Fix-It and Forget-It Christmas Cookbook (108 page)

Orange Candied Sweet Potatoes

Robin Schrock

Millersburg, OH

Makes 10-12 servings

Prep. Time: 20-30 minutes

Cooking Time: 7¼ hours

Ideal slow cooker size: 4-qt.

4 lbs. (8-10) sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1” chunks

1½ sticks (¾ cup) butter, melted

2 cups brown sugar

½ cup orange juice

1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon

1 Tbsp. grated lemon peel

1½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. nutmeg

2½ cups miniature marshmallows

1. Place potato chunks in slow cooker.

2. Mix butter, brown sugar, juice, cinnamon, lemon peel, salt, and nutmeg together in small bowl. Pour over potatoes and stir to coat potatoes.

3. Cover. Cook on Low 7 hours, or until potatoes are tender.

4. Sprinkle marshmallows over mixture and cook on Low until marshmallows are melted, about 15 minutes.

Orange Yams

Gladys Longacre

Susquehanna, PA

Makes 6-8 servings

Prep. Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 3 hours

Ideal slow cooker size: 3½-qt.

40-oz. can yams,
or
sweet potatoes, drained

2 apples, peeled if you wish and thinly sliced

3 Tbsp. butter, melted

2 tsp. orange zest

1 cup orange juice

2 Tbsp. cornstarch

½ cup brown sugar

1 tsp. salt

dash of ground cinnamon and/or nutmeg

1. Place yams and apples in slow cooker.

2. Stir in butter and orange zest.

3. Combine remaining ingredients in small bowl. Pour over yams and apples.

4. Cover. Cook on High 1 hour and on Low 2 hours, or until apples are tender.

Variation:

Substitute 6-8 medium-sized cooked sweet potatoes, or approximately 4 cups cubed butternut squash, for yams.

Sweet Potatoes That Can Wait

Alix Nancy Botsford

Seminole, OK

Makes 6-8 servings

Prep. Time: 15-20 minutes

Cooking Time: 3 hours

Ideal slow cooker size: 2-qt.

3-4 medium-sized sweet potatoes

½-¾ cup packed brown sugar,
or
maple syrup

half a stick (4 Tbsp.) butter, cut into pieces

¼-½ tsp. salt

1 cup apple juice,
or
cider

1. Peel and dice sweet potatoes. Put into slow cooker.

2. Add brown sugar, butter, and salt.

3. Pour apple juice or cider over all.

4. Cover. Cook on High 3 hours, or until potatoes are tender.

Notes:

When we lived in western New York, I liked to make this recipe with maple syrup from the local area.

For our 50
^th
Anniversary, I cooked 6 large briskets. Our daughter and granddaughter made 3 large salads and tripled this potato dish. We fed our whole church that Sunday!

The great thing about making a Christmas meal in slow cookers is that when the meal is ready, it can wait until we’re ready! There is no pressure. We can sit and visit and wait for the stragglers to arrive.

“Baked” Sweet Potatoes

Shari Mast

Harrisonburg, VA

Makes 6-8 servings

Prep. Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 4-8 hours

Ideal slow cooker size: 5-qt.

6-8 medium-sized sweet potatoes

1. Scrub and prick sweet potatoes with fork. Wrap each in tin foil and arrange in slow cooker.

2. Cover. Cook on Low 6-8 hours or on High 4-5 hours, or until each potato is soft.

3. Remove from foil and serve with butter and salt.

Apples ’n’ Yams

Rebecca Plank Leichty

Harrisonburg, VA

Makes 8-10 servings

Prep. Time: 20-25 minutes

Cooking Time: 4-6 hours

Ideal slow cooker size: 4- to 5-qt.

1 Tbsp. lemon juice,
or
lemonade

6 apples, peeled if you wish and sliced

6 large yams,
or
sweet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced

¼ cup apple juice

1 Tbsp. butter, melted

1. Toss sliced apples and yams in lemon juice in lightly greased slow cooker.

2. Combine apple juice and butter in small bowl. Pour over apples and sweet potatoes. Mix well together.

3. Cover. Cook on High 4 hours or on Low 6 hours.

Note:

This is a tasty vegetable dish to add to a meal when serving children. The apples smell wonderful when cooking and truly moisten the potatoes when served together. It is a well-rounded and easy way to serve sweet potatoes.

Sweet Potatoes and Apples

Bernita Boyts

Shawnee Mission, KS

Makes 8-10 servings

Prep. Time: 10-15 minutes

Cooking Time: 6-8 hours

Ideal slow cooker size: 3-qt.

3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed,
divided

3 large tart and firm apples, peeled if you wish and sliced,
divided

½-¾ tsp. salt

⅛-¼ tsp. pepper

1 tsp. sage

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

half a stick (4 Tbsp.) butter, melted

¼ cup maple syrup

toasted sliced almonds,
or
chopped pecans,
optional

1. Place half the sweet potatoes in slow cooker. Layer in half the apple slices.

2. Mix together salt, pepper, sage, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Sprinkle half over apples.

3. Mix together butter and maple syrup in a small bowl. Spoon half over seasonings.