Baked Not Fried French Fries

My boys have been bugging me for hamburgers for dinner for what seems like forever.  I love a good homemade hamburger, but to me, they are a summer thing.  A juicy BBQ burger, sitting out on the patio, beer in hand....ahhhh...summer, come soon!

Anyways, I finally "caved" today and said yes to their request, so I made my hamburger patties for my husband to grill, and this time I decided to make some homemade fries.  Armed with sweet potatoes and yellow potatoes from the pantry, I put together a little "baked not fried" french fries.  Here's what I did:

1 sweet potato
2 yellow potatoes
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon garlic
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon fresh basil, chopped
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 450F.

Wash sweet potato and yellow potatoes, clear away any blemishes, but do not peel.  Cut into fry-sized pieces and put into a large bowl.

Drizzle olive oil over the cut potatoes.   Add in the red pepper flakes, paprika, garlic, chili powder, basil, salt and pepper, stir well to coat.

Spread onto a foil-lined cookie sheet.  Bake for 20 minutes at 450F.  Take fries out of the oven and flip.  Return fries to the oven, reduce heat to 400F and continue baking for another 15-20 minutes, or until the fries are done to your liking.

VERDICT:
These were oh-so yummy.  We enjoyed them very much, and it was so nice to know exactly what seasonings were on the fries.  They had a little bit of a kick and a little bit of a smoky flavour, which we enjoyed.  Sure, they are a teensy bit more prep than ripping open a bag of frozen fries and baking them in the oven, but they are so worth it!  I'll be doing these again, and am already thinking about other spice combinations to try :-)

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