Roasted Potatoes and Okra

Potatoes are my favorite! They are one of the most versatile veggies out there. I used to eat them drowned in oil or dairy, or both. Now I enjoy them in much healthier ways.




 When I first started this way of eating, I was so excited about getting to eat all of the starchy foods that I had been told were bad. When it came to cooking potatoes it took me quite a while to figure out how to get a roasted version crisp without adding oil. After a lot of trial and error and some sheet pans full of burnt potatoes, it all came down to timing and temperature. Trust me when I say there is a only couple minutes difference between beautifully crisp and burnt.

After I figured that out I started getting creative and adding different veggies. Okra has been a favorite of mine since I was a kid, a fried version ( because we fry everything in the south) was almost always on the Sunday dinner table at my grandmothers house. So I found that roasting it still gave me that same crisp texture that I love, without drowning it in oil.

Happy roasting!

Ingredients

• 3 lbs yukon gold potatoes
• 1 medium yellow onion chopped
• 1- 12 oz bag of frozen okra  *fresh is best if in season
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 2 tablespoons roasted garlic and herb seasoning 
• black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 F

Peel and dice potatoes, keep in mind that they have a longer cooking time than okra and onions so they will need to be smaller to have a similar cooking time.

Roughly chop onions, these don't have to be perfection. I chop them larger because there is a long baking time. They tend to burn into non existence on the baking sheet if they are chopped too small.

Chop okra if you are using fresh. Pour out your veggie mixture on a parchment lined baking sheet. Spread out in one single layer and sprinkle on seasonings.

Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and give everything a quick toss.

 Return to oven and bake  for an additional 20 minutes.  So here comes the tricky part, sometimes after 45 minutes they are perfect.. but some days they need a little longer. Today was one of those "little longer" days. When this happens I check them every 4-5 minutes, because there is only a couple minutes between perfectly roasted and burnt.

After they are your desired golden brown remove from oven and enjoy!