(BPT) - Sweet potato consumption rose nearly 10 percent since the year 2000, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. And as more restaurants tout sweet potato options on their menus, at-home chefs are looking for ways to prepare the nutritious orange spud.

Whether swapping standard white potatoes for sweet potatoes in a game day potato skins recipe or mashing the sweet spuds as part of a reinvented potato casserole, opportunities to incorporate sweet potatoes in home-cooked recipes are endless. Popular food blogger Jessica Segarra of TheNoviceChefBlog.com says she also enjoys stuffing sweet potatoes with unique ingredients or making homemade fries.

“Coupled with a few other simple ingredients like sea salt, cracked black pepper and olive oil, sweet potatoes can bring a lot of flavor to a meal,” Segarra says. “One of my all-time favorites is making homemade sweet potato fries paired with a flavorful dipping sauce, although the fries require a bit more effort on the backend to prepare.”