Roasted Kale Chips

This is a post that I've been meaning to type for a while, but it keeps getting lost in the mix with other posts.  At the beginning of 2012, DB~ kept telling me about these kale chips sold at Whole Foods and how great they were.  At the time, we didn't have a Whole Foods nearby so I looked up "kale chips" on the nets and was surprised how easy it was to make a variation of them at home.

Kale is a "green" and is considered a "superfood" due to its high nutrient content.  It's also a very good value.  A typical bunch sold at Giant Eagle is $1.49/bunch (and this is higher than other places).  A bunch usually comes out to $1.25 total at the register and can feed 4 people.

What you do is rip the leaves off the stems in large chunks.  Spread them out on a baking sheet and brush them lightly with olive oil.  You don't want to drench them -- just enough to keep them from burning; any more and they get a little soggy.  After you brush the oil on, sprinkle on a little salt and pepper and just roll the leaves around to coat them evenly in the salt/pepper.

Put them in the oven at 375 Farenheit for 12-15, just enough time to get the edges brown.  The kale should crinkle like dry leaves in the fall.  The excess water will be roasted out and replaced with an olive oil-coated salty, tasty mix of flavors.  If you do it right, you'll find yourself absent-mindedly eating them with your fingers throughout dinner.

Here's a picture from some I made this week: