Oven baked French Fries/Potato Chips

The other night I wanted something different with our suppers main dish. Not the usual baked potato, or corn, or green beans. I was kind of in a rut and my imagination wasn't wide awake. But I dreamed of French Fries, which is one of my favorite things to eat. I've made FF a number of times and they are good. But I've never truly been happy with their texture - too mushy, or some are done and others aren't.

So I got out my mandolin slicer and cut 2 potatoes into the thickest slice that the mandolin will cut a potato....maybe 1/8 of an inch I'm guessing. I wanted thin (but not paper thin) slices and I wanted them uniform to insure they would cook the same.

I coated each slice of potato with vegetable oil and then sprinkled in some chili powder and some garlic salt.

Then into the oven they went while I prepared the rest of the meal.

The result? A crispy potato that was a cross between a French Fry and a potato chip. They were delicious! When I get fries at a restaurant I'm always happy to pick out the crispy (darker) ones and munch on them first. So this was great to have a whole batch of the crispy fries....they were more like potato chips and very tasty.

Throughout the meal Rick commented several times about how good they were. He even brought it up again the next night...."those potatoes you made last night were g-r-e-a-t!"



2 medium potatoes, sliced into rounds about 1/8 inch thick
1/3 Cup (or so) vegetable oil. Enough to coat everything.
1/4 - 1/2 tsp chili powder, depending on how spicy you'd like it
1/4 tsp garlic salt, or 1/8 tsp garlic powder
Parmesan or Myzithra cheese (optional)

Preheat oven to 400. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, for easier clean up. In a medium bowl pour the vegetable oil, and sprinkle the seasonings. Toss the potatoes, making sure each slice gets coated on both sides. Place on baking sheet, without overlapping the potatoes. Bake for 25-30 minutes.


These came out of the oven crisp, without having much oiliness at all. After taking them out of the oven I lightly sprinkled them with some grated Myzithra cheese.

Lemon Sea Salt Scrub

I realize this isn't your "traditional" recipe, as in something to eat. But I love bath oils, salt scrubs and lemons, so I thought this was the perfect recipe for me.

1/2 Cup almond butter oil (or vegetable or olive oil) (I used olive)
1/2 Cup Coarse Sea Salt
1 tsp lemon zest (I used the zest of one whole lemon)

This is what the original recipe called for, but having made it now, when I make it again I will add about another 1/4 cup sea salt.

Mix all ingredients together and store in an airtight container.



This is all you need....



This is what it looks like when you've mixed it up.

Sweet Chili

Chili is one of my go-to meals when I need something quick and easy. But I often purposely set out to make chili because I love it and it makes great leftovers.

My chili is sometimes quite spicy, but always sweet. And it always has a lot of hamburger in it. (The recipe below is not as spicy as I usually make it. If you like it spicier add some more cayenne, some more coarse black pepper and some chili powder. You can also use some chopped jalapeno if you like.)

I use a Dutch oven because I like the one pot meal, rather than browning the meat in one pan and then using a kettle for the soup. I have a great, heavy Dutch oven (red of course) and I use it a lot.



1.5 to 2 pounds hamburger
1/2 onion (can be any kind you choose but I usually use a white one)
1 can kidney beans (with liquid)
1 can chili beans (with liquid)
1 packet chili seasoning (taco seasoning works just as good if you don't have chili)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 Tbsp cumin
2 tsp cayenne pepper
2/3 C brown sugar
1 can tomato soup (I used Campbell's)
3 soup cans of water
1 small can of tomato paste
Black pepper to taste - I use the large, coarse ground pepper - about 2 tsp.



Brown the hamburger in the Dutch oven over medium to low heat. Once it is browned but not drained (unless you have a huge amount of grease) scrape the hamburger to one side of the pot and add the chopped onion. If your hamburger is very lean and not producing enough grease, then use a small amount (just a splash) of oil (veg, olive or even a little butter is fine) to saute the onion in. Once the onion starts turning opaque (only takes 2-3 minutes) mix it all in with the hamburger.

Then start adding all of the other ingredients. Simmer on low heat until it is hot, but not boiling. You can simmer over low heat for an hour or two if you like.

Sometimes I add one inch cubes of cheddar or pepper jack cheese while the chili is simmering and it gives it a bit different consistency and a cheesy taste.



When serving I like to add some grated cheese to the top and some chopped green onions.

Kari, I just realized the bowls are in front of the vase that the flowers you sent to me came in. It has kind of a mirror finish on it.

Starting a new blog - it's all about cooking!

Most of you know I love to cook. Cleaning up afterwards is another story, but not worthy of its own blog!

I am a dump-and-pour cook, so when someone asks for a recipe, it's hard for me to tell them how to make it because I don't have a recipe. That's frustrating to anyone who needs to follow a recipe.

So, I've decided to start writing down the contents as I make some of my favorite foods and then thought it would be fun to start a blog, adding pictures to go along with the recipes.

Feel free to chime in with your thoughts and ideas.

If you don't already know about it, be sure to check out the website Pinterest.com. It has a TON of good ideas, recipes, decor inspiration and much, much more.

Let's get cookin'!