Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Tasty Tuesday: Butternut Squash (!) Fries

It's Tasty Tuesday over at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam. Go visit Jen today for some more fabulous recipes!

My three year old, Natalie, loves French fries almost as much as she loves chocolate. When we pass a Chick-fil-a, she yells, "Look! It's the french fry store!"



My eighteen month old likes fries too. When the Chick-fil-a Cow (ie. poor, sweaty teenager who is paid a measly hourly wage to drive around in a cow costume) showed up at the park two weeks ago, he was ambushed by little kids. Michaela Byrd saw him and started shouting "Fry! Fry!" as she toddled over to hug him. (She's the little one in the striped shirt, bottom right, holding onto L's oldest daughter)

I was wondering about healthier alternatives for the kids when my wonderful sister, Alison, emailed me an awesome recipe for Butternut Squash Fries.

Natalie was skeptical when she saw what we were making, but then again, she has no idea that french fries come from potatoes. For all she knows, the Chick-fil-a cow whips them up himself. I enlisted her to be my chef's assistant.



Butternut Squash Fries



Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.



Cut ends of butternut squash off and cut the squash in half.



Peel skins off. Cut squash into french fry slices.

Arrange on a cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray.

Quickly spray tops of squash with cooking spray.

Enlist your sou chef to sprinkle slices with salt.


Bake in oven for 40 minutes, flipping after 20 minutes. (*This is where I think I messed up. I should have done thinner slices or cooked them longer, but I had two whiny kids and a whiny-yes, whiny-husband who wanted to eat right away*)



Finally, give your sou chef the night off. She's exhausted...working in the kitchen is tough!

These fries would be a great addition to a meal of grilling out burgers. They are very flavorful...just wish I'd cooked them longer!


{Bon Appetit, Y'all!}

post signature

11 comments:

  1. These look good, I'm going to give it a try when squash season rolls around!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Amanda! I love your story about the Chick fil-A cow! Those fries sound really good! I have to admit that I have a love of sweet potato fries...yum! I'm sure they aren't as good for you as the butternut squash fries, but I'll bet the taste is similar. I'll have to try your fries out on my grandson. He loves the apples "fries"...which aren't fried at all...at Burger King, so I feel sure he'd like these. Have a great week!...Debbie

    ReplyDelete
  3. We love doing this with potatoes. I'll have to try it when our squash comes in.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I've made sweet potato fries, too, but never thought about trying it with butternut squash. Great idea!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wow! I've made sweet potato fries, but not butternut squash fries. I'm definitely gonna try this out. Thanks for sharing!

    P.S. Your little chef is just adorable!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Yum, I love butternut squash fries! Keep your eye out when your yard-sale-ing for a "crinkle cutter." They give the fries that true french fry shape, and I'm sure the girls would love it! :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. I've always wondered how to make them. I'll give them a try this week. What perfect pictures of such perfect helpers!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Those look yummy but that lil chef you have is too darn cute~

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi Amanda,
    I'll definitely try this ... love squash, love fries ... sounds like a plan!

    Enjoyed seeing your thrifty treasures ... good call on not buying the smoke-scented chair!

    Thanks for stopping by and leaving the nice comment. The pie's been consumed, but I can make another if you drop by!

    Bye for now,
    Bill

    ReplyDelete
  10. Those look really yummy! My daughter is a french fry addict, as well. But she likes to dip them, so we'll have to see how these would work in fooling her!

    ReplyDelete
  11. You totally taught me something new. Thanks! Thank you too for leaving a comment on my blog.

    Charla

    ReplyDelete

I love to hear your feedback! Please feel free to leave comments...just don't send me spam asking me to buy stuff off your website! I've got three kids and no money to purchase your magic weight-loss pill or bust enhancement, or whatever else you might be selling. Thanks, and I look forward to hearing from you! :)

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.