Sally's Sweet Potatoes with Cranberries and Pecans

When my husband was in business school, over 25 years ago, we had a great group of friends and one of them, Sally, made this for a pot luck Thanksgiving dinner. She generously shared the recipe with me. Every year, as I make it for Thanksgiving, I think of her and her family. It's the perfect combination of flavors and textures. You can make it a day ahead and the best part is that you can use the microwave to heat it if you don't have any oven space. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Sally's Sweet Potato Casserole
4 large sweet potatoes
½ cup packed brown sugar
2 TBS. butter
1 to 2 cups cup fresh cranberries- I like to use 2 cups but it is up to you.
2/3 cup orange juice

• Wash the sweet potatoes and Slice them into ½- ¾ inch slices (with the skin on)  
• Boil the potatoes until tender- 20 to 25 minutes. 
• Drain them and let cool slightly and remove skins. The skins will just peel right off of the slices 
• Layer half the potatoes into the bottom of a greased casserole dish. You can use a 2 quart casserole dish or a 9x13 inch pan. 
• Sprinkle half of the sugar and the cranberries over the potato layer. Dot with half the butter. 
• Form a second layer with the remaining potatoes, sugar and butter
• Pour the orange juice over the top. Place in fridge for up to 2 days or cook immediately.
  
• Cover and bake for 30 minutes in a 350 degree oven or Microwave on 80% for 5 to 10 minutes or until hot.
• Top with pecan topping and bake for 10 more minutes. If microwaving you can put topping on then microwave for 2 more minutes or I do pop it into the oven for 10 minutes to crisp up the topping.
  

Pecan Topping: 
Mix together the following:
½ cup chopped pecans
2 TBS melted butter
2 TBS brown sugar
½ tsp cinnamon