Kale Chips

I know you have heard about them and for those of you who have not tried them, you have probably turned your noses up at these kind of ugly dried out looking green things. Chips? How can these possibly taste anything like chips? Trust me, I was skeptical at first but there was a whole crop of it ready at the farm and since I get as much as we can pick from anything there, I figured "awh heck, why not try it."  Other than throwing it in salads and in smoothies, I am not a huge expert on what to do with Kale but I knew that I had heard several people say they like Kale Chips so I tried it out. Hans and his dad had been slaving away all day taking the HUGE windows out of our porch and I knew that they needed a snack at some point and who better to experiment new recipes on than them. They will try anything and will always be 100% honest on what they think about it.  After quickly baking these up I brought them out a batch to try. Pop took one look at them and said "those look like buttcrack!" I convinced him to try it anyways and he was pleasantly surprised at how good they were. Actually I think his next sentence was "Terry (my mother in law) is going to love you for this. She is a chip eating SOB." I think that means they passed the test!  Hans liked them so much that since last weekend I have already whipped up two more batches and I am certain they will be come a new staple in our household.  Seriously, if you are a chip lover, try them out for yourself!!!!

Grabbed a full basket of Kale because you would be shocked at how few chips it ends up making once they have dehydrated. In case you are wondering, the long leaves hanging out of the basket are leeks. They are basically a really big green onion.

Start by washing and COMPLETELY drying the Kale. They won't get crispy if there is any water left on them. Once dry you need to separate the leaves from the stems.

Throw all your kale leaves in a big bowl and drizzle with some olive oil. Yes, I realize my olive oil is in mini sized jars but they were favors from my baby shower that my best friend threw me and she sent me home with some of the ones that were left over. She said I could give them to people who stopped by or brought Olive a gift but I had to use a few of them myself. It reminds me of all my friends up in Seattle so I think she will forgive me for keeping a few for personal use. 

Once coated with the oil just lay them out on a cookie sheet so they are not overlapping and season. You can season them in several different ways. We go simple with just a sprinkle of powdered garlic and some Johnny's. You could use anything from sea salt, pepper, powdered bbq flavoring, etc... Get creative!    

Finally just pop them in a preheated 300 degree F oven and bake for 20 minutes or until really crispy. Let cool for 5 minutes and...

ENJOY!

Ingredients

1 large head green kale
1 tablespoon olive oil
Coarse sea salt or flavoring of your choice

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F
2. Wash and dry Kale leaves
3. Tear off stems
4. Put all leaves in a bowl and drizzle oil on them. Toss leaves with your hands in order to coat them
5. Season the leaves with desired seasoning.
6. Spread leaves over the baking sheet. Do in two or more batches so the leaves do not overlap and bake for 20 minutes
7. Remove chips and let cool for 5 minutes