Cheating Fries

Sometimes, I just don't want to cook. Okay, honestly, that happens at least once a week. Since there isn't room in our eating out budget to accommodate my lazy evenings, I'm forced to be creative. Enter: cheating fries. 


Cheating fries are my cure for I-don't-want-to-cook-but-I-don't-want-to-eat-dry-dull-frozen-french-fries-itis. Or maybe I'm the only one who suffers from this? Regardless, I've found a way to elevate frozen potatoes to the perfect level: high enough that they actually taste good, but low enough so that I still feel like I got away with not cooking.


This is what I do:

I use whatever brand and variety of fries is cheapest. We prefer steak fries, but for some reason I picked up crinkle cut last time I was at Walmart. I don't think this "recipe" will be winning any culinary awards any time soon, so feel free to improvise with what you have on hand.

In a medium mixing bowl, or right on the cookie sheet, toss fries with olive oil and seasoning. You can try to use utensils for this, but it's easier and faster if you use your hands. Yes, the fries are cold, but it's a small price to pay. This is where you can get creative. The seasoning in the picture is salt, pepper, and garlic powder, but you can use seasoned salt, Italian seasoning, or anything else. One of my favorite ways to make these is with garlic (diced or in powder form) and Parmesan cheese. 

Bake according to the instructions on the bag. Because of the olive oil, expect to need to bake them a little longer than the directions call for. You're family will think you put way more effort into these than you actually did!


Need an equally easy something to serve them with? I recommend our cheating sandwich. Just take your favorite sandwich (tuna with diced onions, dill relish, and diced red peppers for me; ham and cheese for Jonathan) and slather butter or margarine on the outside of both pieces of bread. Grill until each side is dark and toasted. My husband never fails to rave about this meal. Okay, that's probably because the man could eat ham and cheese sandwiches and some form of potatoes for eternity (in fact, he did just that every day of high school).


As you can tell from this recipe, we aren't very high brow around here. I realize frozen fries aren't even in a lot of peoples' freezers. But for those of you who, like me, enjoy the potato in any of it's many forms, cheating fries might be just the ticket to a quick, lazy suppertime meal.