Squash Fries

Mmm Mmm, I'm loving it. "You want fries with 'dat?" I ask my family. Not McDonald's fries, of course, but my own version of the famous American fried vegetable stick: oven roasted squash fries. These are so delectable: savory, sweet, and bursting with flavor in every bite. And they are refreshingly easy to make, as easy and quick as pulling up to the drive through, so you'll have no excuses for going to that fast food joint on your way home from work.

We picked up our first batch of local winter squash over the weekend at our farmer's market. I've been secretly applauding the end of summer and welcoming the cool fall temps just so I could make this recipe. Everyone in my family loves it so much, we rarely have leftovers. As the Chief Chef in the Buffington household with a passion for feeding my family nutrient dense, whole food, I take it as a compliment when the plates are licked clean before they get to the sink.

Did I mention how easy this recipe is? And how fast it will go at your dinner table? Slightly addicting if you ask me (I mean, just look at that gorgeous color! Chock full of vitamins A and C and minerals iron and riboflavin). That said, you'd better double or triple the recipe so you can take this to work for lunch during the week. You'll thank me you did!

Squash Fries

1 medium butternut squash
2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
salt, pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Peel butternut squash with vegetable peeler. Cut the top and bottom stems off. Cut the squash in half width wise. Then cut each half into half (you'll now have four sections). Scoop out the seeds and discard. Cut each section into 1/2 inch sticks, or desired size of fry (tip: the smaller the fry, the faster it will crisp up, so don't get them too small or they'll likely get charred in the oven).

Place in a medium sized bowl, drizzle with coconut oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss squash fries in bowl to make sure each piece is coated (if you want to skip the step of tossing in a bowl, you can just go straight to putting the fries on the baking sheet and drizzling the coconut oil, salt, and pepper from there).

Place squash fries on a parchment paper lined 10x12 baking sheet in a single layer. Roast for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and flip fries over. Place back in oven and roast an additional 15-20 minutes until slightly crisp on the outside. Allow to cool 10 minutes on pan to crisp up a bit more.