Chipotle Kale Chips

Waking up at 5:30 in the morning on the weekends is so worth it when you can harvest the fruits (or vegetables) of your labor.

We've been getting up early these last few weekends and working in the garden. Weeding is actually pleasant when it's 60 degrees with a slight breeze, and the only souls around to bother you are the young deer that come galloping across the back fields.

We harvested the first of our kale yesterday. I'm still learning about growing kale and leafy vegetables - I've read they taste even better in cold weather - this is great news! Isn't the idea of a fresh salad from your porch in November just mouth-watering?

Remove the ribs / stems from your kale. These are tough and don't hold seasoning well.

You can cut or tear the leaves into smaller pieces if you like. Just remember they will shrink up once you put them in the dehydrator!

I used EVOO, paprika, garlic salt and some chipotle sea salt for these chips. We received this chipotle salt blend as a Christmas gift and I now use it on all sorts of recipes.

For one bunch of kale, I used:

1 tbsp EVOO

1/2 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp chipotle sea salt

1/8 tsp garlic salt

I would start with this ratio and add to it as needed. The more "stuff" you have on your kale, the longer it will take to dehydrate.

Place the seasoned leaves in the dehydrator in a single layer.

Dehydrate at 175 degrees for 3 - 5 hours (until crispy!) Mine took about 3.5 hours before they were ready. This will depend on how much kale you have, how much oil and toppings you added, the humidity in your house, so on and so forth. Just keep an eye on them. The best part about using the dehydrator is you don't have to worry about burning them like you do with the oven method.

Have you ever had blackened (read: burnt to a crisp) kale chips? I don't recommend it.

These turned out so well - I can't wait to try new seasoning blends with the next bunch we bring in! I packaged up the fresh chips to take to work with me for a crunchy, salty snack!

I feel like a whole new world has opened up now that I've rediscovered the dehydrator. What else can I dehydrate?!