{More Adventures in the Kitchen}

I think about 90% of my activity on {Pinterest} is repinning recipes to try. Now I have my own kitchen and am very excited to roll up my sleeves and get cookin’!

Kale Chips

My first order of business was kale chips: I had heard they were a great alternative to potato chips. I don’t know about you but when I need a snack, I need to hear that satisfying ~crunch~ sound! I was eager to try out this healthy snack but with my own twist.

I snagged the very last bag of frozen kale for $1.79 at Trader Joe’s. I poured about half of the bag in a large mixing oil and tossed with olive oil, salt & pepper and my twist: Cajun seasoning! My goal was to give my chips a punch with that crunch (…I couldn’t help the rhyme).

I baked in the oven at 300 degrees for one hour on a baking sheet.

My kale chips did not turn out crunchy like I’d hoped but they still tasted delicious. I think perhaps it was because the kale was frozen and retained water, which led to a less-than-crunchy result. However, the silver lining of this adventure is my cajun kale chips will taste phenomenal piled on top of a sandwich or tossed into a salad. The Cajun seasoning adds zest to either of these meals!

Oven Roasted Veggies

Last Saturday, I babysat for a mommy blogger, {Frugal Mama}. I read her blog before I headed to her home and made a mental note to try out her oven roasted veggies recipe. Lucky for me, she handed me a bowl of oven roasted veggies over penne with a little bit of parmesan! It was delicious and the next day, I purchased tomatoes and 2 zucchinis, all ready for roasting.

I chopped up the tomatoes and zucchinis and placed in my lovely Ikea mixing bowl:

I tossed the mixture with olive oil, a pinch of salt & pepper and healthy shakes of basil and red pepper flakes. I then spread evenly on a baking sheet (sprayed with Pam for good measure) and cooked for 1 hour on 350 degrees. After 30 minutes, I took out the baking sheet and gave the veggies a good stir to evenly roast.

After an hour in the oven, these veggies came out perfectly. Then, I placed the mixture on a bed of angel hair pasta. No sauce necessary.

Talk about an easy dinner to prepare! The best part? I had enough leftovers for another meal. In total with the veggies and spaghetti, I paid less than $5 for the total amount. That equals a delicious, easy meal for a mere $2.38!! I’m not just a girl on a budget, I’m a happy & healthy girl on a budget 🙂

Have you had adventures in the kitchen? Do you have tips on kale chips? Please share!