Fish ‘n’ Chips

Back in June I experimented in the kitchen with a large rutabaga that I purchased at the Downtown Orlando Farmers’ Market.

I used the veggie to create rutabaga fries. I wasn’t sure if they would be a complete bomb or a total success, but I was determined to do something with the veggie since I had never tried it before.

Luckily the rutabaga fries were fantastic!

I made them again this evening to enjoy alongside broiled trout, seasoned with lemon, basil and thyme.

Din-nah!

 A healthy take on fish ‘n’ chips!

Trout

Rutabaga Fries

Of course I included ketchup on the side for dippin’.

Dip-a-Dip

Deeelish!

Have you ever made “fries” using a vegetable other than potatoes?

I’ve made fries using a whole bunch of different veggies, but I think rutabaga fries and turnip fries are my favorites.

A Little Crazy in Our Lives

Sometimes we all need a little crazy in our lives.

Crazy Richards Peanut Butter

Crazy Richards has been my go-to peanut butter the past few days.

I received several jars of Crazy Richards and Krema peanut butter from the company to sample (stay tuned for a giveaway soon!), and was pleased to see that the only ingredient in the peanut butter was peanuts! Ya can’t get more natural than that! 😀

At first I thought the peanut butter was really runny until I realized that refrigerating the jar made it regain the thickness I normally associate with yummy peanut butter. Once I did that, it was smooth (delicious) sailing.

Snack

My mid-morning snack was a peanut butter finger, followed by a piece of honey wheat bread topped with more Crazy Richards natural creamy peanut butter.

PB Fo' Me

With a full belly, I headed out to the pool to soak up some sun while flipping through magazines, painting my toenails and catching up with my friend Leah on the phone.

Lunch

I came home hungry for lunch.

Lunch started with a mini Mexican roll-up.

Pre-Rolled

Rollin' on a River

Along with the roll-up, I shared a big plate (seriously BIG) of rutabaga fries with Ryan.

Rutabaga Fries

Close Up

Dip-a-Dip

It’s kinda nice to eat such a ginormous portion of fries and not worry at all about the bazillions of calories, grease, trans fat and oil you’re ingesting. Rutabaga fries = awesome.

Now it’s shower time… I hope to make it to the bridal boutique before it closes at 5 p.m. to finalize my bridesmaid dresses today, but I think I may be cuttin’ it a little close on time. Hurry, hurry!!

Rutabaga Fries!!!

Fun fact: When Ryan was growing up his dad used to call him Rutabaga. Reason: Unknown.

Dinner

When Ryan and I were browsing around the farmer’s market on Sunday, I picked up two gigantic rutabagas.

I asked the woman running the vegetable stand how most people typically prepare rutabagas and she said she likes them raw. She said rutabagas are “disgusting” when they’re cooked.

Hmm… I like raw veggies, but really like roasted veggies, so I ignored her little warning and set out to make rutagbaga fries after later reading that you can basically prepare rutabagas the same way you prepare turnips.

I figured that since I loved the turnip fries I made in April and again in May, why wouldn’t I love rutabaga fries prepared the same way?

My logic didn’t fail me, my friends.

Rutabaga fries are flippin’ phenomenal!

Rutabaga Fries

Eat Me!

They’re easier to make than turnip fries because rutabagas are a slightly softer veggie, which makes them easier to slice into thin fries.

To make the fries:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
• Peel rutabaga using a vegetable peeler
• Slice the peeled rutabaga into fries
• Spray cooking sheet with cooking spray and add fries
• Spray fries with cooking spray (or toss fries in olive oil) and season with salt, pepper and chili powder (or seasonings of your choice)
• Flip fries several times to coat before baking for 15 minutes
• Flip the fries and bake for another 10 – 20 minutes until desired doneness is achieved

Ryan’s first thought about the fries? “They really look like fries!”

For all of you mamas out there, maybe you can pull a fast one on the kids with these babies?

When I Dip, You Dip, We Dip

We enjoyed our rutabaga fries with ketchup for dipping and BBQ pulled chicken sandwiches.

BBQ Pulled Chicken

BBQ Pulled Chicken Sandwich

All Together Now

Next Time

I think I will be making this recipe for maple glazed rutabaga for my next attempt with the veggie… but I think Cooking Light didn’t select the correct picture to correspond with this recipe. Pasta = rutabaga??? 😉