Secret Pumpkin - Sweet Potato Puree

We have been having an interesting time, as of late.  Lots of frustrations, lots and lots of new diagnoses.

 One of these diagnoses is that we discovered that my son is anaphylactic to pumpkin.  We have loved pumpkin so this is sad news.  But luckily, pumpkin is easy enough to avoid.

This pumpkin season has had us missing our usual pumpkin treats though!  Luckily I have discovered a delicious way around this, that makes EVERYONE happy! 

I started making sweet potato puree and it can be used in place of any pumpkin in any recipe.  It's amazing!

We've had delicious "secret pumpkin" muffins: 

A wonderful "secret pumpkin" pie: 

 And these fantastic "secret pumpkin" pancakes: 

The process is super simple: 

Sweet Potato Puree

*6-8 sweet potatoes, scrubbed 

*Place sweet potatoes in crockpot and cook for 5-6 hours on low, or 3-4 on high.  

*When potatoes are done, remove from crockpot and slice down the middle.  

*When they are cool enough to touch, peel off the skins. 

*Next, blend them in your blender with water until it reaches a nice smooth consistency. (Do a couple batches at a time, only fill your blender about half way with potatoes.) You'll need quite a bit of water.  Just keep adding it until it blends easily.  

*Store the puree in the fridge until you're ready to use it, or store in freezer safe containers.  I like to pre-measure it into 1 and 2 cup portions. 

*After defrosting, just pour off extra water that separates and stir it up. 

*Use in place of pumpkin in any recipe! Note that sweet potatoes are sweeter than pumpkin, which means you can cut back on sugar in the recipe.  Win! 

Adapted from:  http://joyinmykitchen.blogspot.com/2011/11/as-you-well-know-sweet-potatoes-make.html#.WC5CwvkrLIU