Baked French Fries

We LOVE these fries.  They take a little work (There is a trick to getting them brown and crispy that I didn’t know before reading this! You may be surprised!

Baked French Fries – adapted from Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook (well, not so new anymore)

1 ¼ pounds baking potatoes
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon sugar
4 teaspoons oil
1 teaspoon paprika

1.  Fill a large bowl with water and add 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and the 1/2 teaspoon of sugar and mix to dissolve.  (It may not all dissolve and that's ok)
2.  As you cut the potatoes, put them in the water to soak.  Once you have all the potatoes in the bowl, let them soak for 15 minutes.
3.  Preheat the oven to 450°F; spray a nonstick baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. (I use Reynold's Non-Stick Foil instead! It's the BEST!)
4.  Drain the potatoes and use paper towels to blot them dry. 
5.  Drizzle the oil over the potatoes and sprinkle with paprika.  Stir to coat them well.
6.  Spread them out on the prepared baking sheet in a single layer.  Bake 30-40 minutes or until desired crispness, stirring and turning the potatoes about every 10 minutes. Sprinkle with the remaining salt when done.

FYI: DON'T SKIP THE SOAKING STEP! It is important in getting crispy fries.  The sugar in the water helps to pull the water out of the potato. This is the difference from other Baked French Fries recipes I have tried in the past.  These ones are not soggy!


These are the best, healthiest, fresh cut fries you are going to get without getting them from somewhere that deep fries them.  And I think they are just as good, if not better because there is no grease.  And no stomach ache later!

Enjoy!

Easy Homemade Cole Slaw

I know I should have probably posted this recipe at the beginning of summer, but really you can eat cole slaw anytime!  And sorry about the awful picture.  It's the only one I have.  Next time I make it, I'll update it to a better one!

I like cole slaw.  A lot.  But after making my own...I've become rather picky.  I got this recipe from Shelley R. when she heard me talking about buying cole slaw for a get together I was having.  She said this was the best and she was right.  And it's soooo easy.  I modified it a tiny bit by adding the shredded carrot.  Feel free to leave it out if you want.

Easy Homemade Cole Slaw

1 head cabbage
1 medium sweet onion
1 or 2 carrots
1 cup Miracle Whip (not mayonnaise!)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup milk

Using a large, sharp knife, slice the cabbage into large chunks.  Thinly slice each chunk (almost like you are trying to shave it).  After I slice a bunch of it, I like to cut the whole thing into smaller, mouth size pieces.  I just grab the whole pile of shreds and cut it into thirds and throw it into a large bowl.  Next dice the onion into small pieces.  I like to use my Pampered Chef chopper.  Scrape it all into the bowl with the cabbage.  Grate the carrots using the large, shredding side of a grater.  Please watch your fingers!!  Add the carrots and mix well. 

Mix the dressing together and pour over cabbage mixture.  Mix it in with a large spatula until it is all coated.  Let chill for a few hours and then serve!

Sometimes I make up both the cabbage mixture and the dressing the night before I need the cole slaw, but I don't mix it together until the morning of the day I am going to serve it. 

Hope you enjoy!!!

Asparagus with Balsamic Tomatoes and Feta

I have been searching for healthy vegetable dishes to serve as side dishes. I love all these flavors and decided to try this recipe I found at myrecipes.com with a couple small changes. You can view the original recipe here.

Asparagus with Balsamic Tomatoes and Feta

1 pound asparagus, trimmed

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 1/2 cups halved grape tomatoes

1/2 teaspoon minced fresh garlic or 1/4 teaspoon dried minced garlic

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons crumbled reduced-fat feta

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. Cook asparagus in boiling water 2 minutes or until crisp-tender.  Drain.

2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add tomatoes and garlic; cook 5 minutes. Stir in vinegar; cook 3 minutes. Stir in salt. Arrange asparagus on a platter; top with tomato mixture. Sprinkle with cheese and pepper.

I served this along side meatloaf and we really liked it.  The kids did not eat it, but that was fine because there was more for us. The one part of the recipe I was confused about was cooking the asparagus. I was unsure whether to bring the water to a boil, then add the asparagus, or put the asparagus in the pot with the water, bring to a boil, and then cook for 2 minutes. Well, I ended up putting the asparagus in before bringing the water to a boil, but I was happy with the result.  I like my asparagus a little more tender than crisp, but I don't like it soggy.  So it's up to you to decide how you want to try it.  If you make it the other way, leave me a comment and let me know what you think!!

Sweet Potato Casserole

This casserole is one of the side dishes I made for Thanksgiving. You may have seen this recipe on my old blog last year. My mom got this recipe from a family friend, Judy G., many years ago, and it quickly became a favorite of ours. It is like eating dessert WITH your dinner!

Sweet Potato Casserole

3 large sweet potatoes
1/2 cup butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup milk or cream
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup sugar

Topping:
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup flour
1 cup chopped pecans

Cut sweet potatoes into chunks of roughly the same size. Place in a large pot and cover with water. Bring potatoes to a boil and let boil until you can easily pierce with a fork (about 20 minutes?). Drain potatoes in a colander and return to pan and mash. Add butter, vanilla, milk/cream, eggs and sugar. Mix well. Place into a baking dish (a 9x13 dish works well). Mix topping ingredients with a fork until they resemble coarse crumbs. Sprinkle topping over casserole and bake uncovered for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

You can make this a couple days ahead of time and store covered in the refrigerator. You will need to increase the baking time if making them ahead!

Sorry I don't know the exact time I boil the sweet potatoes for....I guess that is probably important information. I just always check them around 15 minutes, and then again at 20 minutes. They should easily break up with a fork when checking.

This is my kids absolute favorite Thanksgiving dish. I love it, but I think they may love it more! My husband won't touch it. He has a dislike for sweet potatoes, so even though this is a completely sugared up version of sweet potatoes, he still won't eat it. This past Thanksgiving, I made a full feast even though it was just the 4 of us, partly because I wanted to not have to cook the rest of the weekend. It worked! My kids were begging for sweet potato casserole for breakfast! I said, "Go for it!". I just didn't want to see any of the food go to waste, so I didn't care what meal they ate it!

Anyhow, I highly recommend this dish. It's delish. Don't listen to my husband. Seriously. He doesn't know what he's missing. And that's fine. More for the rest of us!!