Cheesy ones, spicy ones, plain ones, rippled ones, oniony ones, dipped ones, corny ones, baked ones, fried ones… Chips are one of my biggest food weaknesses. I love the crunch, and I love the salt. I am ashamed to admit that eating a whole bag in one or two sittings is not out of the question for me. And I don’t mean the single-serving bag either. Potatoes are vegetables, right? Health gurus always say we need more vegetables in our diets…
Hey, I never claimed to be the poster child for healthy living, but I really do try to make better choices most of the time, and I want to teach my kids to do better than I. One of my best choices is at the grocery store. If I don’t buy it, I can’t eat it, so I seldom buy chips, but I generally do not believe in diets or eating plans that completely eliminate a particular food. Now that I think about it, I think I could totally support a never-eat-liver or beets-again-diet. I actually follow that one religiously, and it has been no hardship whatsoever. Anyway, I do love to indulge in a crunchy snack occasionally. If you have a party, you will most likely find me hovering near the chip bowl, trying to act like I would never dream of putting the near-empty bag right up to my mouth to savor all of the extra-cheesy crumbs at the bottom of the bag.
When the mood strikes for crunchy, salty snacks, I now have an option that is at least a little bit healthier and cheaper than most varieties at the store. Within ten minutes you can whip up a batch of crunchy chips in the MICROWAVE without preservatives and without frying, and you can control the amount of salt you are getting. I was pretty amazed when I discovered this. And these chips are actually really GOOD. I did not think a person could get anything crunchy out of the microwave. Most things that you microwave that were crunchy before or should be crunchy are pretty soggy. Not these chips. If you take care to cut your potatoes thin, you can have chips that are light as air and super crunchy. My kids adore these chips.
Now, you are not likely to want to make enough of these chips for an entire party, but if you want a few chips to satisfy a craving or to snack on while you are reading a book or watching T.V. or to add to a healthy lunch, this is a great recipe.
Healthy-ish Homemade Potato Chips
Ingredients:
- 1 or more scrubbed potatoes (I have always used russet)
- Olive oil or olive oil spray (canola oil can also be used with good results, but olive oil is usually considered healthier)
- salt to taste
- Optional: Other spices you may like such as pepper, garlic salt, seasoning salt, etc.
Directions:
- Use a mandolin or very sharp knife to slice the cleaned potato into very thin and even slices. You can cut the potato into rounds
by cutting across the ends or cut the potato into long ovals by cutting down the sides of the potato. The thinner and more evenly you can cut them, the better your final product will be. - Line a large microwavable plate with parchment paper. Spray the paper lightly with olive oil spray.
- Place the potato slices on the parchment paper-lined plate in a single layer.
- Lightly spray the potatoes with olive oil spray. (Alternatively, first put the potato slices in a bowl and drizzle with a small amount of olive oil and toss. Add salt to taste and toss again.) Sprinkle with salt or other spices to taste.
- Place the plate of oiled and seasoned potatoes into the microwave and heat at regular temperature for several minutes to desired doneness. Everyone’s microwave works a little bit differently and the potatoes themselves vary in quality and moisture content. Also, the thickness of your slices will make a difference. Mine typically take between 7-10 minutes and can vary from one plate to another if I make multiple plates. Watch for the potatoes to begin getting very slightly browned and curling up on the edges. Be careful not to let them burn. If you stop them too soon, you can always restart the microwave for another minute at a time.
- Allow chips to cool and sit for a few minutes. They will usually get a little crispier as they cool. Enjoy!
- (If by some strange chance you have leftovers, keep them in an airtight container. They should keep for at least several days.)
Source: Slightly adapted from the recipe I originally saw at Emily Bites.
The winners of Friday’s chocolate chip cookie giveaway were Rebecca and Derika. Thank you to everyone who read and commented on the post!
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Very interesting! I have a lone potato in the pantry, so I might try this.
One lone potato sounds like the perfect opportunity to make homemade potato chips!
Eliot and I are going to try this recipe!
Oh good! We had some with our grilled burgers and coleslaw tonight. The key is to try to get the potato slices nice and thin and uniform across all the slices.
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Alright all you drunks…what’s your goto river cocktail to mix up? I was thinking something like this would be easy to make on the river: Strawberry Pineapple Punch