Honey Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Carrots

This month I've been branching out and trying new recipes.  I'm forcing myself to try some ingredients that I don't normally use.  One of those ingredients is sweet potatoes.  I've never been a big fan.  I think its because, in the South, sweet potatoes usually end up in a souffle or pie, and I'm not a big fan of either of those.  (I know, I'm a bad Southern girl.  LOL!)

But I forced myself to buy some sweet potatoes this week and search for a recipe.  That's when I saw several recipes on Pinterest for Honey Roasted Sweet Potatoes and/or Carrots.  I had a huge bag of carrots as well, so I thought I'd give it a try - and mix the two.  After all, my main contention with sweet potatoes was that I didn't think potatoes should be "sweet."  But I figured, maybe on this one I just need to steer into the skid and embrace the sweetness. Well, let me just say, "Sweet Taters, where have you been all my life!?!"  I took the best elements from several recipes and threw these together.  And these babies are DELISH, if I do say so myself.  If you aren't a fan of carrots, you can just use 3 sweet potatoes.  Or, if you aren't a sweet potato gal, try 8-10 carrots.  But seriously, try them both.  You won't be sorry!!!  Come on, how delectable do these look!?!

So, to begin, preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Then line a baking sheet with a Silpat mat.  If you don't have one, line the sheet with foil and spray with cooking oil.  Then chop the sweet potatoes.  (I like to do bite-sized pieces.)

And slice carrots.  (Don't make them too thick or they'll take longer to cook than the sweet potatoes.)

Place the veggies in a gallon size freezer bag and pour in 1 tablespoon of cinnamon and some salt.  (I don't measure the salt because I use a grinder, but I'd say one to one and a half teaspoons would be right.) 

Seal the bag and shake to coat.  (I like to do this before adding the wet ingredients because it really helps all the veggies get evenly coated.)

Open that bag back up and pour in 2 tablespoons of oil. (I used Canola because that's what I had on hand, but you could use coconut or olive oil.) Then pour in 5 tablespoons of honey.  Seal the bag and shake and press to coat.  (Make sure you really move the veggies around to get them all coated.)

Now use a slotted spoon to place the veggies on the baking sheet.  (You don't want to pour them on the sheet because the extra syrup/marinade will pull and burn.  Also, you're gonna use that leftover syrup/marinade at the end!!!)

Bake for 40-50 minutes, stirring once halfway through.  (Baking time depends on your oven and the size of the veggies.  Mine were delish at 40 minutes.)

Once the veggies are done, grab that bag with leftover syrup/marinade.  Cut a small hole in one corner of the bag and drizzle the leftovers all over the veggies.  Sweet honey cinnamon goodness!!!

Now, enjoy!!!  I served these with some BBQ-basted, grilled chicken breasts and a light green bean and squash salad.  They were a HUGE hit!  My picky two year old had THREE helpings.  I call that a win!

Honey Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Carrots

Ingredients:

2 sweet potatoes
3 or 4 large carrots
1 tablespoon cinnamon
salt, to taste
5 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons of oil (coconut, olive, canola, etc.)

1.) Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with a silpat mat or tin foil.  (If using foil, spray with cooking spray.)
2.) Chop sweet potatoes and carrots into bite-sized pieces. Place in a gallon-sized resealable bag.  Pour in cinnamon and salt. Seal and toss to coat.
3.) Pour honey and oil into plastic bag.  Seal and toss again, making sure to get all the veggies coated.
4.) Use a slotted spoon place veggies on baking sheet. (You don't want to just dump them on there because any extra honey coating that pools on the sheets will burn. Plus, you wanna save that extra marinade!)
5.) Bake at 400 degrees for 40-50 minutes, stirring halfway through.