Beer...It's not just for drinking! BEER SOAKED FRIES!!

Adapted: The Edible Perspective


When I first joined Pinterest, one of my friends did a repin for Beer Soaked Fries. I was immediately intrigued and threw it on my recipe board. I had the opportunity to try a new sandwich today and knew that these fries would go beautifully with them so I waded in.

I used Leinenkugal's 1888 Bock beer and was thrilled to death with the results. I had wanted a deeper, richer flavor from it and that is what I got. The original recipe used a lighter beer.  Also, I used my revamped Paula Deen House Seasoning instead of the seasonings the original recipe called for. I whipped up a helping of Pink Lady Sauce, which is simply mayo (I use fat free or low fat) and ketchup! How much more simpler can you get?? Please note, I tripled the original recipe...adjust as necessary for your family!

My boys snatched them up and couldn't get enough. They ended up being gone by dinner for the most part so I had to supplement them with baked chips. Will I make these again?? DANG STRAIGHT, I WILL. They were a tad bit more expensive to make, but worth ever cent.

So, here we go!

Ingredients:

9 Russet Potato, cut as shown
3 bottles beer of your choice.
6 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1.5 Tablespoon jarred minced garlic
1.5 Tablespoons Paula Deen House Seasoning

Directions:

1) Cut potatoes as shown. I happen to like my fries a bit beefier, but they can be cut to the size desired. Cooking times simply needs to be adjusted.

2) Place in a large bowl and pour beer over potatoes. Let potatoes marinade in beer for 1 hour. Stir several times to make sure potatoes are soaked! Drain.

3) Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Place potato slices on sheet and make sure they are laid out in a single layer.

4) Bake in a 425 degree oven for approximately 45 minutes, stirring 2 times during cooking time.

Enjoy!!

Pink Lady Sauce

Ingredients:

1/2 cup mayonnaise (regular, low fat or fat free)
1/4 cup ketchup

Directions:

Place in bowl and stir!

Crockpot Baked Potatoes

I love the simplicity of this recipe. This is so simple because it is basically 3 ingredients wrapped up and placed in a crockpot to cook for the day.Since I switched to Paula Deen's House Seasoning, it has become even simpler.  I have prepared the potatoes the night before and threw them in the crock on my way out for the day. It is even easy to increase the number of potatoes and all that the preparer needs to do is make sure the crock can handle all the potatoes!

So, here we go:

Tinfoil
Baking potatoes
Olive oil
Paula Deen's House Seasoning

Prepare:

1) Cut number of tinfoil sheets to the number of potatoes
2) Thoroughly wash and scrub potatoes. Dry
3) Poke potatoes with fork
4) Place potatoes on tinfoil sheets and cover with approx. 1 tablespoon of olive oil per potato. Then sprinkle with House Seasoning. Wrap

5) Place in Crockpot and cook on LOW for 8-10 hours. Potatoes are finished when a knife goes through potato easily.
6) Top with your favorite toppings.

Note: If my potatoes have finished before the rest of my meal, I have been known to take them out of the crockpot and put them in a 170 degree oven until rest of meal is done.

Spinach with Sesame and Garlic (Serves 2)

Adapted from: Easy and Delicious Vegetable Dishes by Eleanor Day
I just got my first Kindle for Christmas last year. Yes, I know that I am WAY behind the times. One of the things I love about my Kindle that I can't believe I was missing out on was all of the free cookbooks you can get from Amazon. Some are really bad, but there are some gems can be found in there too! Any who, a bit ago there was a cookbook, Easy and Delicious Vegetable Dishes by Eleanor Day, that I came across and I love. I would love to give you the Amazon link but at time of this post, it didn't come up on Amazon.com! Hmmmmm???

In there was a spinach dish, called Spinach with Sesame and Garlic, which is simple and very tasty. It is a nice compliment to a meal which is rich and you don't want too many rich things competing with one another.

So, here we go:

Ingredients:

2 T. Sesame oil
1 Bag Spinach Leaves or Baby Spinach
Roasted sesame seeds
Minced garlic
Dash of lemon juice (optional)

First things first:

To roast your sesame seeds, take a small frying pan and place desired amount of sesame seeds in the pan. I love sesame seeds so I did 2 T., but it is totally up to your taste buds. Stirring CONSTANTLY...and I do mean constantly..these little buggers burn fast...cook until they are slightly brown. Remove from pan immediately.

So, here we go:

Directions:

1) Spray a pan liberally with cooking spray (yes, I know I like my cooking spray..I should own stock!) and pour in 2 T. sesame oil into pan.

2) Add minced garlic and cook until slightly browned. Place spinach leaves in the pan and cook down until wilted. Top with sesame seeds and lemon juice, if desired.