I was sad when I realized I would need the one ingredient I didn't have on hand, hickory smoked salt.. But low and behold when I swung by the store i realized they have this little specialty salt section AND SCORE!! Hickory smoke salt was just begging me to take him home, which i did.
Now i would usually make these with ground cashews but not having those and having a limited budget until Friday I skipped that step
I made the spice mix then ripped my 1 bunch of kale off the stems into bite size pcs and washed it. Then pre heated my oven to 200
I put the kale into a big bowl and drizzled it with extra virgin olive oil then used about 4 tsp of spice mix then used a spatula to coat the kale. Then i sprinkled about a Tbsp of nutritional yeast on it and used a spatula to coat the kale
Sprayed my 2 sheet pans with coconut oil and made a single layer with room to move so air can circulate around them
Cooked for 30 mins then flipped Turned temp up to 220 and cooked another 30 mins!
Last week when I was munching on my cheesy BBQ kale chips I had an AWE.MAZE.ING idea!!
P I Z Z A kale chips!
Ingredients:
2-3 TBSP Tomato paste
Pizza seasoning mix (below)
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
Seasoning mix:
2 TBSP Itailan seasoning
1TBSP dried Basil
1 1/2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp oregano
1/8 tsp red chili flakes
1/2 tsp crushed fennel seeds
I used a couple tsps of water in the tomato paste to thin it out a bit and added in a couple TBSP of spice mix.. Then added in a couple handfuls of washed kale torn into pieces.
I used my hands to get the sauce in all the nooks and crannies, after all they are your best utensils!
Then I sprayed my baking pan with some coconut oil and spread out the kale chips. You dont want them to be to close together.
Then I sprinkled a good amount of nutrional yeast over the top of them before baking them in a 220 degree oven for 30 mins
Then I flipped them, sprinkled more nutritional yeast on them and baked for another 30-40 mins until crispy.
Makes sure to not overload them with sauce bc they seem to not get very crispy when that happens.
These are so TASTY!!
I hope you enjoy them as much as my son and I did!!
I've been meaning to get this recipe posted for a while now, so here it is!
Cheezy BBQ Kale chips
1/2 bag of kale or 1 bunch of kale with the stems removed, wash and drain your Kale.. if it's not fully dry it's totally fine. Rip into bite size pieces. Any kind of Kale would work I imagine. I used curly Kale or the bag of kale at Trader Joe's
in blender or magic bullet add...
1/3 cup water 1/3 cup nutritional yeast juice of 1/2 a lemon 2 handfuls of cashews a good pinch of sea salt a couple tsp of extra virgin olive oil pinch red pepper flakes 1 clove garlic 1/2 tsp onion powder 3-4 turns of African Smoke seasoning or other BBQ flavored seasoning of choice 2 Tbls of apple cider vinegar Vegan Parmesan cheese to sprinkle on top before putting in the oven process till creamy, if to thick add a bit more water until you reach desiredconsistency. Remember to taste test along the way.. need more of something? Add it. Keep in mind you want it to be on the thicker side so that it will stick in all the curly crevicesof the kale
I have this great blender attachment for my magic bullet that works awesome for bigger batches of sauce making so I made a dbl batch of cheezy sauce, It lasts for a couple of weeks in the fridge. add your kale to a bowl and drizzle some sauce on top, use tongs to evenly disperse the sauce. add more sauce if needed.
make a single layer on a parchment lined cookie sheet, sprinkle vegan parmesan on top of the kale chips and pop them into the oven. bake between 325-350 until crispy and golden brown.
It could take between 15- 20 mins.. give them a toss or turn about half way. You may even have to take them out and remove the done ones as they cook.. it's a process but so worth it.
You will need to keep a close eye on these as they are baking.. they go from not done to perfect to burnt in no time!!
This recipe makes about 2 cookie sheets, give or take..
if you want to dbl the recipe use 1 whole bag of kale, stems removed or 2 bunches of kale, stems removed
These are my new favorite snack. I can't get enough!! Enjoy!!
Things around here have been pretty quite. I'm excited to be putting some plants into my garden this weekend. When Mother's day rolls around you know it's safe to start planting. You don't want to any sooner for fear of frost. So I will be putting in some plants this weekend.. I've got some seeds also but I've been waiting due to lack of a fence across our garden area. We have a little puppy who likes to dig and run around in the raised beds so we will need to be putting up some fencing to keep him OUT unless he's invited in :)
Last night I had a delicious dinner!
Spaghetti Squash with Quinoa "meat" balls and a little red sauce I made.
Sherice's simple red sauce ~ This is a super quick easy sauce I make when I don't have any spaghetti sauce in the freezer or I want a lighter sauce.
1 28oz can crushed tomatoes
1-2 cloves garlic minced
1/2 lrg onion minced or 1 sm onion minced
handful of crimini mushrooms minced
sprinkle of red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
fresh chopped basil
Saute onions and mushrooms for 5-7 mins add in salt and pepper stir, add in garlic saute 1-2 mins, add in tomatoes and red pepper flakes. simmer for 10-15 mins. add in basil or sprinkle directly onto whatever it is your eating! Enjoy!
Here's the video on how to make the squash and "meat" balls..
These meatballs were so delicious you've got to try them. I was thinking that the next time I make them I might mix it up a bit and add in some grated zucchini and some fresh basil.. just to give them a bit more flavor and to kick up the veggie content.. or even adding in some diced eggplant would be great. Go nuts!! That's the best part of cooking.. tweaking a recipe to suit your palate!
I also made Kale chips for the first time this week.. oh they were crispy and spicy.. just what I like!
I made 2 batches.. the first batch was my favorite but the second was good also!
All Hail Kale ~
preheat oven to 350 for 11- 14 mins keep a good eye on these, they go from not quite done to burnt in no time at all
I cheated and got a bag of organic kale already cut at Trader Joe's just because I could :)
I split the bag into 2 batches..
#1 batch
1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive oil
1/4 tsp Chipotle powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
good sprinkle of sea salt
#2 batch
1 Tblp EVOO
1/4 tsp chili powder
sprinkle red chili flakes
1/4 tsp cumin
good sprinkle sea salt
I made the mistake of thinking they were cooled and put them into a ziplock bag. The next day they were chewy instead of crispy, still good but not what your going for!
I haven't worked out this week due to a bruised knee.. I took a couple days off at work to let it rest and heal. Being on your hands and knees washing floors isn't going make the healing any faster ya know. So I will have a workout posted for you this weekend.
I'm really going to try to get more blogs posted. I'm thinking maybe 3-4 a week. I want my blog to grow and get some more hits and followers so I need to be spending more time at it and start being a lot more consistent. I find that the only time I really blog is when I've got a recipe or workout to share, but I'm finding that on the blogs I follow and really enjoy, they blog about their day to day lives and what they've eaten that day or their workouts. So I will try not to totally bore you to death. I'm really NOT that exciting but I will try to blog more!
