I had a snack attack the other night and the cupboards were bare of anything remotely interesting to eat. So I decided to make my own chips of sorts.

I had some leftover soft burrito shells that seemed OK to eat in the fridge — they passed the sniff test and the no-mold inspection. (I know this sounds gross, but I’m sure I’m not the only one who does this!)

While heating up some vegetable oil in a medium-sized frying pan, I cut the shells into triangles and began sliding them into the hot oil.

They quickly began to fry and puff up like little balloons — it was fun to watch.

It was a little tough gauging how hot to keep the oil, so I kept turning it up and down during the process. I nearly burned a couple pieces (OK, it was more like five), but the end result was not too shabby. Since I was out of paper towels, I laid some old coffee filters I found in the back of the cupboard on a plate to help drain the excess oil off the chips.

I sprinkled some Tony Chachere’s seasoning salt on top and voila — homemade (semi-soft) tortilla chips!

A night or two later since we still hadn’t made it to the grocery store, I decided to make some more. But this time it was to satisfy a sweet tooth.

I used the same method of preparation, but instead sprinkled them with pumpkin spice and sugar. It reminded me of going to the fair and eating elephant ears. Perhaps smelling all the fried food during Betty Zane Days held recently here in Martins Ferry triggered something in my brain, making me want fried dough. But, in a pinch, the versatile burrito shell once again saved the day.

I could probably do a variation without using so much oil — this likely would be healthier and easier on the stomach. We’ll see. Of the two flavors — salty or sweet — sweet seemed best to me. Included with this column is a photo of the sweet version.

Hanson can be reached at shanson@timesleader online.com.