We're never too old to learn something new, be it tangible or intangible. This week I learned something super handy of a super tangible sort.

My lesson? I learned that apple slicers are great for cutting home fries! Especially if you don't have one of those nifty kitchen gadgets made specifically for slicing up fries.

how to cut fries

French fries, according to myriad medical and nutritional experts, are oh-so bad for you. But they're oh-so good to the taste buds. Making (and baking) fries at home cuts down a smidgen on the awfulness of the tater treats, but cutting the potatoes for home fries is a pain in the patootie, whether using regular potatoes or the healthier sweet ones.

That is, until I realized this past week that an apple slicer creates perfect home fries. Here's how:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Figuring one potato per person plus an extra, scrub them clean or peel them — though it's the peels that make them "home" fries, if you ask me.

Next, pull out your handy dandy apple slicer, then carefully cut through the potato just as you might an apple.

Viola! French fries!

making french fries

Slice the center piece, the one where an apple core would be, in half length-wise to make all your home fries about the same size.

sliced potato

To complete the home fries process, sparingly slather (oxymoron?) the potato slices with light mayo, sprinkle with pepper and seasoned salt, then place on a baking sheet coated with non-stick spray.

Bake for 30 minutes or until tender, flipping the potatoes halfway through.

Pull them out of the oven, and there you have it — home fries. Perfectly cut. With an apple corer.

home fries