Kale Chips Will Surprise and Delight You! (recipe)

We planted a big garden this year. We planted lots of broccoli and tomatoes. Onions, peppers, zucchini, melons, cucumbers... Pretty much all the regular stuff. And then I went on a kale-purchasing binge at one of our local (and quirky, chemical-free, and amazing) greenhouses. I bought like, nine or more plants. I had NO IDEA of the yield of kale this would give us. I get two grocery bags stuffed full of kale twice a week. That's me being overly careful about it, too. Who needs that much kale? We juice a lot and that's still way more than we need. I plan on saving some of the juice by freezing it, but for now, I'll make some shockingly hearty kale chips.

Doesn't it seem like there's this odd stigma with kale? It's up there with other "EW!" veggies like brussels sprouts and radishes. Weird. But like I've said in so many past posts, veggies and fruits have so many health benefits. Kale is outrageously high in vitamin K. It's also got a ton of vitamins A and C. This may be obvious, as it's a leafy green, but kale is full of fiber. Less obvious, it has a ton of iron. (Sources here and here.) So the next time you hear someone accuse a vegetarian of not getting enough iron from veggies? Um. Well... Probably incorrect. Kale is good. Kale is healthy. Make yourself some kale chips.

Ingredients

• 2-3 C Kale, cut or ripped into 1"-2" pieces, roughly.
• 2-3 T Olive Oil
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 1/2 T Garlic Powder (optional)
• 1-2 T Parmesan Cheese (optional)

The pieces should kinda look like this.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350º.
2. Remove the stem/vein that runs down the middle of the kale leave and tear into chunks. (They don't have to be pretty.)
3. Rinse and towel dry kale pieces.
4. Spread onto cookie sheet (or sheets).
5. Drizzle with olive oil.
6. Add salt and pepper. (You don't need much, but it's totally your call as to how much you'd like to add).
7. Add garlic powder and/or Paremesan cheese, if desired.
8. Cook for 10-15 minutes until edges look brown and crispy.
9. Remove and let cool for at least 10 minutes.

This is before I put them in the oven. (I'm a horrible
photographer and the after picture was fuzzy and
awful. )