Now that the pumpkins have been carved and the only thing left in the candy stash is a couple of Smarties and a boat load of Tootsie Rolls, it’s time to turn our attention to the fast approaching holiday season.
I know this year has zoomed by, but nevertheless, Thanksgiving is just around the corner. November in our family is also a heavy birthday month. My Mom, my nephew and my own pride and joys all celebrate another year on this Earth in November. What does that mean? It means that I probably won’t be losing any weight this month and it also means that I should try to make Thanksgiving as painless as possible. So, over the next couple of weeks I’ll be whipping up a few easy, make ahead Thanksgiving side dishes that will be perfect for our holiday table.
Sweet potatoes are always a favorite on the table, whether its Thanksgiving or just another Thursday. We eat a lot of these orange tubers throughout the year and they are a welcome change from regular Russets (not to mention healthier). Now, I’m not down with loading up my sweet potatoes with a ton of sugar. I think a little goes a long way and it’s easy to turn a side dish into a dessert if you don’t go easy on the brown sugar and marshmallows. These twice baked sweet potatoes are just sweet enough with a drizzle of maple syrup and they get a nice tang from the Greek yogurt, too. It’s easy clean-up since you aren’t committed to an entire casserole dish of sweet potatoes. If you absolutely must, you could throw a few marshmallows on top.
Ingredients
- 3 large sweet potatoes
- 1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1 Tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon apple or pumpkin pie spice
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup chopped pecans
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Pierce each potato several times with a fork, place on a baking sheet and bake in the oven until tender, 30-45 minutes (it could be longer or shorter depending on the size of your potatoes). When the potatoes are cooked through, cut them in half lengthwise and scoop out the flesh into a large bowl. You’ll want to try to leave about a ¼ inch of sweet potato in the skin to provide support since sweet potatoes have thin skin.
- Add the yogurt, 1 teaspoon of maple syrup, pie spice and salt to the sweet potato flesh and mash with a fork. Spoon the filling back inside the potato skins (only 4 of them, you probably won’t have enough for all 6). Top each potato half with chopped pecans and drizzle on the remaining syrup. Place back on the baking sheet and return to the oven. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until filling is hot and the tops of the potatoes are just beginning to brown.
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