simple seasoned oven fries

Ugh! I don't know why so many pictures I took of these little delights are blurry! I attribute it to the fact that Ed and I were sharing the iPad I use to take pictures. Maybe it's time for me to become a big girl and buy a real camera. Maybe. Anyway, oven fries are a nice way of making french fries a little healthier. Essentially, these are just baked potato slices, rather than french FRIES, but you get the gist- hence the name, oven fries!

I despise peeling potatoes, but well, this was only 5 potatoes so it wasn't so bad. You can leave the skins on if you would like, but I went all the way this time.

Into spears the potatoes go. One of these days I'll invest in a french fry slicer. I tell myself the same thing every time I go to buy one- "I don't need to spend the money on this! I'll just slice by hand!". Then it comes time to slice the fries and I think to myself "I need to buy a french fry slicer". It's a vicious cycle.

Usually, these would take about 45 minutes in the oven to cook through and then get crispy, but I'm impatient. I want french fries now! So, the solution is to blanch them in boiling water- just about 2 minutes in the boiling water and then out. That's long enough to make them tender, but not long enough to cook them through or make them soft.

Drain the blanched potatoes in a strainer and let them cool for about 5 minutes.

That'll give you time to whisk up the seasonings. This is one large egg, a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper as well as cayenne pepper, paprika, onion powder and garlic powder. Whisk it all together until it's a thick sauce.

Like this! Dump in the cooled potatoes, toss them around and then transfer onto a baking tray.

These will go into a preheated oven for about 25 minutes- just until they are crispy and soft and crunchy and perfect. Yea for oven fries!

Simple Seasoned Oven Fries
5 large potatoes, peeled and sliced
1 whole large egg
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 Tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper

Preheat an oven to 425 degrees. Bring a large stock pot of water to a rolling boil. Add in sliced potatoes and blanch for 2 minutes. Drain in strainer and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk together egg, olive oil, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper and cayenne. Toss cooled potatoes in egg mixture and transfer into a greased baking sheet. Place in preheated oven and bake for 25 minutes until crispy and browned. Enjoy!