Spicy Sweet Potato Chips and Homemade Guacamole

Mmm, avocados. I mean really, aren’t they lovely to look at?

Maybe that’s why I had my kitchen painted in the color “avocado.” (Don’t mind my poor laptop precariously perched on the edge of the counter.)

Tonight I made a batch of homemade guacamole. The two avocados I bought were perfectly ripened and incredibly buttery.

MegGoesGuacamole Recipe:

2 ripe avocados
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1 tsp adobo seasoning
pinch of cayenne pepper
1 T. water
juice of half of a lime
2-3 T. chunky salsa
salt to taste
finely minced jalapeno, to taste, seeds removed (I use about half of one pepper)

Mash it all together! Don’t skimp on the salt – it really can be THE ingredient that takes the guac to a new level.

My guacamole was enjoyed with Spicy Sweet Potato Chips, using this recipe from Simple & Delicious magazine (I made about 1/2 of the recipe). A big tip I have is to try to find long, narrow sweet potatoes. The thick ones are difficult to slice through, especially if you are slicing them into chips – and I personally prefer no digits or extremities in my chip bowl…but that’s just me. I found a few like this – perfect for chips:

I peeled and sliced two sweet potatoes 1/8″ wide, and to season them, mixed together the following, drizzled upon the chips, and tossed to coat:

2 T. EVOO
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. taco seasoning
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cumin
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
black pepper

These chips were baked at 400 F for 25 minutes. Keep an eye on them – a few of mine got a little toasty. Another key is to try to slice these as uniformly as possible (i.e., if some of your chips are 1/16″ thick and some are 3/8″ thick, some will be burnt, and some will be undercooked – mine were pretty even but a few really thin ones got extra brown).

I really loved these chips. The were crisp on the outside but still a little soft in the middle. Usually I prepare my sweet potatoes with brown sugar and cinnamon – the savory seasonings were an welcome change. I was inspired to pair these two dishes together after dining at Poppycocks in Traverse City this summer, and ordering their spicy sweet potato chips and guacamole. Something about hot, savory spices paired with the mildly sweet ‘tatoes and the creamy guac is just mind-blowing.