Sweet Potato with Cream Cheese, Cinnamon, Maple Syrup

Yes, I'm still moving. Who knew unpacking would be so time-consuming--and boring? LOL?

Of course, I'm concentrating on the kitchen. With a proper dish washer, I have been washing every single dish, pot, pan, utensil, bowl, I own. And it's a lot. Plus, I'm trying to downsize as I go. And keep organized.

As such, and with cluttered kitchen counters, disorganized cabinets, I keep cooking to a minimum. Well, complicated cooking.

One thing North Carolina is known for are sweet potatoes. This time of year, mountains of them, and I mean mountains, fill grocery stores and farmer markets alike. And it's no wonder as we are the country's leader of sweet potatoes and it is, in fact, my state's national vegetable. We produce over 70-80 billion pounds a year. And these ain't no scrawny sweet potatoes!

The other day, I had some cream cheese sitting on the counter and decided to add a spoonful to my mashed sweet potato along with a pat of butter. Wonderful. But it needed something more so I added a drizzle of maple syrup and loved the combo. 

The next day, I ratcheted it up a notch and added a sprinkle of Saigon cinnamon.

I boil my potatoes, but you could just as easily bake them. If you boil them and they come out overdone and too watery, simply add some instant potato flakes to thicken things up. Also works for regular mashed potatoes!

My favorite sweet potato recipe is a combo with apples. 

Truth be told . . . if I have them on hand, I love to simply mix in some frozen sweet peas . . . a bit of butter and yum!