Bens New favorite Homework snack.

So Ben has been spending alot of time doing homework these days.

He brings his friend Nick over because they are in the same class and have the same homework.

He fell behind quite a bit as I mentioned in a previous post and we have been working hard to keep motivated and get back on track. He went from being 11 assignments behind to finishing up his last one today as well as keeping his other ones up to date.

Well it's hard to concentrate on your work with an empty stomach and so I try to keep some snacks for the kids. We have veggies and other thing but being a preteen (almost teen) and he likes his chips.

So instead of heading to the store and paying $4 for a bag of chips I came up with these Potato sticks.

They are kind of like my old favorite, Hickory Sticks, but since He doesn't like hickory flavor so we usually just use Seasoning Salt. So I thought I would share the process I use to make these goodies.

First you take a potato and slice it really thin... the thicker the slices the more we are getting into french fry territory and that isn't what we are looking for.

Next you stack those slices up and slice them into thin sticks. Again the thinner the better for that nice crispy texture we are looking for later on.

This next couple of steps are little tricks I have learned over the years for making french fries that really help with making the potato sticks as well. You take your stack of sticks and place them in a bowl of cold water. It is going to get yucky looking but don't worry, you want that. It means any left over dirt you may have missed from scrubbing the potato , if your like me and like the skins, is off but it also means that the starch from the potato is coming out. This is a great thing for making any fried potato.

You are then going to drain that water out and run fresh cold water into the bowl and let the sticks sit in it for about 30 minutes to 2 hours. I have also gone as far as preparing these the night before and just have them sitting in the fridge. This makes the sticks nice and crisp as well as closes the pores of the, so that you are not getting a ton of grease soaking into them as they cook. This is also a great tip for making homemade french fries as well.

When you are ready to get cooking, get your pot, or deep fryer heating up with your choice of oils. I like to use Canola Oil personally but everyone is different. I also use my wok for frying foods even though I have a deep fryer. I like the better control I have over everything.

Then your going to take you bowl of water and potato sticks out of the fridge. You will need a towel laying on your counter for this part as we are going to take the sticks from the water and put them on the towel and pat them dry. This is mostly for your safety as when the water hits the oil you will get a not so friendly outcome. This is the part Cloe like to help with because she likes playing in water and it is one of the few steps that is safe for her.

When your oil gets hot enough ( around the 350degree mark) you will carefully put your sticks into the oil. I like to put them into a bowl and then carefully pour them in as one potato makes a lot of sticks  and it is easier. ( I took this picture as My Hubby poured them in.. a little faster than I like, but it made for a cool picture)

Now comes the next patient part. You are going to stir them every once in a while but unlike fries, you are not going to take them out right away for a resting period. We are just going to leave them in because we want extra crispy like chips.

when the sticks start looking golden I pay really close attention to them and I get a bowl lined in newspaper ready. Most people use paper towel but my aunt taught me ages ago, plus the English do it too, that newspaper is amazing for absorbing oil from your fried foods and it is safe to use as well. Plus I like feeling like I am in an old style fish and chips place back in the 50's ;) DON'T take the sticks out yet though or you will have french fries instead, and not very crispy ones.

So with a few more minutes patience This is what your Potato sticks now look like and you can take them out. Try and have as much of the oil drip off as you can, one it will save you money because the oil can be used a few more time for making more batches or other foods, like battered fish.

And two it make it less oil you are trying to get off of the sticks before you season them.

Next you leave the sticks sitting in the newspaper bowl for a few minutes while they cool down just a touch and the excess oil drains off.

Now if you are just making the one batch because you don't have 6 kids like me all trying to get some of these goodies you can pull the paper out of the bowl, sprinkle on your seasoning and enjoy. Or if your like me and have kids like Sam who like these so much he eats a whole batch just to himself I transfer the sticks to another bowl and then season them. You can use any seasoning you like. the popcorn powders you can get make for great flavor, but most of the tie we enjoy just a simple seasoning salt on ours. But that is it.

It may seem like the time isn't worth it and you can just take 10 minutes and run down to the store and buy a bag, but I promise these taste WAY better and are healthier for you, not to mention 1 potato costs you maybe 25cents so you have just saved yourself $3.75 for every batch of sticks you make. and when you make 6 like me that $22.50 I have just saved is the cost of one meal. Good savings I think.