Southern Sweet Potato-Peach Casserole

Yams and sweet potatoes have always been a Thanksgiving favorite for most families-especially in the South! But I'm from Southern California and we do things with the "usual" ingredients and give them a bit of a twist! This dish came about when my sister became a Weight Watcher. She always hosts our Thanksgiving potlucks and I am always in charge of the "TUBER BRIGADE" of recipes for our crowd. Not wanting to spoil her Thanksgiving, I came up with this very tasty yet low-fat casserole that has become as necessary to our holiday celebration as my potato and cauliflower mashers.

The ingredient amounts are adjustable to fit your crowd, I always figure about 4-6 ounces of sweet potatoes or yams per person. Because of all the fruits, you find yourself eating less of the dish. It's not only full of vitamin A and potassium, but lots of fiber as well!

Pre-heat your oven to 400. Spray a 2-1/2 quart casserole with butter-flavored Pam and set aside.

For two pounds of potatoes have ready:

1 large can sliced peaches in syrup

1 C each prunes and dried apricots, plumped up for 30 minutes in warm orange or pineapple juice (simply put fruit in a saucepan and cover with the juice, bring up to a simmer and then shut off the heat)

1 C fresh cranberries, frozen or fresh (defrost if using frozen)

1 to 1-1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

kosher salt and pepper

2 tbsps lite margarine

1/2 C toasted and chopped pecans

Some options that are always nice are to also plump up dried pears, dried apples and even for a different texture of the same fruit-dried peaches. Just remember to also plump them with the prunes and apricots as well.

Scrub and dry potatoes. Bake on a cookie sheet about 40 minutes or about 3/4's of the way roasted. Cool for about 10 minutes. Peel and cut into chucks not too much thicker than the peach slices and prunes.

Combine the potatoes with the peaches, syrup from the peaches, prunes with the juice, cranberries, cinnamon, ginger, salt and pepper to taste. Combine well.

Dot with margarine. Bake for about 15 minutes or until potatoes have finished baking. Top with toasted and chopped pecans. Serve.