Chili Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Many moons ago (meaning, pre-kids) my husband and I had a standing dinner date on Monday evenings with our friends John and Kristi. Since they had two small boys we always had dinner at their house then sat around the dining room table or on their back deck during balmy summer months for dessert, sipping coffee or brandy and solving all of the worlds' problems. Kristi and I had such a great time planning each week's menu, tailoring to our tastes and discussing wine to serve with our meal to make it a truly grand experience each week.

In November, we always planned a Thanksgiving-themed meal with new things we found in magazines or on the internet (this was before the Pinterest craze!) This gave us a great opportunity to step out of our culinary comfort zones, plus it kept us from rocking our families' worlds too much when they all wanted their traditional holiday favorites. Thanksgiving confession:  I have never been a huge fan of sweet potatoes. In fact, I distinctly remember running away from the table when my mom served sweet potatoes when I was a kid. For real, as in, ran away and stood defiantly in my dad's recliner.  Due to my former disdain for sweet potatoes I was not enthusiastic when Kristi suggested making them. However, I gave them another try and actually liked them! Plus, I didn't have a recliner to run to when Kristi made sweet potatoes. See, I've grown up since then.

What makes this recipe different and special is the addition of chili powder. The spicy tang chili powder brings makes the sweet potatoes less overtly sweet, which is one of my objections to sweet potatoes and squash. I don't want my dinner to be sweet. Yielding the perfect balance of sweet, spicy and salty and on your table in a flash, make these for Thanksgiving if there are no objections from your (sweet) family.

Chili Roasted Sweet Potatoes (adapted from myrecipes.com)

2 lb. sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1" cubes
1 T. olive oil
1 T. chili powder
1 t. brown sugar
1 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper

Preheat the oven to 375. Spray a jelly roll pan with cooking spray and set aside. In a large bowl combine the sweet potatoes, olive oil, chili powder, brown sugar, salt and pepper and toss well, making sure the sweet potatoes are totally coated with the spices. Place the potatoes in a single layer on the prepared pan and roast for 15 minutes. Toss, then return to the oven an additional 15-20 minutes until the potatoes are tender and caramelized to your liking.

6 servings (157 calories each serving) according to my calculator on loseit.com