The unofficial start to summer is almost upon us!   In chatting with a friend of mine about Memorial Day plans, I realized that I hadn't outlined any menu plans either, so at some point in the next day or two I'll be elbowing my way through the grocery store with the rest of the masses and searching for inspiration. 

One thing I'll definitely be serving?  My amazingly easy sweet potato fries.  These are one of my absolute favorite side dishes and, frankly, I can't believe I haven't shared them already. 

They're incredibly easy to make, and because they're baked, they're actually pretty good for you (do they still count as "fries" if they're not fried? Eh, whatever. They're delicious.)  Does life get any better?  I submit that it does not.



EG's Baked Sweet Potato Fries 

3-4 sweet potatoes, peeled
1/4 c. vegetable oil (if you like them crisper, use 1 Tbsp)
1/3 c. Parmesan cheese, grated
pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Slice potatoes into strips (think steak fry size; about 1/2 inch thick and 1/4 inch wide)
3. Toss potato strips with vegetable oil and Parmesan cheese til well coated.
4. Spread potato strips in a single layer on a greased baking sheet.  Sprinkle with cracked pepper.
5. Bake fries for 30 minutes, or until lightly browned, turning every 10

Note: I haven't tried this yet, but I'm thinking that hitting these with cayenne pepper might be really yummy as well.  The combo of heat and sweet almost always makes for good eats.

I can't tell you how amazing these are.  Because of the sugar content in the sweet potato, it caramelizes and tastes as much like a dessert as it does a side dish.  But, because sweet potatoes are one of the superfoods, (they're super high in vitamins A and C, are a great source of fiber and have a lower starch content than white potatoes) you can actually feel really good about eating them.  Considering we're cannonballing right into swimsuit season, I need all the happy feels I can get!

Happy Memorial Day weekend everyone!