From French Fries to Fabulous!

I love fresh hot french fries! But what I don't love is how fast they go stale. Whenever I would go out for a burger and fries, I was usually way too stuffed after my burger to even think about starting on the french fries. So I would take them to go, thinking I could eat them later on. But I was bummed to find that, even just a couple hours later, my french fries completely lost their gusto, tasting bland and gritty no matter how I tried to reheat them. After several failed attempts to bring the life back into my french fries, I would sadly end up tossing them out. But one day, it hit me....

I was preparing breakfast one morning, cooking up a bag of pre-frozen potatoes o'brien. One of the little squares of frozen potato tumbled onto the counter and I popped it into my mouth just for a taste. With a scrunched up face, I was suddenly reminded of stale french fries. These little lackluster potatoes, when fried up with onions and peppers, were surprisingly delicious. So why not give it a try with leftover french fries?

The next time my husband and I went out to Red Robin, I was determined to save my steak fries to try out my experiment. Like usual, I took them home in their little Styrofoam coffin and placed them in the fridge for the following morning. When the time came, I cut them up into small squares, added in some diced onion and bell pepper, brought out the Fat Can for a little added bacon flavor (for those who don't know what the Fat Can is, read the previous blog entry), and set to work on frying up my own version of potatoes o'brien. The end result was shocking. My beloved french fries were revived! In their new breakfast form as potatoes o'brien, they tasted great! From that day on, I always turn my leftover french fries into breakfast the next morning. I was surprised when my husband started to save his french fries too just so we could have more potatoes o'brien the next day. Clearly the recycled recipe is a success.

French Fries O'Brien

Ingredients:
Stale french fries, cubed (steak fries are the best for this)
1/4 of an onion, diced
1/4 of a red or green bell pepper, diced
oil for cooking (or as I like to use; bacon fat)
salt and pepper to taste

In a skillet, saute onions and bell peppers on medium-high heat until slightly soft. Add in the french fries. Continue to cook until the french fries start to brown slightly, or until everything is evenly heated throughout. Add salt and pepper to taste and saute for a few more minutes.

Serve hot with ketchup or hot sauce.

*I like to serve mine up with a couple of 'sunny-side-up' eggs on top. When mixed together with the eggs, it tastes fantastic!