Kale chips

I've seen lots of recipes for these lately, and I've been saying for a week that I was going to turn the two bunches of kale in my fridge into chips, so today I finally did!

These were SO easy, and turned out really yummy for my first time trying them! I can totally see these becoming a staple snack item at my house, even if I'm the only one who eats them... although I think if Dave and Noah tried them, they'd probably like them too :)

To make them, you need 1-2 bunches of kale. When you're picking out a bunch of kale at the store, make sure it is crisp, not limp, and I have heard that kale is one of those veggies that you really should buy organic if you can. I have some seeds planted out back, and I'm really hoping they come up and grow well, because I love kale!

Start out by trimming the stems from your kale leaves, and then tear up the leaves into 2-3 inch pieces. I didn't wash my kale before cutting it, I just threw the pieces right into my salad spinner to clean them.

Don't throw those stems away though- collect them in a bowl to clean and then add to your next pot of stock! I had just cut up some celery before this, and I am making Cornish Hens for dinner tonight, so I threw the stems and the celery ends into a stock pot to wait for the hen carcasses after dinner, they should make some nice stock.

After your pieces are cleaned and spun dry in your salad spinner, put them either in a large bowl or a zip-top bag. To my kale pieces, I added 1 tbsp of olive oil, 1 tbsp of pomegranate infused red wine vinegar, some kosher salt, and some garlic powder. Then I closed the bag and shook it all up to coat the kale pieces.

When your pieces are nicely coated and seasoned how you want them, spread them onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, or if you don't have any parchment paper, you can spray it with cooking spray or drizzle it with olive oil.

Now put the pan into a preheated 350 degree oven, and let the kale roast. I didn't pay attention to how long it took, but it was probably at least 15-20 minutes, and I shifted and sort of scooted the kale around a few times in that length of time, to make sure it was cooking evenly.

Now let your kale chips cool off a little bit, and then enjoy! These are a great, super healthy alternative to potato chips or even popcorn, for someone who can't eat those things... but don't believe it when you read recipes and they say "these taste just like regular chips!"... it's not true, and if you expect them to taste like potato chips, you probably won't like them!