A Thanksgiving Recipe: Sweet Potato Casserole

I always find myself going for a stroll after Thanksgiving dinner.  How about you?

I think I may have been the only person in America who just realized that Thanksgiving is just days away.   Even after I had enjoyed a Thanksgiving feast at The Baking Tot's day school, I was surprised at how fast it crept up on me.

I began to panic slightly.  A few days.  Which in my world means, working Black Friday, decking the halls and begin to buy/make Christmas gifts-and I am not yet mentally prepared.  I'm not looking forward to Black Friday at all.  People become a different animal (a not so nice one at that) during the holiday shopping season.  Last year it put me in a bummer of a mood.

In my case, substitute "high end handbags" for coffee.  From:  PostSecret.com

And then there is the Baking Tot.  He is so excited for Christmas, he asked to have it two Sundays ago.  I love that he is now old enough to really enjoy it and experience the anticipation and excitement the season brings.  At least he will make my season brighter.

Baking Tot's school caters a big Thanksgiving feast for the church every year.  This was our first year to attend and it was pretty good.  His class was assigned corn & sweet potato casserole.  I volunteered to make sweet potato casserole and used my Nanny's recipe.  It didn't last long and I noticed it was the first to be eaten off of alot of people's plates.  With one bite, it sent me back to the children's table at my grandparents house for what seems like ages ago.

Nanny's Sweet Potato Casserole
4 cups cooked & mashed sweet potatoes
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
dash of ground all spice
dash of ground ginger
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 eggs beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
2/3 cup evaporated milk
Topping
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup butter, chilled & cubed
1 cup chopped pecans

1. Mix sweet potatoes, granulated sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla and evaporated milk.  Place in a buttered 10" square casserole.
2. Mix topping ingredients (brown sugar, cubed butter, chopped pecans) until crumbly.  Sprinkle over top of sweet potato mixture.
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Then place under broiler for 3-4 minutes to caramelize the topping.