Mon Amy: Baked Garlic Parmesan Kale "Chips"

{Baked garlic Parmesan kale "chips" - held by my beige nails}

It's official: I've fallen in love... in love with kale. First, it was the kale quiche; then it was the kale smoothie; now it is the kale chip. I had read about the mythical kale chip, how this once unpopular vegetable crisps up in the oven to absorb flavors and create some airy sort of munchie that resembles our favorite junk foods. These baked garlic Parmesan kale chips will rival your favorite junk food and (yes ladies) it's nearly free of calories.

{Preparing your mound of kale}

I hate to be cliche, but this snack makes me want to bury my head in my hands and say "Nom! Nom! Nom!" I'm not kidding. These airy, light, healthy kale chips pack the flavor and the crunch. Seriously, nom-a-licious.

{Delicious garlic makes kale chips delicious}

First thing's first: preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Ingredients:
5 big cloves of garlic
3 cups of fresh kale (chopped)
2 TBSP olive oil
1 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

The kale is the superstar. Wash it, mix it (with oil, salt, and pepper), and massage it. I'm not kidding. You want to massage the hell out of your kale (I learned this from Hayley Duff). If you massage your kale, you will make it more tender, more likely to crisp and more likely to melt in your mouth. Please, massage the kale. Don't be shy. Mince your garlic and toss it with your well massaged kale mixture.

{Grease two baking pans in order for the kale to crisp thoroughly}

Now that your kale is ready you want to spread it out all over your two baking sheets. This step is imperative: these baking sheets need to be greased and there needs to be two of them or else your kale pieces won't have their own space. Now, kale pieces having their own space is so important or else they won't crisp and you'll have a very mushy (yet tasty) pile of kale.

{Spread the kale out, give it its space!}

Spread it out, and throw it in the oven for 14 minutes, tossing it once in between. You want to make sure that it crisps evenly (because this is the prerequisite to become a "chip").

{The Parmesan Phase: before and after}

After 14 minutes, you want to take your kale out of the oven and sprinkle with shredded Parmesan cheese. Shredded cheese hangs on all of the crispy edges and creates a texture that grated or sliced cheese cannot. Yum... trust me on this one! Remove your crunchy garlic Parmesan kale after 4 minutes and let it cool. You can scoop it on a plate and serve it to your friends... or eat it all yourself for dinner with ~~one~~ ~~two~~ three whiskey tonics. Seriously, it's hard to control yourself with these kale chips (but that's okay because they're delicious and healthy!).