{Crock Pot's Orange-Spiced Sweet Potatoes}

I'm skipping around a little in my Easy Thanksgiving Line-up, but I am going from one slow cooker ready item to another.

I found this recipe after when a friend of mine had to travel from one Thanksgiving dinner across town a few towns over for another dinner and needed a side dish without a lot of fuss. We looked through some of my slow cooker books thinking that would be the easiest way to go and found this delicious recipe.

When brainstorming my menu for last year, I knew this would fit perfectly with my other low-stress recipes. It has a wonderful mix of spices and was a breeze to prep. Everyone thought it was very tasty without being too sweet. There is also a variation included if you like the idea of mashed sweet potatoes.

{Photo: Crock Pot: Slow Cooker Recipes for All Occasions}

Orange-Spiced Sweet Potatoes

Makes 8 servings

2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), cut into small pieces
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp grated orange peel
Juice of 1 medium orange
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
Chopped toasted pecans (optional)

Place sweet potatoes, brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, orange peel, orange juice, salt and vanilla in slow cooker. Cover; cook on LOW 4 hours or on HIGH 2 hours, or until potatoes are tender. Sprinkle with pecans before serving, if desired.

Variation: Mash potatoes; add 1/4 cup milk or whipping cream. Sprinkle with a mixture of sugar and cinnamon.

I hope you enjoy the taste (and the ease) of this recipe as much as I did!