kale chips

I know I'm probably the last person on earth to jump on the kale bandwagon, but that's my style.  I made kale chips yesterday and I'm hooked.  More than a sweet tooth, I have a salty tooth.  These satisfy that craving for all things crunchy and salty. 

I tried a recipe from Tastefully Julie's website and click here for the Kale Chips link.  But basically, you just get kale (Tony picked up a package of organic baby kale), wash it, dry it thoroughly, add a tablespoon of olive oil to the kale in a ziploc bag, shake, shake, shake, lay it out on a cookie sheet and sprinkle some sea salt and bake for 20 minutes at 300.

Tastefully Julie's recipe has a lot more detail and hints so definitely check her site.  Plus, she has a nice printable recipe.  The picture above is from her site - she used the curly kind, but mine were flat because they were baby kale.  I'd heed her advice on using just a touch of salt though - mine were way too salty.

But I still LOVE them and love that I've found an easy and healthy snack.

behold the cheesecake

So this is me tackling the goal of making foods that scare me. Cheesecake has always been scary to me. But look. I made one and if I do say so myself, it was delicious.

The recipe is from the Magnolia Cookbook and since people asked for it, here's the recipe:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Crust: In a medium-sized bowl, combine 1 cup flour with 1/4 cup powdered sugar and 1 cup finely chopped toasted almonds. Cut in the butter until the ixture resembles coarse crumbs. Press into the bottom of a buttered 10-inch springform pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and cook on rack.

Filling: In a large bowl, on the low speed of a mixer, beat 2 pounds (4 eight-once packages) of cream cheese until VERY smooth. Gradually add 1 1/4 cups sugar. Add 5 large eggs, one at a time. Make sure you stop the mixer several times and scrape the sides and bottom of the boal. Stir in 2 TB heavy cream and 1 TB vanilla.

Pour the batter into the pan and set the pan on a baking sheet. Bake until edges are set and center momves only slightly when pan is shaken, about an hour. Remove the cheesecake to add topping.

Topping: 3 chopped heath bars (3/4 cup) and 3/4 cup chopped toasted almonds. Sprinkle both evenly ove the top of cake and return to oven to cool. Turn off the heat and using a wooden spoon to keep oven door slightly ajar, cook cake in oven for 1 hour before removing. Cover and refrigerate for 12 hours.

Remove cake from refrigerator at least 15-30 inutes before cutting and serving.