A few years ago Pioneer Woman published a recipe for Slow Cooker Candied Sweet Potatoes and I was all over that like mayo on white.  Could it actually be this easy?  And the answer is YES!!!!  I adjusted her recipe though because we're not a fan of spices and vanilla in our sweet potatoes.  

I made them the way we always have:

Several large sweet potatoes

 1/2 cup of white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

A little dash of salt

Half a stick of butter

1/4 cup water 

2.5 heaping Tablespoons of cornstarch

Be sure and toss the sweet potatoes with the cornstarch until they are well coated.  I used more cornstarch than Ree did in her recipe, probably because I always use really large sweet potatoes.

I cut them in smaller chunks, cooked first on low, after an hour switched to high because I was afraid they wouldn't get done. Then I cooked an hour and a half on high and they were PERFECTION!

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6 to 7 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

4 tablespoons salted butter

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Juice of 1 orange

1/4 cup water

Pinch of kosher salt

Chopped walnuts, toasted, for serving

Chopped fresh parsley, for serving

Toss the sweet potatoes with the cornstarch in a bowl to coat well. Add the mixture to a slow cooker and dot with the butter. Sprinkle over the brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice and cayenne. Pour in the vanilla, orange juice and 1/4 cup water. Season with salt. Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on low, stirring once or twice, until the potatoes are tender, about 3 hours.

Toss the potatoes once more and transfer to a serving dish. Sprinkle with the walnuts and parsley and serve.

Source: Food Tv

Picture courtesy of Adobe Free License Stock Photos

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Add 1 cup sugar, 1 strip orange or lemon zest and 2 tablespoons water to the pan and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves and the cranberries are soft, about 10 minutes. 

Increase the heat to medium and cook until the cranberries burst, about 12 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and stir in the reserved cranberries. 

Add sugar, salt and pepper to taste and cool to room temperature before serving.

Source:  Food Network

I made after watching Paula make it in a video. It was so good, we loved it and served it with Bob Evans Mashed Potatoes and crusty bread. Yes, mashed potatoes, don't judge 😜 corn is good with this, too. This recipe is very similar to jambalaya without all the creole seasoning, I like it so much better than jambalaya. 

1 cup chopped onion - I used a large onion

1 cup chopped bell pepper - I used a whole yellow pepper

2 tablespoons butter

I used 1/2 lb. of garlic kielbasa, cut a thick piece, then cut the piece into 4ths, just use whole ring if you want more meat

1 (14.5 oz) can with juice crushed tomatoes

1 tablespoon hot sauce - I used Franks. Don't cut back on the hot sauce, this was just the perfect amount, it wasn't hot, just a little spicy. If you like more heat, just serve hot sauce at the table.

1 small 8 oz. can tomato sauce

1 cup water - next time I will use 1-1/8 cup water because my 8 oz. of tomato sauce didn't measure quite a full cup

1 heaping Tablespoon Chicken Better than Bouillon

salt to taste, I didn't add much salt, maybe 1/4 tsp, the bouillon is salty

pepper to taste

1 cup uncooked Instant Rice

Preheat oven to 350 °F. In a saucepan over medium heat, sauté onion and bell pepper in butter. Add sausage; heat until mixture is slightly browned. Add tomatoes, hot sauce, tomato sauce, water and bouillon cubes. Season with pepper and salt as needed. Stir in rice. Pour mixture into a greased 9x 12 casserole and bake uncovered for 45 minutes. She leaves it totally uncovered, I covered for 30 minutes, uncovered for 15 and it was perfect.

Let's go back, way back to September 16, 1997.  I sent my bestie, V a recipe for Pumpkin Custard.  I loved that recipe and thought she would enjoy it as well.  Well, me, being me, lost the recipe, many times, MANY times, and I would have to ask her for it and she always came thru.  For some reason I never posted this online and it was on the hard drive of my old computer that crashed and had to be reformatted and I lost it once again.

 If you're in the Nashville area, Meridee's Breadbasket in Franklin is definitely something you won't want to miss.  Our family loves Meridee's, it's my favorite restaurant, wonderful food, fresh baked pies (the key lime is ahh-mazing and you can never go wrong with the cherry)  homemade bread, what's not to love.

The original recipe came from TheVegLife, but I made substitutions since hubby isn't a fan of zucchini and summer squash.  I used a large onion, a yellow pepper, matchstick carrots and mushrooms.  Next time I may add water chestnuts. I know, I know, its not Asian, but it would give it a nice crunch.  Another alternative would be to roast the veggies in a 450 degree oven and then proceed with recipe.  Grilled chicken would be a great option, too.