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This is how you know I'm becoming geriatric; I want to simplify something that's already simple. This is how you know I might be geriatric but I'm still me; the thing I want to simplify is homemade potato chips.

To make homemade potato chips you: 1.) slice potatoes 2.) deep fry them. Yet I was determined to make it simpler.

I first noticed something weird about me about 2 years ago. Then it happened again a few weeks ago and then yet again just yesterday.

I wanted to put on something more comfortable to run a few errands.

In all of these instances - I was wearing sweatpants and a tee shirt.

Where the f*&k do you go from there? Just a tee shirt? Day pajamas? A mumu?

Is it even legal to wear just a tee shirt to run errands?

I guess I'm mellowing, except for 95.723% of the time when I am snarly frantic.

I am currently on day 8 of The Christmas Pledge which means I've finished most of my gift list, a lot of my shopping and figured out and ordered all of my wrapping crap.

I've actually even skipped ahead on The Christmas Pledge by making and freezing the meal I'm going to serve on Christmas Eve. Which is ... individual turkey pot pies.

I've made homemade potato chips before, most recently a couple of years ago. I couldn't remember if there were any special tricks I needed to know (aside from cut potatoes thinly and fry in oil). So I looked a few recipes/techniques up.

The most consistent thing stressed across all of the recipes was the importance of soaking the sliced potatoes for at least half an hour in cold water to remove the starch.

Some recipes called for a 2 hour soak and some said to soak in vinegar water for the ultimate crispiness.

All that potato chip research for Christmas Eve dinner had me obviously craving potato chips in a snarly frantic way.

So I compromised and made one batch the proper way, and another batch as quickly as as I could while operating a mandolin. The halfassedly way.

The ONLY way I could make homemade potato chips simpler was to eliminate soaking the potatoes for 30 miontes.

No, you don't. I discovered after doing multiple batches that as long as you slice your potatoes 3mm or less in thickness, there is zero reason to soak the potatoes. It doesn't improve them at all.

Here's how I did it.

I cut 3 different thicknesses of potato to see they all cooked up.

I bought the mandolin you see here a few months ago. It's GREAT. It's very sharp, easy to use, has a dial gauge on the side so you can set it to specific thicknesses (by mm). Cuts straight and julienne.

Buy my mandolin on Amazon Canada here.

Buy my mandolin on Amazon US here.

I've had some really expensive bad mandolins. This one at $49 is the best one I've used so far.

I didn't soak the potato slices, instead I rinsed them in a bowl until the water ran clear.

I then drained the potatoes, shook them dry then rolled them in a reusable paper towel to dry.

As soon as the potatoes are dry just put them in a deep fryer set to 300 - 365 F.

TIP: If I want to pack more into my deep fryer I remove the basket to gain a bit more space in the fryer.

FRY. See all those bubbles? It's a reaction of the oil as the water enters it.

As the water evaporates the frying bubbles decrease.

If you take the chips out before all the moisture is gone they'll go soggy.

If you look and see all bubbling has stopped and you think it's because your oil has gone cold - it's hasn't. All the moisture from the food has just been removed.

Thicker slices will get you much flatter chips because they hold their shape better.

Thinner slices (these are the 1.5mm) will get you a lot more folded and bent chips. Which I happen to LOVE.

I ALSO LIKE MY CHIPS TO BE QUITE BROWN. But you don't have to. You can cook them to whatever degree of doneness you want as long as you remove all of the water from them.

So you guessed it. The medium thickness chips curled and bent a little bit. Not as little as the thicker ones and not as much as the thinner ones.

Can I have all the thick, flat chips in a pile please.

And all the thin folded, chips on the right please.

Yes. They're all gone. I gave Betty a little bag and ate the rest myself.

Then I took my sweatpants off.

Here's the actual printable recipe for these Halfassed Homemade Potato Chips.

Make yourself a batch of homemade potato chips in about 10 minutes. Heating up the deep fryer will take more time than anything else.

As long as you are making very thin chips (3mm or less) you do NOT need to soak your potatoes in water for half an hour. Just rinse them until the water runs clear.

Stirring the chips a couple of times while they're cooking helps them cook more evenly PLUS it creates more folded, bendy chips.

If you like flatter chips, move them minimally.

The best way to store these is in a paper bag if the weather is dry or in a plastic bag if the weather is humid. The paper bag has the advantage and pulling out some of the grease.

Let the oil reheat between batches.

I'm an Amazon affiliate some I get a few cents when you buy something I've linked to.

Oh just great..... it's 11:45 p.m. here in Chicago and now I'm STARVING for some home-made potato chips. lol I do have a fresh bag of store-bought Lays but I haven't made any of my mom's recipe for cream cheese dip, so that will have to wait too. Oh well, fortunately I just finished baking a pound of cinnamon-sugar pecans, so I won't really starve ner nuthin'. If that mandolin has the Karen seal of approval and good function, I do believe I shall have to splurge and get one. Thanks for the cooking tips.

It's a great mandolin Randy. I just got it a few months ago. Slices and 2 different juliennes. I'm weirdly craving a pound of cinnamon sugar now. ~ karen

I'll send you the super simple and super easy recipe in a separate e-mail.

Yummy! Can't wait to give these a try. I'm a big fan of salt and vinegar chips. Any ideas on flavoring the chips other than salt and pepper? Your mandolin looks pretty sturdy. I'm in need of a new one. What brand is that? Mine is plastic and just awful as are most mandolin I've owned. An accident waiting to happen..... Also...day pajamas sound great to me! I'm a big home body and I'm always dressed down. If I'm not comfy I'm not happy. ?

Hi Carrie Anne! I just got that mandolin a few months ago. It's WAY better than the very expensive one I've had for years. You can get it here. It's $49. ~ karen!

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My name is Karen Bertelsen and I was a television host. In Canada. Which means in terms of notoriety and wealth, I was somewhere on par with the manager of a Sunset Tan in Wisconsin.

I quit television to start a blog with the goal that I could make my living through blogging and never have to host a television show again. And it’s worked out. I’m making a living blogging. If you’re curious, this is how I do that.

So I’m doing this in reverse basically. I’m the only blogger who is trying to NOT get a TV show.