Baked Sweet Potato Fries

I am always in the mood for sweet potato fries. It is incredibly easy to make sweet potato fries at home. It is also much cheaper than purchasing frozen sweet potato fries at the store or paying extra to substitute in sweet potato fries at restaurants. This version is baked in the oven so it is also a little healthier too. Paired with the chipotle aioli (recipe coming tomorrow), this always curbs my craving for sweet potato fries.

Ingredients
1 large sweet potato, peeled and sliced into 1/2" thick matchsticks
Olive oil
Sea salt

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. In a bowl or lidded container, toss sweet potato fries in olive oil and season with sea salt.

3. Spread sweet potato fries on a baking sheet, making sure the fries are not overcrowded.

4. Bake on a foil lined baking sheet for 30 minutes or until golden crisp. Flip the fries once half way through. Serve with chipotle aioli (recipe coming tomorrow).

Source: Frugal Allergy Mom

Roast Pork Loin with Garlic, Rosemary and Thyme

I am a huge fan of roasts. One, it tastes delicious. Two, it is a time saver for subsequent meals. Lastly, when roasts are purchased on sale, it is economical. I usually like to purchase a large pork loin and split it into four roasts, which equals to about 12 meals for our family of 3. I purchased an 11 pound roast for $26; this averages out to about $2.20 per meal (not including sides).

This roast pork loin recipe is easy to assemble and ready in under an hour. The pork loin remains juicy and is cooked to a nice medium to medium well. The only thing I would change is that I would sear the pork loin in my cast iron first before roasting as I love a golden crust.

Ingredients
6 large garlic cloves, finely minced
6 tsp chopped fresh rosemary or 3 tsp dried rosemary
4 tsp chopped fresh thyme or 2 tsp dried thyme
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp sea salt or coarse salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2-1/2 lb boneless pork loin roast, trimmed of most fats

Directions
1. Take pork loin roast out of the refrigerator 30 minutes before cooking to allow the meat come to room temperature. This allows the meat to cook evenly.

2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

3. Line the bottom of the roasting pan with aluminium foil.

4. Mix garlic, rosemary, thyme, olive oil, salt and pepper in a bowl.

5. Rub the mixture all over the pork.

6. Place the pork loin roast, fat side down in the roasting pan. Roast for 30 minutes.

7. Take the roast out of the oven, turn the roast so the fat side is up. Roast until the thermometer inserted into the center reaches 160 degrees F, about 25 minutes.

8. Remove roast from the oven and allow it to rest for 10 minutes. Slice and serve with mashed potatoes or rice. Reserve pan drippings for gravy.

Source: Slightly adapted from Epicurious

How to Poach 12 Eggs at Once (Kitchen Hack)

Discovering new cooking hacks are one of my favorite things. That's why when I came across a method to poach 12 eggs at once this week, I decided that I must try this out ASAP. I first saw the tip from Food and Wine and then a few hours later from The Kitchn. You know it is a legitimate hack when it has been verified by two credible sources.

We love poached eggs and the easiest method I have found so far came from America's Test Kitchen to poach 4 eggs at once (I blogged about it here). We have been using the ATK method since last year but I have found it was difficult to poach eggs for a large crowd. If you have made eggs benedict for brunch, you know how time consuming it can be to poach eggs for a crowd.

We made eggs benedict for breakfast this morning using this tip. This tip is an easy, efficient and stress-free way to poach up to 12 eggs at once. Hakuna Matata.

The texture and taste is the same as pan poaching. The only difference is the eggs take on the shape of the muffin tins (which, if it is an issue, can be easily remedied by pouring the hollandaise sauce over the eggs). For those catering to guests who like their eggs differently, leave the eggs in the muffin tin for a few extra minutes for more well done eggs (take those out last).

Special Equipment: Muffin tin

Ingredients
Eggs
Cold Water

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Place 1 tablespoon of cold water into every muffin tin (even if not using to prevent the pan from burning).

3. Crack an egg into the muffin tin. I prefer The Kitchn's tip to crack the egg into a ramekin first (in case any shells fall in) and then pour the egg into the muffin tin.

Add a tablespoon of water to each muffin tin to prevent the pan from burning.

4. Bake for 11 minutes for soft runny yolk and 13 minutes for well-cooked yolk. Scoop the egg out of the muffin tin with a spoon. Note: The eggs will continue to cook a little more in the pan after you take it out of the oven.

Top off with homemade hollandaise sauce (recipe here)

Source: Food and Wine, The Kitchn