Best Ever Cheese Fries

Anyone who knows me, knows I love cheese fries! I've tried them at almost every restaurant around town that offers them and am a huge critic. The one thing I was never able to perfect was how to make them at home to where they taste great...until now!

Behold! The best ever cheese fries!

Ingredients/supplies:

Store Brand Frozen Fries (of your choosing)

Colby Jack Shredded Cheese (1-2 bags)

Seasoning Salt

Parchment Paper

Baking Sheet

Your Choice Of Toppings

Ranch (for dipping)

How To:

As I mentioned earlier, I've tried tons of different ways to re-create the awesome cheese fries that restaurants offer but have fallen short (sometimes way short) many times. I've dabbled with name brand and store brand frozen fries. I've tried and mixed several different cheeses from Mexican style to plain cheddar. I've tried Velveeta melts and blocks. I've even tried nacho cheese sauce and let me tell you...all of them turned out disastrous! 

I get I'm not the best cook in the world and don't have all of the nice supplies or equipment to pull off the restaurant styles but I was determined to find the right combination to allow people like me to have kick ass cheese fries at home without killing themselves or their wallets.

Try it yourself! I'd love to hear what other creations and ways you've come up with that are just as amazing!

Step One: Preheat the oven. Follow the instructions on the bag of frozen fries to know what temperature and how long to cook them. While the oven is heating, get your baking sheet (aka cookie sheet) and line it with parchment paper. This REALLY does the trick! It allows everything to cook/melt evenly without sticking. 

Step Two: Spread frozen fries evenly on the pan and sprinkle seasoning salt (aka French Fry Seasoning) over the fries. How much is up to you. I like to lightly coat each fry to bring out the best flavor. Some people like more, some less. Place your pan into the oven and start baking. Make sure you cook the fries thoroughly. You don't want to bite into a half frozen fry or worse, break your teeth on one that's burnt!

Step Three: Remove the fries from the oven when they are done. Now comes the fun part. Top with your Colby Jack cheese! Dump those suckers on there. Cover every bit. You can never have too much cheese...okay, you can but in this case the cheese makes this! 

Step Four: Turn your oven to broil and place the fries back in the oven. Broil will allow the cheese to perfectly melt on top without over cooking your fries. Watch these carefully. You don't want to burn the cheese. Pop a squat (or if you prefer to sit on a chair) and watch these babies. Remove from the oven once the cheese is nice and melty.

Step Five: TOPPINGS! For this round, I stayed simple with scallions but bacon is also amazing with cheese fries. Pick whatever you like. Bacon, hamburger meat, onions, steak, etc. Have fun with it but be quick! They get cold fast.

Step Six: Plate. Give each person a hefty helping and a side of ranch (or whichever dipping sauce you prefer if any). 

I chose to make piggies in blankies for our dinner (cocktail wienies wrapped in croissants) but you choose whatever your foodie heart desires! 

ENJOY! 

You can't get any more simple than this especially without a fryer.

I hope you all enjoy and until next time!

Sarah B.

St. Patrick's Day Wreath: Dollar Tree Craft

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I hope you enjoy this super easy DIY St. Patrick's Day wreath made from all Dollar Tree products!

As with every other holiday, St. Patrick's Day was highly celebrated in my home growing up. If we didn't wear green to bed the night before, we would get woken up with our mother lightly and playfully pinching us to remind us to wear our green for the day! Even though our ancestry is mostly Scottish, we do have some Irish mixed in of course and therefore this was always a holiday I enjoyed.

Now, being a mother of three I don't enjoy the going out to the bars for green-whatever drinks and crowded venues but I still like to add a little something to the day. Of course, I encourage my kids to wear green as well!

So, this year, with the husband being away again I thought about how I could add a little color to our home for dirt cheap! Dollar Tree here we come!

Every year the Dollar Tree puts out new things and I love to just walk around to come up with ideas. This year, I was pleased to find several items that they have every year and even some new ones so I know this wreath can be done for years to come. As with every craft I post, I encourage you to put your own spin on it and above all, HAVE FUN!

Enjoy the little leprechauns in your life and may you all find the pot of gold at the end of your rainbow.

DIY ST. PATRICK'S DAY WREATH

Cost: $7 (aprx)
Time: 10-15 mins

SUPPLIES:
* Scarf
* Foam Clovers (comes in set of 12)
* Green Irish Hat (comes in set of 5)
* Clover Foil Centerpiece
* Wooden Wreath
* Green Twine
* White Clip-on Flowers (set of 2)
* Green Pipe Cleaners
* Hot Glue Gun (can also be found at the Dollar Tree)
* Glue Sticks
* Paper Plate for any mess
* Scissors
* Imagination


INSTRUCTIONS:

First, you want to take the tags off of everything. That should be a given but some people tend to forget! Next, heat up your glue gun. While that is heating up, lay out your scarf and place your pipe cleaners on either side as shown below.

If you are using a small glue gun as I was, it should heat up nicely in no time at all. 

Begin gluing small sections at a time, and rolling the fabric on top of the pipe cleaners to where they are nestled inside. This will allow you to shape your bow as needed without needing to sew in wires or buy expensive ribbon!

Work your way down both sides of the scarf until you reach the ends. There should be parts of the pipe cleaners hanging out of the ends. Don't fret! Just simply snip the ends off as pointed out below.

Now, shape your bow! There are DOZENS of tutorials out there on how to make bows so I won't bore you with that. I chose to use an extra pipe cleaner to hold the parts of the bow in place. If you choose to do the same: leave some of the ends so you can use them to attach to the wreath. 

My bow looks more like a wonky flower but that's okay! It get covered later and more for a cute background!

Next, take your clover centerpiece and disassemble it. Keep EVERYTHING! You can use the rest for extra projects!

Bend the middle wires back and forth until it pops out of the mold. It doesn't take much force to do this and surprisingly comes out very clean.

Now, take your centerpiece middle and push the end through your wreath.

This actually takes a little work and patience to thread it through without breaking your wreath so just take a breath and work gently.

Once you have the wire through your wreath, use your scissors CAREFULLY to bend it up so that it will stay. DON'T STAB YOURSELF!

Use some of the green twine to securely hold it in place.

Next, tie your bow onto the wreath in front of the centerpiece.

Hot glue EVERYTHING! Make sure to pull off any strings after the glue dries to avoid mishaps later!

The next bit is totally fun and UP TO YOU! Use your remaining supplies to decorate your wreath however you want! For me: I used the hat and clovers on the upper right side. I used hot blue to attach everything.

Don't forget to decorate the front of your bow! Leave room in the middle for the flower!

You can either detach the clip on the back of the flower or use it like I did to thread it through the bow for a more secure fit. Again, GLUE everything! Make sure it will late for years to come!

Lastly, use a bit more of the green twine to make a hanger on the back and display your creation proudly!

And there you have it! A cheap and super easy yet ADORABLE St. Pat's wreath.

I hope everyone has the luck o' the Irish on their side this St. Patrick's Day and happy crafting!




BONUS!!!!!!

St. Patrick's Clover Decoration (using left over supplies from craft above)

USE ALL LEFT OVER SUPPLIES FROM PREVIOUS CRAFT!

I won't type out all of the instructions for this one because the pictures below should be self explanatory but I will note the following: The top gets heavy after attaching the hat so use toothpicks or a straw and hide (plus glue) in the back to give it stability!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! If you try any of these crafts, I'd LOVE to see them and your own takes on them!

Happy crafting!

Next time: Spring Dollar Tree Wreath

Sarah B.