Hi Barb - I was the one who originally shared the first make-ahead recipe, and I don't think you'll be disappointed if you give it a try. My family loves these potatoes - I've been making them for years. My daughter and her boyfriend are hosting Thanksgiving this year, but she's requested I bring these potatoes :-) I know they're not lowfat, low cholesterol or low anything else, but I think with all of the other sides on the table that you'll easily get 12 servings out of a 9x13 pan. Now a couple of notes - if you put them into the oven from the fridge, they'll take longer to heat than 30 minutes at 350F, more like 45 minutes, I think. Or bump up the temp, they're pretty forgiving. The other thing I want to add is that while these can be frozen, they're better if they're not. If you do freeze them, they'll try to seperate as they thaw, and you'll need to stir them some. Becky

Thanks all. Tib, I read that refrigerating the potatoes brings out the starch but it sounds like they are fine that way. If I could peel them the night before it would be a cinch to throw them together on Tday! Lvmadison, thank you for the recipe, they are very close to the ones I made last year. Ann, I was turned off by the cream cheese at first too but honestly they just taste like luscious creamy mashed. You would never know they were a casserole if you didn't see them in the casserole dish. Lars, I like the way you think using a pressure cooker, I don't have one but you are right about the peeling being the worst. The Ree Drumond potatoes do have cream cheese in them but my whole family said they were the best mashed potatoes they ever had so why mess with success? I will do the peeling tomorrow night stow them in the fridge and get them ready to bake.

Funny that as a kid, I hated sweet potato anything, but I love them now. My favorite I call "Sweet Fries".....a happy "accident": I was baking sweet potato fries as usual one time and got busy outside and forgot about them. They cooked for over an hour longer than I normally would have. Thank goodness they were on air-bake cookie sheets. They were great. Made them again a month later and they were back to "meh" when I remembered that the difference between then and the previous time was the extra hour in the oven. So, I got to experimenting....... I now cut them to about 3/4-1" thick "fries" (unpeeled). I toss with a sprinkle of Tony Chachere's creole seasoning and cinnamon then drizzle with olive oil. Place in single layer on well-oiled AIRBAKE pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes then I take out of the oven and turn over each fry (they're "done" at this point but they're nothing special). Back into the oven for about 45 minutes longer. Then I turn on the broiler and broil until they start "burning" (turning dark). At this point, they should be gooey on the inside and a bit crunchy around the edges. Tastes like candy. In my electric oven, I crack open the door, and they broil on high for about 15-20 minutes. We have these as a "treat"--like popcorn. For the 2 of us, I use 4 large sweet potatoes (there's usually leftovers because it's SO filling) on 2 airbake pans. Hubby is always asking for Sweet Fries, but I only do it when I don't mind the oven being on for so long. It's not something we have in the summer! Also, he has to request these long before we actually want to eat them because of the time involved. And, they're great leftover. One of my favorite things to eat! Good thing they're chock full of nutrients, so it's a sweet treat I don't have to feel guilty about. Tracey

Looney, you officially have one more freezer than I do, and I always thought I had too many, LOL. I don't make that much stuffing, but I do raise beef and pork and chicken and my husband hunted deer this year with a bow, so that takes much of my freezer room. My daughter is celiac and can't have gluten, so I make two kinds of stuffing, a cornbread based one for her and my Southern sweetheart of a husband, but I've never seen one with evaporated milk added. I might have to try that.... I do much of my cooking just a day or two ahead of time. Desserts get made the day before as they "hold" fine, although whipped cream has to be beaten just before serving, I cannot get it to stay without breaking if I do it ahead. I've added cornstarch, powdered sugar, cream of tartar. It still breaks after about an hour, every time. I sometimes make dinner rolls a month ahead and kept them frozen, then thaw and bake the day of the meal. If I make butterflake rolls I make them the night before, refrigerate the rolls and bake just before the meal. I make the Cranberry Jezebel the day before, and usually assemble the vegetable side dishes so they can be heated in the oven, including that sweet potato/marshmallow abomination that my girls love. My girls also want a fruit salad concoction that includes crushed pineapple, apricots, walnuts, cream cheese, orange jello and whipped cream. I make that the night before so it can thicken, if I have that, some years I just can't face it and just make a nice fruit mixture instead. The turkey, the stuffing, the mashed potatoes and the gravy all get made the day of, as well as any fresh salad if I decide we're having that. Appetizers always include a cheeseball of some kind, I think this year it's going to be pimento cheese and that will be done the day before, I'm still working on another appetizer, maybe artichoke/spinach dip, everyone likes that. We also always have a relish tray with homemade pickles, a variety of olives and crackers, usually deviled eggs because I like them. The pickles are all home canned, so those go in the fridge a couple of days before to keep them cold and crunchy, especially Chase's dills which are a favorite of Bud's, but he wants them cold. Deviled eggs get made the same day or the texture suffers. I usually make my menu, then make a list of what I need to do and which day I need to do it, then I prioritize tasks. A couple of days before we'll add the leaves to the dining room table, bring in the extra chairs, make sure the tablecloth is clean, find the turkey platter, and pick up the turkey so it'll have time to brine. My girls usually come early and help me get all the last minute stuff done. Annie