I’m always looking for a side dish that I can use that’s not too heavy especially in the spring and summer. Sweet Potatoes are a dish that fills the void of the potato but it’s not as heavy. Go sweet potatoes.

After working on a pork roast with rosemary that was light enough to serve in the spring and early summer, serving up my recipe for the sweet potatoes was one of the perfect compliments. Sometimes I forget about the sweet potato. I enjoy them they are a staple on my menu for my traditional Thanksgiving dinner.

After we enjoy the side dish it seems like they get banished to the end of the recipe box until the next Thanksgiving dinner. Well I’m dusting them off and encourage you to do the same and give my sweet potato recipe a try and pair them as a side dish to pork, chicken and steak. You can thank me for the reminder.

Serves 10 - 12

Ingredients:

¼ cup – frozen orange juice concentrate, still frozen

½ cup – maple syrup

¼ cup – molasses

1 ½ sticks of butter

1 tsp – cinnamon

1 tsp – pumpkin spice

1 dash – vanilla extract

1 cup – brown sugar

10-12 sweet potatoes (yams), peeled, halved, and then cut into 8’s.

How to put it together:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium sauce pan, heat all ingredients except the potatoes. Bring to a slow boil, constantly stirring. Place sliced potatoes in a well greased baking dish. Pour the mixture generously over the potatoes, covering them. Place the dish covered with foil into the heated oven at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Remove from oven and baste the potatoes again with the mixture in the bottom of the baking dish. Cover the dish with foil and cook for 1 more hour. Remove from the oven and baste the potatoes with the mixture again. Increase oven temperature to 425 and cook for another 30 minutes uncovered.

Remove from the oven to cool for 10 minutes. Serve hot and enjoy!

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 weekend host Big Joe Henry. Any opinions expressed are Big Joe’s own.

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