Sweet Potato Casserole

 

image courtesy of together as f*mily website

My oldest daughter Courtney, my niece Debi and her brother Ronnie, all love this sweet potato casserole and they used to ask me to make it for Thanksgiving. I've made it for Christmas dinner in the past, and sometimes make it during one of the winter months. It's super easy as long as you have certain ingredients in the cupboard. 

note: this recipe does contain refined sugar but you can substitute it for raw sugar or agave.  You can use honey but it will change the taste a bit. I tend to use raw sugar and instead of using a 1/2 c. I use 1/4 c. 

SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE

1 can (Large 15 or 16 oz) sweet potatoes(yams), drained and mashed

1/4 c raw sugar (or refined sugar or pure maple syrup) 

(original recipe calls for 1/2 c.)

1 egg

(I substitute ground flaxseed alternate "vegan" egg, see below for tips on this)

1/4 c. Earth Balance butter, melted 

(or cow's milk butter...do NOT use margarine...it's too watery)

1 tsp ground cinnamon

(original recipe calls for 1/2 tsp)

Dash of sea salt

Topping: 1 c. crushed ritz crackers

(I use low sodium ones; it takes an entire sleeve of crackers)

See tip below to crush them. 

1/2 c. packed brown sugar

5 Tablespoons Earth Balance butter, melted

(you can use cow's milk butter)

• In a large mixing bowl, after draining the yams, use a fork or potato masher to mash the potatoes so there's no big chunks
• Add in all the ingredients except for the topping, and mix well. 
• Use baking spray in an 8x8 glass pan or brownie pan (or small round casserole dish) and then pour in the yam mixture.  Spread with a spatula to even out. 
• Combine the topping ingredients and mix well. You can use dark or light brown sugar..I prefer the light brown. 
• Sprinkle over the top of the yams evenly.  I use a spatula to evenly spread the topping. 
• Bake, uncovered, for 20-25 minutes in a 350 degree oven. It should turn a golden brown. 
  

Serve warm. 

TIPS:  to make a perfect flaxseed "egg":  take 1 TBL of ground flaxseed and put in small mixing bowl/custard cup.  Add in 3 TBL of warm water.  Stir and let sit (it will gel and be  the consistency of an egg) for 5 minutes. Add to recipe

To make the crackers into crumbs:  put one sleeve of Ritz Crackers into a quart sized freezer bag.  Seal shut and using a rolling pin, roll over the baggie, breaking up the crackers into very small pieces (crumbs) OR use both thumbs and "squish" the crackers into crumbs. Add to mixing bowl and then follow rest of topping directions. 

ENJOY!!

ps As with all recipes under the faithfixes label, you do have permission to copy, download or print out this recipe.  Recipes on this blog are not under copyright law. All other written material and photos are copyrighted. 

2025 Book Review: Proverbs: Learning to Live Wisely

 

This was a new-to-me Bible study series that the class I signed up to take this past semester was using.  I've  always wanted to do an in-depth study on Proverbs and this class appealed to me. Several of my hiking friends attend the class so I was encouraged to join.  The instructor of the class is awesome and works for our church part time. The  class was every Monday morning from 9:30-11 AM. Tomorrow is the last class and I finished the book this past week. 

SUMMARY OF STUDY

There are 10 lessons (chapters) and each one contains various proverbs linked to the title of the chapter. 

I liked that there is an Intro section titled Getting the Most out of Proverbs. This includes suggestions for individual study and then a section for group studies/discussions. 

The chapters were as follows:

1. The Choice (Proverbs 9)
2. The Simple (Proverbs 7)
3. Avoiding the Fool (Prov 13:19; 17:12; 18:2; 20:3; 26:11)
4. Finding Wisdom (Prov 13:10, 20; 14:12; 15:12; 21:30;25:12)
5. Bad Words (Prov 6:12-14; 16:30; 17:4; 18:8; 26:23; 29:5)
6. Good Words (Prov. 10:19; 15:23; 16:24; 17:10; 24:26; 25: 11-12)
7. The Sluggard (Prob 6:6-8; 13:4; 15:19; 22:13; 24:30-34; 26: 14-16)
8. Wealth and Poverty (Prov 10:4,15,22; 13:8; 18:11,23; 19:4; 21:6; 30:8-9)
9. Giving (Prov 14:21,31; 19:6,17; 21: 13)
10. Planning the Future (Prov 11:3; 14:12; 15:22; 16:9; 21:5,31; 27:1)

In the back of the book are Leader Notes and then Answers.  I didn't care for the fact that the book included answers  to certain questions as I personally like to think about each proverb my self and look up in various commentaries, the meaning, historical or cultural context.  I never turned to the back to look up answers. The point of the class for me personally was to learn and grow without reading answers given by an author. For a new Believer, or someone who doesn't like to look up commentary, I guess this is a good tool...for the person to test themselves. Many of the questions were self-reflective or subjective. 

Each chapter had an Individual Discussion question (for you to personally answer and not necessarily share with the group) along with a Group Discussion question.  there were also about 10-12 short questions based on each specific proverb for that chapter. I really enjoyed the questions. 

This was an excellent study and not too much work.  I highly recommend it. 

In my opinion, this study is appropriate for ages 14 and older. 

On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest, I rate this a 9. 

End of November Faves

 

Here we are, at the last Friday of November!  Yesterday was Thanksgiving Day and I hope you all had a wonderful day of good food, family, fellowship, and fun. 

For today, I am sharing FIVE of my FAVE blessings from the past week. There are always many blessings in our days, whether it's the fact we took a breath upon waking up to reading a good book before bed. I like to join in with other bloggers who all link up at Susanne's site to share FIVE of those blessings that made us  whisper "Thank You, God". 

image courtesy of Et*y

image compliments of H*nna Anderss*n website

• BLACK FRIDAY SALES:  Last Sunday, I was alerted to an early black friday sale from a favorite children's clothing website where I used to buy my daughters' clothes. I had been looking for a Christmas gift for our worship leader's 18 month old son (the choir is surprising him and his wife with some new clothes for their little boy and for the new baby who is due on 12/26! and I'm in charge of collecting the clothing from choir members and arranging a huge gift basket for them).  I was so thankful when I saw this amazing 50% off sale plus an extra 20% AND free shipping!  I was also thrilled I found the hymn on parchment paper and done in calligraphy  style for our choir director that Dave and I wanted to give her for Christmas. Again, it was on major clearance. It's Hannah's favorite song from the ones we are performing for the Xmas Eve service and I'm so thankful I found it in this art form. Early black Friday sales are the best because now I can enjoy the day with hiking with family and doing other things vs shopping or online browsing. 

• SAFE TRAVELS: We arrived safely in Plymouth Co, MA on Monday afternoon, oldest daughter Courtney and boyfriend Tyler arrived safely on Wed evening, and our youngest daughter Claire, arrived safely on Thursday morning. Dave's CA sister and her partner arrived safely on Monday and our niece from Scotland arrived safely on Tuesday morning. I'm so very thankful we all arrived in MA safely and with no major delays. 

Dave hard at work with the squash
while our sister-in-law Kathy makes her famous deviled eggs

• MY HUSBAND:  I'm so very thankful for my hard-working husband. He made the turkey (and it was totally amazing...so moist...and flavorful thankful to all the onions/garlic he put inside the turkey), the vegan stuffing (made with Earth Balance butter, veggie broth and NOT stuffed into a dead animal (our youngest daughter is pure vegan), the mashed potatoes, and the squash.  I made the sweet potato casserole, the steamed green beans, the cranberry cookies and the chocolate maple bars.  I also made a spinach salad with dried cranberries, pumpkin and sunflower seeds, mandarin oranges, and red onion. I made an orange honey dressing to go with it. We had fun in the kitchens, and all of the food came out great. I'm so thankful for hubby's kitchen skills. 

l-r: Kathy, our youngest girl Claire,
Dave's mom Betty (age 90)

• FAMILY: I'm so very thankful that my mother-in-law came to Thanksgiving Dinner.  Last year, the first holiday without her husband, was very hard on her so she skipped dinner. This year, she is doing so well, physically. She no longer needs her walker to walk indoors and at age almost 91, she is still living alone with just a helper coming in the late afternoons to do cleaning, laundry, etc. Although she has some "old age dementia" it hasn't progressed much this year and we are so very thankful for that. She was thrilled to see 3 of her 7 grandchildren. She was also absolutely thrilled to meet Courtney's boyfriend. 
  

Apple-Blackberry Pie

• APPLE-BLACKBERRY PIE:  Our niece Hanna, who flew over from Scotland on Tuesday, spent Wednesday afternoon, baking pies for our feast. Dave and I had made an apple pie on Tuesday morning so she made pumpkin, blueberry, apple-blackberry and one more apple. I don't care for pumpkin or blueberry (although I love pumpkin muffins and raw blueberries) and I make apple desserts all through September and October, so can skip apple pie for Thanksgiving, but her apple-blackberry pie is insanely delicious. I just love it and I savor every bite every Thanksgiving. She has been making it for the last several years and it is now a staple for the feast. I don't eat pie during the year  (unless it's a piece of apple pie I make for Sunday  dinner in Sept) but that one piece of Apple-Blackberry every November is just amazing.  I'm very thankful Hanna could do pies again this year and that my daughters got to spend some time with their cousin. 

These were things that really made me smile and be filled with gratitude. 

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  I'm off to hike this morning in my husband's hometown area and then we are gathering at my mother-in-law's to spend some time with her and have leftovers!

Have a wonderful weekend!

GRATEFUL: Day 27

 

Today, 27 November, I am most thankful for the heritage my husband's family has.....from their first descendant to get off the Mayflower to our youngest niece and all the family members inbetween. We are a diverse group but this is an important day to them due to the legacy the pilgrim relatives left behind. 

I hope you all have a fantastic day...

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!