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5/17/08

Homemade Spicy French Fries (or Steak Fries) out of Leftover Baked Potatoes

One evening last week we had baked potatoes with grilled steaks for dinner. We had leftover potatoes so I popped them into the refrigerator to think about what to do with them 'later'. Typically an easy answer is to make potato salad with them but in our area of the country it was still freezing cold and the thought of a summery potato salad wasn't appetizing. Also, my husband and oldest daughter will eat it, but it's not a favorite of my younger two kids. No problem, I can always come up with different ideas.

Sure enough the next night I looked at the potatoes (russets) and said; I'm going to make fries! And I did. Did I use a recipe? Well, no - of course not, it's me right? LOL. But I can tell you what I basically did and you can do it too. Remember; Cooking is not a science... it's a creative outlet!



Slice the precooked, cold potatoes into lengthwise slices.
Slice each (stacked) into 'sticks' the size of steak fries - a little thicker than regular french fries

In a Ziploc baggy or plastic container with a tight fitting lid, mix about 1 cup of flour for every 3-4 potatoes. Add seasonings to your families taste. A good mixture would be to use 3 of them. Some suggestions;

paprika
onion salt or powder
garlic powder or salt
pepper
taco seasoning mix
any spicy store bought or homemade mix
salt
lawrys salt
basil
chili powder
Cayenne pepper
chipolte pepper


My family loves them spicy so I use a mixture of about 1 1/2 tablespoons paprika, 1/2 t onion powder, 1/2 t garlic powder, 2 t cayenne pepper, 1/2 t chipolte pepper, 1 t chili powder and then some fresh cracked black pepper.

Place the dry mixture of flour and seasonings in a ziploc baggy or new Twist N'Loc container* for ease of covering the potatoes.

Cover a cookie sheet with foil and add canola or olive oil to cover the sheet in a light layer. This will help crisp your fries. Place a handful of fries at a time into the Ziploc and shake gently to completely cover the fries with the spicy flour mixture. Gently remove them with a slotted spoon or carefully with your fingers to allow the excess flour to fall and place the fries on the baking sheet. Continue with all the fries.

Bake at 375 for approximately 15-25 minutes (depending on how thick and large you cut them), turning once until crisp. My family likes them very crispy so I finish them off by placing them under the broiler for about 3 minutes.



*I'm a Bzzz Agent and this is one of the products I was sent in the mail to try and let others know what I think of them. Print Friendly and PDF