We spent the entire day yesterday shaking our heads in disbelief as the trees in our front and backyard came tumbling down. Sure, it is exactly what we wanted – but of course this was scheduled to happen the day after we received massive rain the night prior, and well, our grounds are already swamp like. We are literally staring at an epic mud pit – one that we are going to address as contractors are coming out next week to quote us on a few things. Ya’ll PLAN PLAN PLAN. If I would have known we were going to jump to put a fence in this past winter, we would have never dumped the cash into doing the backyard last year. But, I guess you cannot live your demo life in regret, we did what we had to do at the time, just now we have a whole lotta mess to clean up again! OY.
Last night I turned to our latest dinner side dish obsession, our simply baked sweet potato wedges. I make these twice a week, for convenience and impact. They taste AMAZING, and obviously sweet potatoes are so healthy for you. Didn’t you know that already? Like if you’re going to woof down a bag of chips, make them sweet potato will you? Half the guilt 🙂
Brody even slams these, which is a true triumph in our house. He is VERY picky when it comes to vegetables, he is the kid that literally gags in front of you when you make him try a bite of something. The other night it was beans, you guys, you would have thought we were spoon feeding him dog food. The gagging is so hysterical, and he knows it too. That kid just cracks me up. But these, he will pop them like tic tacs.
The process is super simple, and I love that they roast away while I cook anything else I need to complete the meal. our issue with sweet potatoes before this method was that half would always burn, and I mean always. You know the deal, some carmelize far too quickly, and it ruins 1/2 of the sweet potatoes you made. My simple tricks will leave you happy to know you will get perfect sweet potato wedges each and every time.
First – get to cutting. Chop the ends of your sweet potato off, cut the sweet potato in half width wise (right down the center at its thickest point) Cut each 1/2 in 1/2 again. Leaving you with four chunks. For each section, slice the wedges, you want them to be thick enough 1/2 inch will do – the more skin on the bottom the better.
Get those brats in a bowl –
Coat them with about 2 Tbsp of EVOO, tsp of garlic powder, pinch of salt and pepper. Maybe a heavier pinch of salt, because well, it’s how we roll. Mix with your hands, rub those taters down like you’ve never rubbed a potato before.
Once they’re evenly coated, take out a cookie sheet. Line it with foil, and spray with PAM. Place the wedges on it’s back, skin side down. This is KEY to them not burning.
Place in the oven at 375* for 45 minutes – do NOT flip them at all. In fact, do not even touch them. Let them roast and do their thing. I like to turn the oven off at 45 minutes, and if they haven’t quite gotten to where we prefer them, let them sit in the oven for an additional 15 minutes as the heat dies down. This makes them shrivel up a bit more, and oh baby, get golden delicious.
There has yet to be a “Oh man, you’re making those again” comment. These beauties have been tried and true so many times I am surprised I am not seeping orange from my pores. Love that this baby is making me crave healthy choices like this, although I cannot tell you how badly I want a day where I want junk food. Maybe the day will come, for now, sweet potato wedges it is.
These are perfect for little ones, easy to hold, soft texture in the center – I will definitely be making these for baby boy when he’s ready.
p.s. eat them plain, or do yourself a favor and pick up a mustard/horseradish dipping sauce and prepare to have your mind blown.
You’re welcome.