How to: Shape fries

So I actually made these a while ago for my daughter and saved the pictures. These were awesome and are a healthy, fun side for children! These were just extremely simple and easy, not to mention most people almost always have these ingredients on hand! High in potassium, and low in fat, potatoes can be a healthy staple in your child's diet. Did you know sweet potatoes are high in fiber? With 4g of fiber per serving, these can help your child's digestive tract move at a healthy rate. Thankfully potatoes are easy to make taste great, but if you need a little more encouragement, (or an added math lesson) try out this recipe for shape fries!

The best thing to do first is to wash your potatoes! You always want to wash any produce before cooking or eating. After I washed the potatoes, the first thing I did was set them on a cutting board, then cut them lengthwise into 1/2in slices, trying to get as much usable space for the cutters as possible. I then placed the cookie cutters on the potatoes and pressed down with the palm of my hand until I felt the cutter was all the way through, I then held down the potato slice to prevent breaking, and pulled the cutter out of the potato. After cutting them I greased a pan and laid them on the pan in a single layer. I then brushed oil on top of the potatos and sprinkled them generously with salt and a little pepper to taste. At this point they are ready to enter the oven and cook until golden brown, with a tender inside and crispy outside.

After they finish cooking it is best to immediately lay them down on a paper towel to cool down some and to remove excess oil. This helps the outer layer to stay crispy. When I made these for my daughter she counted them several times before actually eating them, needless to say, they were definitely cooled by the time my daughter got to them.

Recipe:

• 1 potato (or more)

• salt and pepper to taste 

• 2 tbs of oil

Directions:

Wash the potato and slice it into 1/2in slices lengthwise. Take your cookie cutters and place them on the slice of potato. With your palm on the top of the cookie cutter, push the cookie cutter down until you reach the bottom of the potato slice. Hold the potato slice down gently while removing the cookie cutter. Repeat until you have the desired amount of shapes. (You can also cut and cook the leftover potato bits). Lay the shapes in one layer on a lightly greased pan. Brush or drizzle oil evenly over potato slices. Sprinkle generously with salt to taste and lightly with pepper. (You can leave the pepper off if your little one doesn't like it). Cook in the oven at 400°F until they brown and are crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Once you take them out of the oven, allow them to cool on a paper towel to remove extra oil and crisp the outside.