Kale Chips

Until about a week ago, I had never heard of baked kale chips. Someone mentioned them on the facebook page for the CSA farm. They're pretty much what they sound like. Similar to potato chips, but made with kale. And baked.

I had some kale kicking around in the fridge from the CSA box, and didn't feel like making soup again, so I thought I'd try them out and leave them around for the kids to snack on.

They're really simple. You take the kale and cut the leaves off of the stems, then cut them into bite-sized pieces (my kale was the super curly kind, so it basically came off the stem in bite-sized pieces). I washed the kale and sent it through the salad spinner. I had enough to do two sheet pans of chips, so I did half at a time. I put the leaves in a bowl and drizzled on some olive oil and tossed them around until they were nicely coated. Then I spread them onto the sheet pan, and sprinkled on the flavorings.

The first batch I used season-all, and the second batch I used salt & pepper & garlic powder.

Then I baked them at 350 degrees for about 12-13 minutes. I was roasting some asparagus at the same time, so if you try this, you might find they bake faster than that. You have to keep a careful eye on them to make sure they don't burn. You want them crispy and not limp. I let them sit on paper towels for a minute when they were done, just to absorb any extra oil.

Squig and Sam liked them (preferring the season-all flavor), but Ruby wasn't so fond, though she did sneak a few now and then. John just thought they were okay. I thought they were tasty, but when I finally get my braces off and can eat sandwiches again, I won't be eating kale chips with my subs. I set them out on the counter this morning, and they've been disappearing. They're a little bit addictive, you can't eat just one.

And then when I got on the computer this morning, I discovered that my sister also made kale chips last night! And we hadn't even talked about them. Weird.