6-8 or maybe even more, people, as a side dish of course. we had 6 and used about 3/4 of the pan... but we had 2 other side dishes as well.