French baked

Homemade french fries rock my socks off!!  

This happy is two fold.  1. I love anything potatoes and as you can imagine french fries, drenched in ketchup, is extreme comfort food to me! 2. I have been on a major make my own kick... and being able to make my own french fries from real potatoes.. not a freezer bag... is too cool!

To start...I grabbed some potatoes!  The real kind.  The kind that grew in dirt.  The kind you want to give a nice scrube before you start.  Yup.. I used them with the skins on!

Did I mention yet that I got a Mandolin for Christmas?  It sounds like a fancy musical instrument doesn't it?  Well, aside from singing loudly in the car or making up a funny little ditty for Katie my musical talents are low.  So, I'm glad it's not a musical instrument.

It is instead a really fancy (and sharp) kitchen tool!  It slices in all shapes and thicknesses!  It even has a cross blade that lets me turn potatoes into french fry straws!  Here is a big pile of potato after meeting it's match with the Mandolin!  Mr. Happy went through four potatoes in about 1 minute after deciding he should save me from the sharp monster!

Purdy, aren't they?  MMmmhhmm!!  You see those skins in there too?  Delishious-ness!

Step 2.  I took the straws, slices, fry wedges.... and toss them in my ever popular gigantic clear bowl.  Added a little extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper, paprika, and cheyenne.  Come on.. fess up... you saw the cheyenne coming, right?  Then I gave it a stir.. and a toss with my hands. 

Bonus, doing the mixing with your hands leaves them nice and soft.  That's the olive oil working extra hard for you!  (Just don't put any of the pepper or cheyenne in your eyes!)

HEY!!  Where'd my homemade fries go? 

Oh, right.  They went on to the pan.  But, you see that extra little goop in the bottom of the bowl?  Be sure to drizzle that over your fries!  Lots of good flavor in that little goop!

See, told you they were safe in the pan!  Arrange them so they are mostly flat.  I use a little foil in the pan to make clean up easier.   Dang!  These looks so professional!

Oh.. another secret of mine.  Make a lot at once.  This way you can put some in a freezer bag and shove it in the freezer.  So, the next time you have a craving for homemade fries... it's as easy as opening the freezer and putting those little jobbies in the oven! 

Here are my extras in a freezer bag awaiting my next craving!  Oh.. and don't forget to write the oven temperature and cooking time on the bag so you don't have to look it up when you want to make them.  Good secret, right?

And voila!! Nummy... tummy tickling fries!  Let me tell you.. these didn't last long! 

So, I am thinking since I used the oven to make them.. they are French Baked instead of French Fried, right? 

Adding a little french baked into my dinner menu = happiness!

Also, having a huge glob of cold ketchup to dip my fries in = happiness!

Put cocoa and cheyenne where?

All you need are cocoa powder and cheyenne pepper to make breakfast  a wee bit more special this weekend.  Who's in the mood for waffles Happy Style?

Here I have already added most of my ingredients to my bowl. 

The ingredients include: Bisquick (I know it's cheating, but why not) -- I mostly followed the recipe on the Bisquick box: 1 egg, milk, vegetable oil... and then I got a little bit creative. 

 Also add: 1 tablespoon of cocoa -- I may even add more next time I make these Happy Style waffles.  This amount lent a rich yet not overwhelming flavor to the waffles.

Last secret ingredient (not so secret any more as you have seen me add this to a few things now)... Cheyenne pepper.  If shook a few dashes on the top of the  bowl.  Don't think of this pepper as adding real heat to things.  Think of this as adding warmth. 

Here is what it looks like now.  See those tiny reddish specs of warmth sprinkled around?

Mix everything up.  I use a whisk... because they are fun to use.  Then get out your trusty 1/3 measuring cup.  That's the trick I use to get the waffle batter into the waffle maker.  It's just about the right amount of batter to fill up each spot and that way I don't make too much of a mess.  Give it a shot.

Here is the batter scooped into the waffle maker.  In this case, I am still using a Belgium waffle maker.  It makes a nice brown crispy waffle and the two spots are the perfect amount to make for Mr. Happy and I as we laze around during breakfast.

Close the maker... and now I watch as the steam pours out and wait for those little lights to turn.  The green cook light turns on when the waffles are done!

This is seriously the hardest part of the recipe... waiting for that little light.  But it's pure bliss when that light comes on!  GREEN!!

Oh YUM!  I had the butter and syrup standing by and as soon as those waffles come off the maker they go right on to a plate!

Bon appetit!!!

Making an easy recipe a tiny bit more special = happiness!

Have a fantastic weekend!  See you back with more Happy thoughts on Monday!