Sweet Potato Yams Recipe

This recipe makes any dinner special. It really dresses up any table and works extremely well as a side dish with turkey or ham. I find that the whole family enjoys this particularly easy recipe. It can be made with fresh sweet potatoes, yams, or canned sweet potatoes.

To the gardener a sweet potato and yam are two different types of vegetables, but for this recipe and many other recipes the sweet potato and yam are used interchangeably.

The ingredients needed for this recipe:

• Vegetable oil cooking spray
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 4 medium sized sweet potatoes or a 40-ounce can of sweet potatoes, drained
• 1/4 cup of brown sugar
• 1/4 cup of butter
• 2 cups miniature marshmallows (about 1/2 bag of miniature marshmallows)
• 1/2 cup of walnuts

Begin by gathering all the ingredients together. Chop the walnuts and set out the butter so that it will be soft enough to spread.

Wash and scrub the sweet potatoes with a vegetable brush. Without peeling the sweet potato yams, place them into a pot of boiling water with a 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Making sure that the sweet potatoes are always covered with boiling water; if not, add more water. Boil the sweet potato yams for about 25 to 30 minutes. Drain the water from the sweet potatoes and let them cool. If using canned sweet potatoes or yams this part of the recipe should be eliminated.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. While the oven is preheating coat the baking dish with cooking oil spray. Using a 1-1/2 quart baking dish works best.

Peel the sweet potato yams. This isn't hard; the skin will almost fall off the sweet potatoes after boiling. After peeling the sweet potato yams slice them into 1/2-inch pieces. If using the canned sweet potatoes, remember to drain them. If the canned sweet potato yams are not cut up now is the time to do so.

Starting with the sweet potato yams begin to layer the ingredients in this order: sweet potatoes, butter, and brown sugar. Spread the butter over the top of each layer of sweet potatoes, then sprinkle brown sugar over the top of the buttered sweet potatoes. Repeat the layers until all the ingredients are used, finishing with the brown sugar on top. Before placing the sweet potato yams into the oven place the walnuts on top, as a layer.

Bake for 25 minutes then remove from the oven. Place marshmallows on top of the sweet potato yams. Put back into the oven for about five minutes. Watch the dish carefully so that the marshmallows won't burn. When the marshmallows turn a golden brown they are finished.