snacks – And What I Ate

Homemade Baked Potato Chips

Someone in my family loves potato chips so much that they’ve been known to eat an entire family-size bag in one sitting. Oh, hi Mom! These chips are baked, which means they’re good for you, right? Okay, maybe not “good for you”, but they’re actually way better for you than the typical deep-fried ones, plus they’re ready in 20 minutes and super crunchy and delicious. We housed these.

HOMEMADE BAKED POTATO CHIPS (makes about 40)
– 2 russet potatoes cleaned really well (skin still on)
– 2 tbsp. EVOO
– Kosher salt

1. Preheat the oven to 400.

2. On a mandoline (be VERY careful – I swear one day I’m going to get over my fear of using these), slice these to 1/8 an inch. If you don’t have a mandoline, just try to cut these and thinly and uniformly as you can.

3. Rinse the potato slices in cold water, then pat dry really well – this is key to getting them to cook evenly.

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Roasted Chickpeas

I could write a novel about my love for chickpeas. They’re great in salads, soups, smashes and as a base for hummus, they’re packed with protein, they’re little and cute, and apparently I could have been eating these all along as a snack, which would have changed my life. Get your oven up to 425, stat. One of the best snacks ever is just 20 minutes away.

ROASTED CHICKPEAS (makes one dish – enough for 2 people)
– 1 15oz. can of chickpeas, rinsed, drained and dried
– Approx. 1 tbsp. EVOO
– 1/2 tsp. of Kosher Salt
– 1 tsp. cumin

1. Preheat oven to 425.

2. Rinse, drain and pat dry the chickpeas.

3. In a bowl, combine them with the EVOO, kosher salt & cumin. Toss to mix well until the chickpeas are coated.

4. Arrange in one layer on a baking sheet. Roast for 15-20 minutes, shaking the pan every five minutes or so, until they’re crisp.

5. Take out of the oven and let cool, then enjoy.

Roasted Cauliflower with Cumin and Lime

I love, love, love roasting just about anything. Roasted Lemon Cauliflower is one of my favorite snacks, and this version of it – lime instead of lemon, a little cumin – takes it to a whole other level. It’s a perfect, super healthy and delicious snack. Plus, the health benefits of cumin!!! Who knew.

ROASTED CAULIFLOWER WITH CUMIN AND LIME (serves 4 as a side or snack)
– 1 large head cauliflower
– 4 limes, juiced, zest of 2
– 1 tbsp. EVOO
– 2 tbsp cumin (don’t let this scare you)

1. Preheat the oven to 450.

2. Chop up the washed cauliflower. The easiest way to do this is to cut the cauliflower in half, then into quarters. Then, cut away the middle part (the stem, I guess). The florets should fall away on their own, pretty much mess-free. Add them to a big bowl.

3. Juice and zest 2 of the limes, then add the cumin. Mix to combine. Add the olive oil. Mix it all together and toss it with the cauliflower until it’s well-coated.

4. Lay the cauliflower in one layer on a roasting sheet. Put into the oven and cook for approx. 30- 40 minutes, or until roasted golden brown. Flip it every ten minutes, squeezing the juice of 1/2 a lime over it each time.

5. Serve as a snack or an appetizer (we had this with Roasted Red Grapes with Thyme. I told you I liked roasting things).

Hostessing is my all-time fav.

— AND, just want to give a HUGE congrats to Mario & Katie and the rest of the crew from What The Fork food truck! They made the top 4 for LIVE with Kelly & Michael‘s “Truckin’ Amazing” nationwide Food Truck competition! It’s been so cool to watch their amazing progress over the last year. Vote for them here. Congratulations guys – you make Scranton proud!

Four-Ingredient Fruit Snacks

There have been a bunch of recipes for fruit snacks on Pinterest popping up in my news feed lately, and blueberries were on sale at Wegman’s, and we’re always looking for snack alternatives to our beloved hummus and Pretzel Chips. So….fruit snacks it is! As someone who likes to know what we’re consuming, and where it comes from, the fact that there were 4 ingredients in this, total, was really appealing. Organic blueberries, local organic honey, and lovely Meyer Lemons make up for the fact that these include gelatin. Let’s just think of the detoxifying benefits of the lemons cancelling that right out, though!

HOMEMADE FRUIT SNACKS (makes approx. 2.5 cups)
– 1.5 cups blueberries (or your choice of berry)
– 3/4 cup meyer lemon juice (approx. 4-5 meyer lemons) These are a cross between a clementine & a lemon (a friend of mine calls them “lemontines”), which makes the recipe sweeter, and better, than the sourness of traditional lemons
– 2 tbsp. honey
– 2 tbsp. gelatin

1. Wash the blueberries, juice the lemons, then combine in a saucepan over medium heat until the berries start to soften.

2. Remove from heat and let cool approx. 5 minutes.

3. Puree – ideally with an Immersion Blender – or in a blender. Strain to remove the blueberry skins. A lot of these will just come up with the immersion blender, so if that’s good enough for you it’s good enough for me (it was).

4. Add honey, stir to combine. Taste at this point – what it tastes like now is what it’ll taste like when it sets, so modify the recipe as needed. More honey, more juice, etc.

5. Whisk in gelatin a tiny bit at a time, until fully incorporated.

6. Pour mixture into an ungreased shallow glass dish, and refrigerate for approx. 45 minutes until set.

7. Cut them into whatever shapes you like, remove from the glass dish, dust with a tiny bit of cornstarch to prevent them from sticking together, and store in a tupperware container (in the fridge) to enjoy. These had kind of a jello jiggler texture, which we liked, but if you want them to be more of a traditional “fruit snack” texture, I’d add maybe 2 more tbsps. of gelatin.

Roasted Lemon Cauliflower

I would eat this every day, if it didn’t kind of make your kitchen smell like you were roasting tupperware. That said, please open a window and try this, because it’s one of the healthiest, simplest, tastiest snacks you’ll ever have.

ROASTED CAULIFLOWER WITH LEMON (serves 4 as a snack or side)
– 1 large head cauliflower
– 2 lemons, zest of 1
– 1-2 tbsp EVOO
– 1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1. Preheat oven to 450.

2. Wash and thoroughly dry the cauliflower, then cut into florets. The easiest way to do this is to cut the cauliflower into quarters, then cut out the middle “stem” part. The florets should fall away naturally, and you won’t end up with teeny pieces of cauliflower all over your kitchen.

3. In a small bowl, combine the juice of 1/2 a lemon and the salt, mixing to combine. Then, using a Microplane, add the zest of two lemons (just the yellow – zesting the white part, or the “pith”will make this really bitter) and the EVOO, and mix that together as well.

4. Pour this lemon/EVOO mixture over the cauliflower florets, and toss to combine. Arrange the florets in a single layer on an ungreased roasting sheet and put in the oven.

5. Every 10 minutes or so, take the cauliflower out of the oven, squeeze the juice of 1/2 a lemon over them, and flip them with a spatula. Repeat until the edges of the cauliflower are deep brown and caramelized – this should take approx. 30 minutes.

Cauliflower, after the first flip.

6. When roasted, remove the florets from the oven, squeeze the juice of another lemon half over them, then serve. This is fantastic either hot or cold.

Baked Kale Chips

Kale packs a ton of vitamins into your diet, and on top of that, it contains antioxidants, anti-imflammatory nutrients, and anti-cancer nutrients. There is a ton of kale available at the farmers’ market right now, so I decided to get Brad to try kale chips as an alternative to the bag of pretzel chips we eat on a weekly basis. These kale “chips” look kind of unusual, but are really delicious, healthy, and a great alternative snack. They’ll keep for a couple of days in an airtight container, but odds are they’ll be gone before then!

BAKED KALE CHIPS

– 1 head of kale, “ribs” removed, torn into chip-size pieces

– olive oil (2 tbsp, approx.)

– heavy pinch kosher salt, or Herbamare, or garlic powder

1. Preheat oven to 300.

2. Thoroughly wash the kale, then remove “ribs” and tear into chip-size pieces.

gorgeous kale from the farmers’ market!

3. In a bowl, toss kale with 2 glugs olive oil, massaging onto the kale to make sure each piece is coated. Add seasonings (kosher salt, herbamare, garlic powder, etc.). The flavors will concentrate somewhat when you bake the chips, so add a little less than what you otherwise would.

4. Spread kale chips into a single layer on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Bake at 300 for 20 minutes. I’ve read about kale chips being bitter, but I think the key is not to overcook them – like, at all. 20 minutes at 300 will work for most ovens.

5. Let cool and enjoy!