bourgeois seasoned potatoes

A few weeks ago, Alexia was kind enough to provide a complimentary bag of their waffle fries, and they sat in the back of my freezer for for all of two or three days... When I went to finally try them for lunch one afternoon, they were all gone. J had eaten the whole bag, behind my back while I was at work. At first I wasn't sure I was going to post about these, because they're a $6 bag of waffle fries, but when the man of the house enthusiastically signs off on a food item, it's worth writing about, since he's a boring and picky eater. Alexia was kind enough to provide another complimentary bag, so I'm finally giving them a try for myself.

Here's the thing: I'm a bargain shopper when it comes to groceries. Back when we were newlyweds trying to get on our feet financially, the only grocery store I shopped at was Aldi. The prices are so low you don't even need coupons. The trade off? You have to be okay with mainly buying/eating store brand foods. Cheerios are traded for Crispy Oats, and Hillshire Farms is subbed for Friendly Farms. It wasn't a huge deal for me, but sometimes you really can tell a difference in taste (*note: they do still sell some national brands but not many). 

Now, even though our budget is more stable, I still shop at Aldi for our weekly groceries. The habit has formed, and I don't think I can ever go back to traditional grocery prices again. I go there to grab my main staples like almond milk, fresh produce, sparkling water, pasta, and rice, and I also pick up a bag of their store brand waffle fries almost every week. They're good, but they're bland, so you definitely have to add your own seasonings for flavor. In addition to my weekly Aldi run, I've branched out to Trader Joe's and (very occasionally) Whole Foods since it's only about 5 minutes away from our house. Whole Foods is where I first noticed the Alexia brand of fries.

For fun, here's a peek inside our freezer (admittedly something I never, ever thought I'd post, ever):

And here's my favorite seasoning for those plain waffle fries from Aldi.

But back to the Alexia brand.

As soon as I opened the bag, I knew these bad boys were going to taste good, and they did not disappoint.

Here's a close up:

They take about 20 minutes to bake up nice and crisp in the oven. 

By the time they were ready, my golden hour had passed, so I don't have any photos "after" photos to share, but they really didn't last long! They're almost as good as a fresh batch of Chick-Fil-A fries. Almost. I understand why J ate the first bag behind my back. He could've said something, but still, I get it. 

I only have one problem: they're a wee bit overpriced. They cost $5.99 at the Whole Foods in my area, which is more than I'm willing to pay for a bag of frozen spuds. They're also sold at Wal-Mart, Kroger, and Target; all three of those retailers probably offer better prices, so check them out if you're in the market for some bourgeois seasoned potatoes that taste good enough to blog about. If I see them on sale for $3.99 or less, I'll definitely grab a bag or two. They also sell Sweet Potato Waffle Cut Fries, so my spidey senses will surely start tingling if those are ever discounted.
*this is not a sponsored post, but Aldi, if you're reading, maybe holla at ya girl?