Hungry Girl's Ranch-Tastic Butternut Squash Fries With Bacon

Submitted by SashasMommy

"I actually made this without the bacon and it was lovely... another thing you could do finely is chop the bacon and sprinkle it on the sour cream, then dip the fries in."

 

• Ready In: 55mins
• Ingredients: 6
• Serves: 2

ingredients

• 1⁄3 cup fat free sour cream
• 1⁄2 tablespoon dry ranch dressing mix
• 1 butternut squash (about 2 pounds, large enough to yield 20 oz. once peeled & sliced)
• 1⁄8 teaspoon coarse salt
• 4 slices turkey bacon
• chopped scallion (optional)

directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. In a small bowl, combine sour cream with ranch mix and stir thoroughly. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
3. Slice ends off squash, and then cut it in half widthwise. Peel squash carefully with a vegetable peeler or knife. Cut the round bottom piece in half lengthwise and remove seeds.
4. Using a crinkle cutter or knife, carefully cut squash into spears/French-fry shapes. (For exact nutritionals, weigh spears and use 20 oz.) Pat firmly with paper towels to absorb excess moisture. Sprinkle evenly with salt.
5. Lay spears on a layer of paper towels, and let stand for at least 5 minutes, to allow salt to draw out excess moisture. Pat with paper towels.
6. Spray a broiler pan, a baking rack placed over a baking sheet, or a baking sheet with nonstick spray, and lay spears flat on it. (Use two pieces of bakeware, if needed.).
7. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Carefully flip fries, and bake for about 20 minutes longer, until tender on the inside and crispy on the outside.
8. Meanwhile, bring a skillet sprayed with nonstick spray to medium-high heat on the stove. Cook bacon until crispy, and set aside to cool. Then cut each slice in half widthwise, and cut each half into very thin strips lengthwise.
9. Mix bacon strips with fries and drizzle or serve with ranch mixture. If you like, sprinkle with scallions, as well. Eat up!