Homemade French Fries

With the last of the potatoes harvested from my garden, I now have to store them so they do not go bad.  I have several jars already canned, so I decided to freeze these as "french fries".  It is very easy to do and makes for a quick and tasty side dish.  The first step is to clean the potatoes of any dirt and look for any that need to be tossed.  While the potatoes are drying, heat a large pan of water on the stove.  This is where you will blanch the potatoes for 6 minutes in boiling water.  Next, simply slice them into whatever size you prefer.  I do not peel them.  We prefer to eat the peelings and all.   Place the potatoes in the boiling water and set your timer for 6 minutes.

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After the 6 minutes is up, place the potatoes in a strainer and let them cool down.  Have a large sheet pan ready to lay the sliced potatoes on.

Arrange the slices on the sheet pan so that they are not touching and place them uncovered in your freezer for at least one hour.  After that, you can remove them and place in plastic freezer bags and replace them in your freezer.  Be sure and mark the date on your bags.  When you are ready to cook some, heat your oven to 425 degrees and bake for about 20 minutes, depending on how crisp you like them.  You can also fry them in hot oil.  Just be careful adding them to the oil as they will splatter a lot.  They are very good and once you have used this method to store your home grown potatoes you will never go back to buying frozen french fries.  Trust me.  They are worth the small amount of effort that it takes.  Enjoy!