SMACK YO' MAMA KALE CHIPS

I love kale chips. I eat them at least a few times a week. No, I don't eat them as a healthy, but poor substitute for potato chips or some other snack. Admittedly, the first time I tried kale chips a few years ago, it was because I heard they were healthy, but now I'm hooked and eat them simply because they are so delicious. Well, at least mine are, because I've tasted some store bought kale chips that were not good at all, and other store bought brands that were quite tasty, but none are SMACK YO' MAMA delicious like mine. Below is the recipe:

SMACK YO' MAMA KALE CHIPS
Prep Time: Approximately 5 minutes
Cook Time: Approximately 12 minutes
Total Time: Approximately 17 minutes

Ingredients:
2 large handfuls of fresh, organic kale
2 tablespoons of avocado oil (you can substitute with olive oil or coconut oil if you prefer)
salt
pepper
cayenne
smoked paprika
ancho chile powder
chipotle powder or flakes (I prefer the flakes but use powder if that's all I have)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees farenheit (optimal temperature may vary depending on your particular oven and the strain of kale that you use. Some types of kale cook quicker than others)
2. Put two large handfuls of kale into bowl and line a large baking pan with unbleached wax paper. I buy pre-washed (triple washed) kale so that it's already dry when I take it out of the bag. If your kale hasn't been washed, you'll want to rinse it off first and then lay the kale out flat on paper towels, then layer paper towels on top, very gently pressing down to dry the kale off before putting it in the bowl. Regarding the wax paper, you can used waxed if you like or use aluminum foil. I prefer unbleached wax paper as a healthy alternative cooking material :

1. Remove any really large stems from the kale, leaving only the leafy portions.
2. Pour the two tablespoons of avocado oil over the kale and hand toss until all leaves are coated.
3. Lay out kale in a single layer in the baking pan
4. Lightly sprinkle the seasonings above onto the kale chips. You only need to use a few light dashes of each of the seasonings above....just enough to coat the surface of the chips.

1. Put the pan of kale in the oven and bake for 10 minutes or until crisp with most of the kale retaining a dark green color, checking it at about 7 minutes. The kale should be removed when it first becomes krispy and sometimes you have to open the oven to check it by touching it. Some of the kale may turn a slight brown but that's fine as long as most of it remains greenish with crisp edges. If you don't cook the kale long enough it will be soggy. If you cook it too long, it will burn and turn dark brown, and have a bitter, burnt taste.

2. Remove the pan and eat up (I like eating them while they're still warm but they are still delicious once cool)! Note, that you may have to play with this recipe a few times to perfect it based on the level of spice you like, plus the type of kale and oven (which affects how long you cook it). I like my kale slightly spicy and err towards having it be crisp with some of the kale taking on a slight brown color, which avoids me ending up with a pan of soggy kale chips.

BON APPETIT, STEEMIT FAMILY!