As most of you know, I’m a big proponent of eating seasonally because you get the freshest, most delicious fruits and vegetables at the best price. But in today’s age of being able to get whatever you want, whenever you want it, you can usually go to your local market at any time of year to get whatever produce you want, even if it is not being grown at that time of year — say, an apple in the middle of summertime. If you live in the United States, that apple has likely been flown thousands of miles to your supermarket via South Africa (don’t get me started on how much fuel and money is spent just for that to happen).
But it is fall now, and all across the country, sweet potatoes and apples are in season. If you live somewhere in the northeast like New York or Vermont, you can probably find over a dozen different varieties of apples at your local farmer’s market. I’m in southern California and I counted six different varieties at mine last weekend . Most of the kids I know love apples and sweet potatoes so I decided to make a super easy and delicious side dish for the holidays. It only takes minutes to prepare and if you’re having people over, doubling or even tripling the recipe is simple.
And remember, in more ways than one_ ’tis the season.
Sweet Potato & Apple Casserole
Ingredients
- 2 Large Sweet Potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
- 2 Large Apples (Gala, Fuji, or other sweet cooking apples), peeled, cored and cut into chunks
- 2 tablespoon butter, melted
- 3 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1/2 Tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 Tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 Tsp nutmeg
- 1 Cup apple juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and stir to combine.
- Place the sweet potato/apple mixture in a buttered 13 x 9 inch baking dish.
- Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
- Uncover, stir and bake an additional 20-30 minutes or until tender.
- Serve.
That is exactly what I would do! The crock pot may take about 10-20 minutes to reheat it, but then it should stay warm all day!