Honey Chipotle Yams (recipe)

A little back story on this recipe: The grocery store had yams on sale for 39 cents a pound a week or so ago, so I decided to get a few to experiment with.  Prior to this recipe, I'd tasted sweet potatoes/yams prepared in 3 ways: French-fried at a friend's house, baked with mango rum butter at Farlow's in Englewood, FL (quite delicious!!!), and baked into a pie by another friend's mom.  I'd never cooked one myself, but after a bit of Pinterest searching and considering the flavor of the root vegetable, I decided to go with something sweet and spicy.  Thus, Honey Chipotle Yams were born.

Honey Chipotle Yams

Honey Chipotle Yams 
1 yam, peeled and diced         1/16 t cinnamon
1/4 medium onion, chopped    1/8 t chipotle powder
1 clove garlic, minced             1/8 t chili powder
1 1/2 T vegetable oil               1-1 1/2 T honey
Salt & Pepper to taste

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add yam, onion and garlic.  Mix cinnamon, chipotle powder, chili powder, salt and pepper and add to yam mixture.  Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes.  Stir in honey and cover.  Cook until yams are fork tender.

I made this recipe for breakfast one day after waking in a particularly "ready to eat" mood.  As you know, I don't normally eat breakfast in the morning and stick to a cup of black coffee with some sugar.  However, on this morning, I decided to cook something up.  It turned out to be rather filling and kept me going until lunch time... definitely a recipe to add to the stash.

A possible change to the recipe: Adding a bit of ground sweet sausage might add more depth of flavor and some necessary protein, making it into a hash.  Serve with some flaky, buttery biscuits, and you've got yourself a meal.

The honey chipotle yams might make a nice side dish to go along with a spicy roast or turkey.  What would you eat with your honey chipotle yams?