Candied Sweet Potatoes...and a Sweet Giveaway!

Hello, everyone! I hope you're all having a fabulous Monday. I'm still waiting for my first cup of coffee to kick in so I can go running. I had a 5-day weekend so obviously I'm tired. Not that I did much. :) Thursday was Every Time I Die with my favorite drummer. Friday, Cody, Dei, and I went to Stone Face Tavern for dinner & beer. Saturday was mostly preparing for Sunday's meal. Cody was in the back gardening nearly all day while I was cookin'. Sunday morning was one of the most beautiful Easter services I've ever been to at Desert Springs Church with an even more beautiful couple. Afterwards, Dei came over for dinner (Chuck is off saving the world!) and we relaxed and ate way too much.



Dinner consisted of Honey Glazed Tempeh, Mashed Potatoes, Roasted Carrots, Candied Sweet Potatoes, Cranberry Sauce, and Pillsbury Crescent Rolls(or Butter Horns, as Cody likes to call them). The tempeh came out just ok; the flavor was there, but something wasn't quite right. I think for a real ham-like experience, I'll use seitan next time. The mashed potatoes and carrots were awesome, but I really want to share the sweet potatoes with you.



I'm a huge fan of sweet potatoes. They're a fast snack in the microwave, a great side dish for dinner, and so high in potassium. I've been craving them a lot, so I've been eating them a lot. Here's my recipe for a traditional holiday sweet potato dish:

Candied Sweet Potatoes
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes

2-3 large sweet potatoes
1/4 cup unsweetened, full-fat soy milk
2 tbsp soy margarine (I use Earth Balance!)
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tbsp maple syrup
1/2 cup Suzanne's Specialties Ricemellow Creme

1. Pierce the sweet potatoes all over with a fork. Don't stab yourself. Cook them in the microwave on your BAKED POTATO setting, or for about 9 minutes. Check them and make sure the skin has slightly pulled away from the flesh. Cut in half and let cool a lil' bit.

2. Preheat oven to 400° F. In a casserole dish or large pie plate, scoop out all the sweet potato, making sure to not get any of the skin! Mash in the soy milk, margarine, cinnamon, nutmeg, syrup, and brown sugar. Make sure it's nice and smooth, making sure to smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Cook in the oven for about 25 minutes.

3. When your 25 minutes is up, take it out of the oven and spoon some tasty Ricemellow Creme on top. There you have it!

Wait.....you haven't heard of Suzanne's Specialties??? If you have, you know how AH-MAZING the all-natural, gluten free, vegan, and organic sweeteners and toppings are. If you haven't, you're missing out. Either way, keep reading to find out how YOU can win some tasty sweet stuff for yourself!

The generous folks over at Suzanne's Specialties sent me loads of tasty stuff to give away. See for yourself:



One lucky reader is going to get to soothe their sweet tooth for themselves! I'll be announcing the winner on April 12. Before you start leaving comments, just remember: you can leave more than one! Each comment gives you an extra chance at winning. Here are the rules:

1. Leave a comment telling me what your favorite, guilty sweet is. (Mine is Cody, just in case you're all wondering. Ha!)
2. Go to Suzanne's Specialties and tell me which product you would love to try.
3. Leave a SEPARATE comment letting me know I'm on your blogroll.
4. BECOME A FOLLOWER OF MY BLOG! The area looks like this:

So what are you waiting for???
5. Follow me on Twitter.
6. Link this on your own blog, if you have one. IF YOU LINK BACK... leave TWO comments telling me you did. Yeah, that's right. You get two comments for this one. ;)
7. Let me know you posted this on your FACEBOOK OR TWITTER. If you did both, leave two SEPARATE comments.

I know the list gets longer and longer, but that means your chances get higher and higher. Booyah!

PS: If you're like me and you LOVE giveaways, check out this AWESOME giveaway over at Love Veggies and Yoga. Because everyone should have one of these.