Oven Baked French Fries

Sometimes you just want french fries.  Sometimes you want them at the last minute and running out to a fast food place or a grocery store isn't an option.  Sometimes this craving hits you while you're halfway through making a totally different dinner.  Just sayin, it happens.

Luckily french fries are easy to make, and depending on how thick you cut them they can be relatively quick.  You can season them up a million different ways to appeal to every age group. 

I just eyeballed how many potatoes to cut up and used about 4 very small Yukon gold potatoes, about the size of golf balls - it was all I had...I cut them fairly thin.  Faster cooking that way.

Next, I patted them dry with a paper towel and then put them into a zip lock bag.

Add Olive Oil to coat.  You can use any spices you want; sprinkle in about a teaspoon or so of each spice and then shake the bag to cover thoroughly. 

Spread them out on a cookies sheet lined with aluminum foil.  Heat the oven to 450 and make sure the potatoes are in a single layer. Cook for about 25 minutes.

I salted them the minute they came out of the oven.  Let cool for about 5 minutes.  This amount was enough for two people.

Baked French Fries: 
2 medium potatoes - cut into desired sized pieces. 
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp pepper
Salt to taste

Heat the oven to 450 degrees.

Wash the potatoes well and then cut them into the desired sizes.  I cut mine into pretty standard sizes but you can cut them extra large for steak fries.  You will need to add more cooking time.

Pat them dry with a paper towel (so the oil will adhere better).  Put them into a zip lock bag and add the oil and spices.  Shake to coat evenly.  Cover a cookie sheet with aluminum foil.  Spread the cut potatoes out evenly making sure not to overlap.  Bake for about 25 minutes for regular sized fries, up to 45 minutes for larger steak fries.  Turning the fries once while cooking will help brown them evenly. Salt as soon as they come out of the oven.  Let them rest for about 5 minutes so you don't cook the roof of your mouth.

Serves 2