We’ve been experimenting with kale chips quite a bit lately, both making them ourselves and sampling different flavors from New York Naturals (their Bombay Ranch is my favorite). Although I adore the kale chips we can buy at our local health food store, they’re pricey and have a little more fat than I’d like. This recipe uses no oil or nuts, so the fat content is negligible.

Low and slow baking is the key here. You can’t rush the recipe by bumping the oven temperature up to 300, or you’ll get burned and bitter chips. These take up to an hour and half to fully crisp up, but the time is worth it.

Because there is no fat in this recipe, the chips are going to want to stick to your pan. I use Silpat liners, which are completely non-stick and work just as beautifully here as they do with gooey cookies. If you don’t have Silpats, consider misting your non-stick baking sheets with oil before baking.

New to nutritional yeast powder? It has a slightly cheesy flavor, and you can find it in the supplements section of your local health food store.

Now, as far as these being “seriously sriracha” — your mileage may vary. What is very hot to me barely registers for J., but to me these are quite spicy. Taste the coating mixture before you combine it with the kale, and adjust the spiciness for your taste. You can also sprinkle the chips with cayenne or the like once they’re cooked to kick them up some more.

Seriously Sriracha Kale Chips

1 medium bunch curly kale, or about 14 oz. before trimming and 7 oz. after
2 Tbsp. nutritional yeast powder
3 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. sriracha sauce (or to taste)
1 tsp. kosher salt (or to taste)

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees F.

Wash the kale thoroughly, then shake and pat dry. Trim the center ribs from all the kale leaves and discard. Place the rib-less leaves in a large bowl and set aside.

Combine nutritional yeast powder, apple cider vinegar, sriracha, and salt in a small bowl. Mix until it is completely smooth. Then, pour the coating over the kale.

With clean hands, toss the kale in the coating. Massage the coating into the leaves of the kale for a minute, until each leaf is covered and shiny. Then distribute kale in a single layer on two baking sheets lined with a Silpat silicone mat.

Bake for 50 minutes, then flip each chip gently (I just peel them off the Silpat — they will still be somewhat damp with some crispy spots). Put the baking sheets back in the oven and continue to check for doneness every 10-15 minutes. The chips should be completely dry and crisp when you remove them from the oven, usually with a total baking time of about an hour and a quarter. You may need to remove smaller pieces from the oven before larger leaves.

Chips will stay crisp for a day or two, on the counter in a sealed container.

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I am visiting my sister (and newborn niece) in Brisbane, Australia this week and we are cooking up a storm! She and her husband are vegetarian, so our meal plan reflects that.

In between spending time with my family and cooking, I have been cuddling with koalas and petting this guy:

Yep, really.

I’ve also had a lot of fun shopping in their local grocery, Coles; at their produce shop, Fruity Capers; and at the Davies Park Market. We are headed to a giant market this weekend (Eumundi Markets), so our Saturday and Sunday meals will reflect what we buy there that looks good.

Monday: Leftovers

Tuesday: Baked Tofu with Soy & Sesame, bok choy/mushroom/red pepper (called “capsicum” here) stir fry, brown rice

Wednesday: Baked Huevos Rancheros, sauteed spinach

Thursday: Chipotle Roast Sweet Potato and Black Bean Quinoa Salad with Creamy Avocado Dressing, sauteed zucchini

Friday: Vegetarian Bibimbap, Vietnamese Summer Rolls

Saturday: TBD

Sunday: TBD

For more menu planning ideas, check out Laura at Organizing Junkie.

The post Menu Plan Monday, 4/1 – 4/7 (The Australian Edition) appeared first on chickinthekitchen.com.

Wound up with a lot of poultry dishes this week, for some reason. Also, the boys have exhausted my supply of frozen homemade cookies (I usually freeze half of each batch I make so we can dole them out over a longer period of time). I’ve had a request for M&M cookies, but I also have a ton of Hershey’s Kisses leftover from a project in December, so I may look for a “blossom”-type cookie recipe without peanut butter.

And yes, if I could only bake and never cook, I think I would.

Monday: Easy Chicken Chili, whole grain tortilla chips, shredded Brussels sprouts salad

Tuesday: Spaghetti and Scallion Turkey Meatballs (without the Soy-Ginger Glaze), roasted carrots & parsnips

Wednesday: Baked Quinoa With Spinach and Cheese, garden salad, Carrot Soup with Miso & Sesame (from the freezer)

Thursday: General Tso’s Slow-Cooker Chicken Tacos with Broccoli Slaw

Friday: Leftovers, challah

Saturday: Eat out

Sunday: Vegetarian Moroccan Stuffed Peppers, French onion soup

For more menu planning ideas, check out Laura at Organizing Junkie.

The post Menu Plan Monday, 2/25 – 3/3 appeared first on chickinthekitchen.com.

My secret baking last week was a special treat for J.’s grandma’s birthday. I wanted to make her a decadent, not-for-everyday dessert that she could stash in her fridge and enjoy over the course of a week or so. Since she is a chocolate lover, I immediately thought to make Ina Garten’s Outrageous Brownies — hands down, the best special occasion brownie around! They were well received, so I’m glad I spent the time making them. They are a little fussy to make but totally worth it. Since the recipe makes a half sheet pan worth of brownies, I divied up some of the rest into packets for friends and put away a small amount in our freezer for the boys.

This week I’m baking a chocolate chip cookie cake for G.’s Valentine’s Day celebration at school. He has instructed me that we need to decorate the cake with “white frosting all around, and Valentine’s M&Ms, and a big heart in the middle.” OK, can do. He’ll help me with the decorating.

Otherwise, I’m heavy on soup again this week (Black Bean and also Curried Split Pea). It seems to be all I want to eat in this cold, cold weather.

Monday: Black Bean Soup, Quinoa, Chickpea & Carrot Salad, make your own pizza for the boys

Tuesday: Leftovers, Curried Split Pea Soup

Wednesday: Spaghetti and Scallion Turkey Meatballs (without the Soy-Ginger Glaze), roasted Brussels sprouts

Thursday: Cold Bulgur, Lentils, Vegetable, & Goat Cheese Salad (AKA Mighty Grains Salad), leftover soup from earlier in the week, Pumpkin Dinner Rolls

Friday: Roasted chicken, grilled asparagus, challah

Saturday: Eat out

Sunday: Grilled skirt steak, steamed green beans, garden salad

For more menu planning ideas, check out Laura at Organizing Junkie.

The post Menu Plan Monday, 2/11 – 2/17 appeared first on chickinthekitchen.com.

I am excited for a couple of baking projects this week. One is secret… shhh. But the other is not: I was tapped to make the Valentine’s Day cake for my second grader’s class celebration. He decided we should make a chocolate chip cookie cake, which he’ll help me decorate. I do love when he helps me in the kitchen, so I am looking forward to that time together on Wednesday.

Edited to add: I can’t seem to keep my days or weeks straight recently. The cookie cake is for NEXT week, not this one. So I have less baking to do than I thought I would. Darn!

Monday: Crock-Pot beef short ribs, roasted Brussels sprouts, salad (leftover), challah

Tuesday: French bread pizzas, raw carrots, celery, and pepper strips

Wednesday: Leftovers

Thursday: Penne & Baked Meatballs, garlic bread, garden salad, steamed green beans

Friday: Roasted rolled turkey breast, sauteed spinach & garlic, roasted carrots, challah

Saturday: Eat out

Sunday: Grilled rib eye steaks, Citrus & Garlic Grilled Broccoli, bulgur with sauteed onions

For more menu planning ideas, check out Laura at Organizing Junkie.

The post Menu Plan Monday, 2/4 – 2/10 appeared first on chickinthekitchen.com.

Not much went according to plan last week, but we did eat. I finally tried the Light Wheat Rolls. G. wasn’t a fan. A. liked them but agreed with me that we could look for a better recipe next time. I think I just have better luck with white whole wheat flour than a mixture of AP and whole wheat. J. did make fantastic lamb burgers over the weekend — I will look forward to having them again. And, I did get my Sunday birthday dinner — an Indian feast and mini cupcakes from Crumbs.

Here is this week’s plan:

Monday: Chicken fingers, steamed green beans, Light Wheat Rolls

Tuesday: Spinach Lasagna Roll-Ups (boys), Creamy Cauliflower & Kale Soup (Vegan) for the adults, quinoa salad (purchased from Mrs. Green’s)

Wednesday: Spaghetti & Slow Cooker Italian-Style Turkey Meatballs, swiss chard salad

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday: Roasted whole chicken, challah, sauteed spinach with garlic

Saturday: Mixed grill (we have small quantities of assorted cuts of meat from Roxbury Farm in our freezer), sweet potatoes, roasted broccoli

Sunday: We’re at a Super Bowl party

For more menu planning ideas, check out Laura at Organizing Junkie.

The post Menu Plan Monday, 1/28 through 2/3 appeared first on chickinthekitchen.com.

We spent much of this past long weekend doing large batch cooking (Chicken Soup, J.’s Favorite Goulash, smoked brisket, smoked beef ribs, and swordfish) so that J. could play with his newest kitchen toy, a pressure cooker/canner. I don’t even blink when he tells me about the next gadget he is interested in buying, because whatever it is we wind up using it. I know I’ve mentioned many times how helpful we find our vacuum sealer: I use it for packaging soups and stews for the freezer, and every few months J. will do a ton of meat on the smoker and portion it out in vacuum-sealed bags. Now we’re canning food too, both in glass jars and in retort pouches. It’s very time consuming, so I’m curious to see how we like the food that has been treated this way.

For this week, though, we’re back to food we cook and eat the same day. I’d like to bake something sweet this week, too.

Monday: Smoked beef ribs, chopped salad

Tuesday: Spaghetti & Baked Meatballs, green salad, roasted cauliflower

Wednesday: Make Your Own Pizza, carrot, red pepper, & celery sticks

Thursday: Baked Ziti, Light Wheat Rolls, steamed green beans

Friday: Mighty Grains Salad, Pull-Apart Challah, Roasted Carrots with Thyme (repeat from last week)

Saturday: Lamb Burgers (we have one package of ground lamb left from our share through Roxbury Farm), rolls, spinach salad

Sunday: My birthday! I’m not responsible for dinner.

For more menu planning ideas, check out Laura at Organizing Junkie.

The post Menu Plan Monday, 1/21 through 1/27 appeared first on chickinthekitchen.com.

We’ve had several dietary changes in our family that, for many months, left me scratching my head as to what was left for us to all eat. First, about a year ago, J. started cutting down on simple carbs and dairy and eliminated meals at home where they were the main dish. Instead, he prefers lots of vegetables, lean protein, and a bit of whole grain like bulgur or quinoa. So, old standbys he could be counted on to eat such as Spicy Cheese Enchiladas and Sweet Potato & Black Bean Burritos are off the menu. Around the same time, I was diagnosed with silent reflux, which was giving me a cough that kept me up all night. Eliminating caffeine (I KNOW!) and tomato sauce, plus eating lighter in the evenings, largely reversed this condition.

So, no pasta main dishes and no tomato sauce for the adults in the house. These are two ingredients my boys essentially live on, in their myriad forms. For a while, I was making lovely grain salads and roasted vegetables for J. and me, and then throwing some pasta on the side for the boys. (They would occasionally eat the vegetables, A. more often than G.) But I was definitely falling back into the “different shape of pasta every night” type of meal variety, and that is not a place I want to be again. Years after she first shared this bit of wisdom, I still think about advice my friend Karen gave me regarding cooking outside the box for our kids: “If you don’t serve it, you have a 100% chance that the kids won’t eat it.”

With that tidbit back at the front of my mind, I want to get back to cooking more chicken dishes, more tofu, and more vegetarian meals that can straddle the different needs of all our family members. For instance, vegetarian soup (me and J.) with homemade bread (boys) and perhaps roasted chicken (me and the boys) or fish (J. and one or both boys). I also wanted to get back to cooking a saucy, pasta-based dish once a week that the boys can enjoy even if J. and I are not. They miss their Spinach Lasagna Roll-Ups.

Monday: Carrot Soup with Miso & Sesame, roasted Brussels sprouts, Sweet Potato Rolls

Tuesday: Spaghetti & Scallion Turkey Meatballs with Soy-Ginger Glaze, green salad

Wednesday: Leftovers

Thursday: Easy Chicken Chili, whole grain tortilla chips, garden salad

Friday: Mighty Grains Salad, Pull-Apart Challah, Roasted Carrots with Thyme

Saturday: Eat out

Sunday: Grilled hamburgers, Potato Leek Soup (from the freezer), garden salad

For more menu planning ideas, check out Laura at Organizing Junkie.

The post Menu Plan Monday, 1/14 through 1/20 appeared first on chickinthekitchen.com.

We hosted a TV-watching football tailgate yesterday with 14 adults and 15 kids, so my mind has been on food and prep for that event rather than the turkey-centric day that is looming. However, that party has been cleaned up so it is time to focus on one of my favorite holidays of the year and definitely my favorite holiday to host: Thanksgiving.

Want to see what I’ve done for previous Thanksgivings? Here’s 2011, 2010, 2009, and 2008. I’ve actually just passed the fifth anniversary of Chick in the Kitchen, which saw its first post on November 1, 2007, though I did not write about our feast that year.

Our menu this year has a preposterous number of sides, but I have so much produce from our farm share, and a lot of the dishes are lighter than traditional Turkey Day accompaniments, that I think it will be just fine. We’re also not doing a second meat entree this year, so more vegetarian sides makes sense. However, if anyone is able to walk way from the table after dessert, I will be really surprised.

Pre-feast:
Beer & Cheese Pairing (see How to Build a Cheese Plate)
beer, cheese plate, water crackers, dried fruit

Feast:
spatchcocked turkey & gravy (last year’s turkey is the photo above)
canned cranberry sauce*
Cranberry Sauce with Port & Dried Figs
Celeriac & Apple Salad
green bean casserole*
sweet potato & marshmallow casserole*
Vegetarian Collard Greens
Mushroom & Leek Dressing
Roasted Parsnips

Post-feast:
fruit salad*
cranberry apple crisp*
pecan pie*
apple caramel walnut pie*
chocolate kid-friendly dessert*
Carrot Cake Cupcakes

All asterisks are either being purchased or brought by guests.

Have a wonderful holiday!

The post Thanksgiving 2012: The Plan appeared first on chickinthekitchen.com.

We had a lovely Mother’s Day brunch here yesterday, with J.’s homemade caramel sauce, espresso ice cream with ribbons of dark chocolate and caramel, and Ina Garten’s Outrageous Brownies for dessert. Hello, decadence. There was watermelon on the dessert table, too, but I sure didn’t see too many pieces of the fruit eaten!

Monday: Grilled Honey Spiced Chicken, challah, Sweet Potato & Kale Bites (pretending it’s Shabbat)

Tuesday: Delicious Dinner Rolls, sliced cheese, Mediterranean Eggplant & Barley Salad

Wednesday: Spaghetti & Slow Cooker Italian-Style Turkey Meatballs, garden salad

Thursday: Easy Chicken Chili (from the freezer). whole grain tortilla chips, garden salad

Friday: Chicken soup with noodles (from the freezer), challah, roasted cauliflower and broccoli

Saturday: Grilled hamburgers & hot dogs, grilled vegetables

Sunday: Picking up new foster pups! Eat out or order in

For more menu planning ideas, check out Laura at Organizing Junkie.

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