NuM NuM

These sweet potato fries would be a nice compliment to any spicy entree. Tonight I served them with a hot and spicy pork chop. I had high hopes for the pork since I'd seen it on several other food blogs, but I didn't think it was anything special so I'll spare you from the recipe. However, the spice mixture for these sweet potatoes were a nice change from my standard recipe since I usually season them with just some S&P. I didn't get a chance to make the dip since these were delicious on their own, but I'm sure the dip is just as good. This was a quick and easy recipe that would be great with any burger or sammie. Next time I'll try and substitute the potatoes with butternut squash to make them even healthier. But these were tasty - nice and crispy on the outside and soft in the middle.


Baked Sweet Potato Fries
Adapted from Our Best Bites
3 to 4 servings

2 medium-sized sweet potatoes*
2 T extra virgin olive oil
1/2 t cumin
1/2 t oregano
1/2 t coriander
1 t Lawry’s Garlic Salt with parsley
fresh ground pepper (about 10 turns of a pepper mill)

*you want 1lb sweet potatoes after they are peeled, sliced, etc. If you weigh them at the store make sure you have a little more than a pound to allow for the peeling, and tossing of small pieces.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet lightly with cooking spray and put in oven while oven is coming to temperature. You want them right on the cookie sheet.

Slice your sweet potatoes into french fry shape and size. You want them to be about a 1/2", do not cut them into steak fries b/c they tend to get a bit soggy so staying small is gets the best results.

It's important that all of the pieces are evenly sized to ensure even cooking. So toss any irregular pieces aside (or eat them in another dish).

Put the sweet potatoes in a bowl and drizzle the olive oil over them or spray with Olive Oil PAM. Use your hands to make sure each one is coated. If you've got more than a pound of sweet potatoes, add a little extra olive oil. They should all be glistening, just eyeball it.

Then sprinkle on all of the herbs and spices and continue to toss until well coated.

Take the baking sheet out of the oven and place the fries directly on a baking sheet. It's very important that they are not touching, but can place them pretty close together.

*if you end up needing more than one cookie sheet make sure they are spaced more than one rack apart in your oven to prevent steaming. Also, rotate the pans when you take them out to flip.

Place cookie sheet in pre-heated oven and set the timer for 15 minutes. Don't open the oven door, not even for a peak! Let them do their thing.

After 11-12 minutes take pan of oven and flip the fries. Put the pan in the oven and cook for another 10-15 minutes. Just keep an eye on them. Crispy crunchy on the outside, and sweet and soft in the middle.

Take them out of the oven and serve immediately. They cool off very quickly so they're best eaten right away.


Honey-Lime Dip for Sweet Potato Fries

6oz container plain, low-fat yogurt
1 T mayo (low cal is fine)
1/2 T honey
1/2 lime
1/4 t cumin
1/8 t oregano
1 t parsley
1/2 t granulated onion
3/4 t kosher salt

Mix honey and yogurt until combined and give it a big squeeze from the lime half. Add in spices and herbs and you have a dip