Carrot Fries.  If you like sweet potato fries, you’ll love these carrot fries even more!  The carrot fries were born out of an over abundance of carrots last year from my CSA box.  I have been making baked sweet potato fries for years, so I thought I should try it out with carrots.  As far as baked fries go, I think the carrots come out much better than the sweet potatoes because they stay firmer and don’t get mushy, which can sometimes happen with the sweet potatoes.  I peel them and cut them into uniform size, then drizzle them with olive oil, kosher salt, some brown sugar, and some chili powder – give them a toss and bake in a 400 degree oven for 20-30 minutes, tossing occasionally so that they cook evenly.  Yum.  My kids love them too.

Now for sliders with caramelized onions.  I like to make little sliders because they are fun to eat and the kids love them.  I like to use Kings Hawaiian sweet rolls because they are the perfect size and they are soft and sweet and go well with the burgers.  I use Ina Garten’s recipes for the burgers and the caramelized onions – click the link for the recipe.  1 pound of ground beef (costco has a great price on organic ground beef) makes about 12 sliders.  These caramelized onions are AMAZING!  I have tried many different recipes for caramelized onions, but I think this is the best.  Some recipes call for added sugar, but I find the natural sugars in the onions to be plenty.  I caramelize them almost to the point of an onion jam – I like them on the darker side, which makes them super flavorful.  These also freeze very well.  Add them to equal parts mayo, sour cream, and cream cheese for a great onion dip.

I ran out of time, but usually I also make a garlic mayonnaise to go with the sliders – some mayo, some minced garlic, kosher salt, and a bit of chopped parsley.  Yum!