Balsamic Vinaigerette Oven-Baked Sweet Potato Fries

 Hello out there in internet land!  It is time for another edition of "The Saga of the Giant Sweet Potatoes."  In today's episode, I tackle the final gardening feat. If you are just joining us, here's what you've missed so far: Sweet Potato Bread, Sweet Potato Rosemary Biscuits, Sweet Potato Pie, and Honey-Roasted Sweet Potatoes.  What else can you do with sweet potatoes?  Make sweet potato fries!

But, of course, food doesn't actually get fried in my house.  I have a recipe I have used a few times to make oven-baked "fries" with plain old Russet potatoes.  So I took that recipe and adjusted it a bit to change up the flavors for sweet potatoes.  I used fat free balsamic vinaigrette dressing to coat the potatoes and add flavor, with almost no calories.  And it was delicious!

The only part of preparing these sweet potato treats that took any time at all was cutting them up.  But you can do it!  Try to cut your "fries" into equal sizes so they cook evenly.

Now all you have to do is whisk together the dressing and seasonings and coat the sweet potato pieces.

Then just spread them out on a large baking sheet.  Make sure your potatoes are in a single layer.  For easy cleanup, I lined the baking sheet with aluminum foil, and sprayed it with non-stick cooking spray.

One knock on these "fries" is that they were a little soggy.   So next time I make these, I'm going to try preheating the baking sheet to crisp them up a little.  Bake for about 30 minutes, turning halfway through so that both sides are cooked evenly.  Now enjoy your delicious, nutritious, side dish!

Balsamic Vinaigrette Oven-Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Ingredients:

3 lbs sweet potatoes, washed, sliced into fry-shaped pieces

1/2 cup balsamic vinaigrette dressing

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp paprika

pinch of cayenne pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Line two baking sheets with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray.

Whisk together dressing, salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, and cayenne pepper.  Toss with sweet potatoes in a large bowl.

Line sweet potato pieces on baking sheet.  Bake for 10-12 minutes, and then flip.  Bake another 10-12 minutes until fries reach desired softness.

Recipe adapted from Kraft Foods