Fat Friday: Garlic-Roasted Sweet Potatoes

I don't know about you, but any recipe with the word "garlic" in it has me doing a double-take. I don't particularly care for smelling like garlic for the next 3 days after mincing it, but I'm willing to make the sacrifice just to get that goodness in my mouth.

I think I found this recipe in a Martha Stewart magazine. It was a pre-felony publication, when I was a particularly obnoxious Martha wannabe - never missed her daytime show, had an annual subscription to her magazine and was forever trying out her recipes. She was my heroine but let's face it - if cold cereal wasn't a dinnertime option in her house, we'd never be full-on buds.

And here's another shocker - many of Martha's recipes were not doable for a mother with 3 kids all under the age of 4 and in diapers. It sounds crazy but I just didn't have time to temper chocolate and make homemade ravioli. I was too busy changing diapers and making elaborate Thomas the Tank Engine train track configurations.

So imagine my relief when this recipe caught my eye and I realized how utterly easy it was! Six ingredients with a prep time of 10 minutes. Plus, it was just odd enough that I. WAS. IN. Odd in that I'm not a particular fan of sweet potatoes - those overly mashed, sticky-with-marshmallows-and-syrup things that are popular at Thanksgiving. These were different - garlicky and savory and roasted.

Let's try them, shall we?

Peel the sweet potatoes and slice off the ends. I look for sweet potatoes that are fairly even in circumference. Duane and I can eat two, with leftovers.

No, now that you ask, my kids don't eat them. Stinkers.

Cut them into 1-1/2-inch rounds.

In a very large bowl, put olive oil, salt, dried thyme, red pepper flakes and minced garlic. I like to use my microplane grater for the garlic. It minces it so finely it's almost a paste, making it easier to whisk it into the oil.

Once that's mixed thoroughly . . .

Dump the sweet potato rounds into the oil mixture. Use your claw-like, alien man-hands to toss and thoroughly coat each round.

Spread them on a cookie sheet. I use a silicone liner but if you don't have one, line your cookie sheet with foil.

Bake 35- 40 minutes at 400F. I start testing for doneness around 30 minutes by poking them with a fork. We like them soft but not mushy.

(Click here for printable recipe.)

These make a fabulous side for Thanksgiving turkey or roast pork. Plus, they're just so dang pretty!

Martha, thank you for lowering the bar for me. You done good, sister.