Waffle Fries? Nah, I'm good.

I would much rather have real, made-by-me fries any day.

I'd been looking for a recipe for the butternut squash in my foyer for awhile now. I can't quite remember how long it's been chillin' there. Thanks to my AllRecipes.com daily email, I found something quite intriguing - butternut squash fries.

Who'd have thought? I mean, we all love our sweet potato fries. Why not cut a butternut squash in similar configurations and bake them like sweet potatoes? Of course, it works - perhaps even better than the original - and tastes ABSOLUTELY AMAZING.

Although waffle fries will be easily available when Chick-Fil-A opens next month, I won't be partaking. I will never step foot in that store, give them any of my money, or eat any of their food. So although it isn't a waffle fries (waffle fry?) recipe, I'm still glad I have it in my back pocket.

I really love AllRecipes.com for the comments that people can leave. So many times I have read through the comments and learned substitutions, tips, and shortcuts to make the recipe more versatile, less complicated, and quicker. In the comments for this recipe, someone said to peel the squash with a knife instead of a peeler. So I did that.

I cut the squash into two pieces: the bottom and the top tube. I cut a slice off the bottom and the top to make the pieces stand up (mostly) straight.

Then I used a big knife to slice down the sides, carefully removing strips and chunks of the peel.

Then I cut the pieces in half and scooped out the seeds.

Then I cut those pieces into wedges. Some of the wedges were thinner than others and some were shaped kind of weird, but those just crisped up during baking. They reminded me of those delectable little end-fries that you find at the bottom of the bag. (Bag fries. It's a thing.)

The recipe said to bake the fries for 20 minutes, but I baked mine for about 50: 10 minutes, then flip. 15 minutes, then flip again. Another 15, another flip. A final 10 minutes and they were done just as my mom walked in the door.

I plated them all on their own because I didn't know what else to make for dinner. We pigged out on them with Farmer Joe's Homestyle Ketchup. They were luscious and I was very sad when the plate was clean, though I let my mom have the last one because I love her.

Get outta here, waffle fries. You're way out of your league.

What other fall vegetables could you make fries out of? (Turnips? Beets?)

Happy munching!