It may have taken me an entire year of chaos to realize how much I miss blogging, but I am back at it and so happy to rekindle this old flame of mine just before the holiday season comes tumbling through my door. After a recent stint with the Whole30 diet, I have grown to love sweet potatoes and am enjoying the process of making them in a variety of ways. Note that the following recipe is far from Whole30 approved and we can all agree that "ironic" is my adjective for 2018. Ha. Nevertheless, top anything with bacon and it's a crowd pleaser at my house. Bonus points for this slow-cooker version of goodness.
Orange Sweet Potatoes with Bacon
4 lb slender sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch slices
1/2 cup orange juice
4 Tbs. butter, melted
3 Tbs. brown sugar (light or dark, no matter)
2 tsp. kosher salt
2 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary
2 tsp. cornstarch
1 Tbs. cold water
1/2 cup flat leaf parsley, finely chopped (optional)
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 slices cooked bacon, crumbled
Place sweet potatoes in 5 quart slow cooker. In a small bowl, stir together orange juice, butter, brown sugar, kosher salt, and rosemary. Pour over sweet potatoes, tossing to coat. Cover and cook on LOW for 5-6 hours or until potatoes are tender. Using a slotted spoon, transfer potatoes to a serving dish. Transfer liquid from slow cooker to a saucepan and heat over medium-high. In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and 1 TBS cold water until smooth. Whisk cornstarch liquid into saucepan and whisk constantly until sauce thickens, 3-5 minutes. Spoon sauce over potatoes. Stir together parsley, garlic and bacon. Sprinkle potatoes with parsley/bacon mixture. Enjoy!