Oven Sweet Potato Fries

“Cooking is at once child's play and adult joy. And cooking done with care is an act of love.”
-Craig Claiborne

My husband chooses restaurants based on the fact whether they serve sweet potato fries. He also makes food choices based on how cheap it is. (Going to the grocery store with him yesterday was quite painful!)

Needless to say, he was excited to see that the local McDonald's has 99-cent McNuggets on Mondays. I was not so excited to add another fast-food meal to our meal plan. So for the last couple of weeks, we have compromised...

On Monday evenings, he picks up nuggets on his way home, while I make sweet potato fries and steamed veggies as sides.

Want to know my super-easy (healthy-ish) version of oven-roasted sweet potato fries??

All it takes is sweet potatoes (two small ones is plenty for the two of us), olive oil, salt, and pepper. Read on!

Peel the potatoes and then slice them lengthwise. The original recipe I read mentioned that you should keep them dry to help the olive oil adhere and to avoid soggy fries. That's how I've always done it, so I also recommend it!

Lay the slices out on a cookie sheet, spacing them out as evenly as possible. Coat with olive oil, salt and pepper. Slices should be shimmery but not drowning.

Heat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for 30 minutes. Take them out after 15 minutes to flip them over and then put them back in. It wouldn't hurt to add a little bit more oil, if they're looking dry. Watch them carefully in the last 5 minutes--you don't want to burn them! We like ours dark but not burnt! As the original recipe says, "BURNT SUGAR = NASTY!"

 

If you're lucky enough, plate with McNuggets and a steamed veggie. Serve and enjoy!