Baked kale chips

I am new to kale chips, but I think it is a great way to incorporate veggies into your daily diet and it's a great, healthy snack for kids...and yourself.  I first saw kale chips a few years ago on The Neely's cooking show and I've been meaning to make them ever since.  One of my good friends makes them all the time and recommended I try them out.

I used a very basic recipe and you can pretty much season them anyway you'd like, depending on what type of kale chips you want.  I love garlic, so I made garlic kale chips.

Baked Kale Chips recipe

- cleaned and chopped kale
- a few tablespoons of olive oil
- a teaspoon of garlic salt
- a teaspoon of pepper
- a dash of paprika

I set my oven to 325 degrees and let it pre-heat.  To save time, I bought a bag of kale that is already cleaned and ready to cook.  I broke the kale into bite size pieces and took out the stems.  I put the kale into a bowl and tossed it with the olive oil, garlic salt, pepper, and paprika.  I then lined a cookie sheet with wax paper and poured the kale onto the cookie sheet.  Be careful not to overcrowd because it will make the kale steam in the oven instead of getting crispy like a chip.  If you're making a lot, use two cookie sheets.  Bake it in the oven for about 10 minutes.  You will want to keep an eye on it because there is a fine line between it being crispy and getting overcooked.  When it gets slighly overcooked, it has a bit of a burnt taste to it and it becomes super crumbly.  When it's cooked just right, it will be nice and crispy.  You may need to adjust the cooking time by a minute or two based on your oven. 

I like to eat the kale chips while they're still warm, but they still taste good after they've cooled down.  Just make sure to put them in an air tight container so they stay crispy.

I was happy that my daughter enjoyed these chips.  I wasn't sure what she would think at first, but she had fun feeding them to herself.  They kind of break apart in your mouth, so I didn't have to be overly concerned about giving her small pieces.  My favorite part was seeing the green crumbs all over her face when she was done.  I wish I would have taken a picture of that.