I know that the blog has been rather
quiet lately. I mean, a little more than usual. This is largely
because of some big decisions/events that happened in the last month.
The first, which is fantastic (but not life-altering) is that I have
gotten a job. Not only that, but I am thrilled to be doing data entry
instead of some kind of cleaning job. I have been grateful for my
various housecleaning/janitorial/room attendant jobs in the past, but
scrubbing toilets gets a little old. So having this job is great. But
between working full time and commuting ~45 minutes each way, I am
left with very little time for experimenting with new recipes.
The other big thing from the last four
weeks is much more life-altering. I have been accepted into graduate
school, which is thrilling and also a little terrifying. Last month,
the Man and I visited the school (University of Wyoming), and were
impressed by the campus, the research, and the people. It will not be
at all like living in the Willamette Valley, but I think we will like
it there. Both the trip and making this decision has also contributed
to our hectic schedule as of late, though.
The campus is quite pretty.
Being from Oregon, it is weird to see the quad (which they call "the Pasture") covered in snow rather than mud.
Lots of beautiful views around Laramie.
Also: snow. Lots of snow.
So we are eating a lot of simple, quick
dinners. That often means a rotisserie chicken from Fred Meyer,
salad, and fries.
The Man came up with with method for
doing fries, and it is brilliant. Normally I dislike oven fries, but
these are fantastic, and we eat them at least once a week.
Begin by purchasing a bag of frozen
shoestring fries. Any brand of frozen fries is fine, but I think this
works the best with the shoestring cut.
Preheat the oven to 425 F. Line a
baking sheet with tinfoil if you want to have less cleanup work.
Pour out as many fries as you intend to
eat onto the baking sheet. This was maybe a quarter of the bag.
Drizzle 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil onto the pile of fries. Season
to taste; for the amount of fries the two of us eat, I use a pinch of
sea salt, a pinch of black pepper, and about a half teaspoon of
Italian seasoning (I highly recommend the McCormick Grinder italian
seasoning, we use it on everything).
Toss the fries until the oil and spices
coat them evenly. Spread the fries out into as even a layer as
possible.
Bake for 7 minutes. Remove the fries,
and add more seasoning if desired. I usually do up to a teaspoon
total of Italian seasoning. Toss the fries again, and bake for 6-8
more minutes, until the fries have some nice golden brown edges. It
is very easy to over or undercook the fries, so keep a close eye on
them towards the end.
And there you have it! An easy, really
tasty, and not too-unhealthy side dish for a quick meal. Also:
naturally dairy-free and gluten-free.
Fries right out of the bag.
After tossing them in oil and seasoning.
The baked fries, with my dinner.
