Baked Pan Fries

I love French fries. I'll go ahead and say it. Except I have some issues with them: they are horribly over-priced (I mean, do you know how much they actually cost to make? Nothing.), and most are not-so-good for you. French fries normally consist of a rather nutritious potato (full of potassium and fiber) that has been skinned, and fried in oil, then rolled in salt. Notsogood at all.

My solution? Baked pan fries. So simple, so easy, and so good. I'm not gonna lie... these aren't fried fries. But, I think these make a very good (and so much healthier) substitute. A close second. We all love them. I love how versatile they are, too. Change them up by using different oils, different salad dressings, and different spices. We made the Italian dressing/Parmesan cheese version tonight. Yum!

Baked Home Fries (Basic Recipe)

Serves 4-6

3 all-purpose potatoes (we prefer Russet... Yukon Gold are yummy, too)

2 TB canola oil

Coarse sea salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wash and dry potatoes. Cut into 6-8 wedges (depending on size of potato... about a 1/4-inch wedge). You want them to be all about the same size, so that they bake at the same rate. Toss with canola oil. Lay on a parchment-lined baking sheet (I ran out of parchment tonight, so I used foil. Go with the parchment, though). Sprinkle with salt.

Bake 20-25 minutes, turning over after about 10 minutes. They should be golden brown on both sides.

Variations: Mix canola oil with pepper, chili pepper flakes, rosemary or oregano. OR try different seasoning salts. OR toss with 1/4 cup of Italian dressing mixed with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese; spray lightly with cooking spray. How good would an olive oil/rosemary/sea salt be? I'm seeing dinner next week already. :)