Chip Cravings

One of the biggest problems when you're pinching pennies is cravings. Everybody knows how this goes- you're sitting in bed, or in the garden, and suddenly nothing sounds better to you than a big greasy burger. Or a giant Peanut Butter Cup. But if you rush out every time a craving hits, you would end up with a smaller bank account and a much larger waist line. Scientists who have actually put man hours into researching this, believe that cravings only last about 30 minutes. I don't know how accurate that is, but I do believe you can succumb to cravings without losing out on money and health.

Dave's cravings are almost always for Potato chips. Here in Canada they have a flavour of chips called 'All Dressed' and they are truly disgusting. Kind of like Salt and Vinegar, but a lot worse. They also have a 'ketchup' flavour. And I thought Americans were bad! But I knew David would be coming home with those cravings today, so I thought I would make some chips to curb his cravings....which is only fair, because he often makes me brownies and stuff to curb MY chocolate cravings! I decided to make two varieties, some apple chips and some potato chips. We don't have a fryer, so we do everything that would be fried in the oven.

Potato Chips

3 potatoes, sliced thinly
1/4 c. butter
salt, pepper

Spread the potatoes on a baking sheet and brush with the butter.  Sprinkle with the salt and pepper, and bake in a 450 degree oven for about 20 minutes. I used butter, like was suggested in most recipes, but I think oil might be better. Next time I will try it that way.  Don't skin these. You can't taste the skins, but the vitamins are definitely there. It would be such a waste. You can also throw together some different spices if it's a particular flavour you're looking for. For Barbecue chips, you could toss some paprika, sugar, chili powder, and garlic powder together for a fairly convincing flavour. In fact, if you had one of those ranch seasoning packets, you could use that for some fun flavour. The only problem being, it's probably mostly salt. But experiment! Try lemon pepper, you never know!!

Apple Chips

1 or 2 apples
2 tbsp. all spice

Slice your apples thinly, and spread them out on a cookie sheet. Top them with a little bit of all spice and put them in a 200 degree oven for 90 minutes. That's it! Couldn't be simpler, right? I saw some recipes that called for sugar, but there's no way I was going to add sugar to these apples! They are already so sweet! But if you're using Granny Smith's, it may not be the worst idea. If you want a softer  chip, almost chewy, leave them in there for only about an hour or so. But for that distinct crisp, make sure they get the full 90 minutes. From the 2 ingredient recipe, I'm sure you've garnered that these are exceptionally healthy! If you've got kids, it would be a great go-to recipe for their snacks. But I think I would eat them all before they got to the kids!



I should mention I use my mandolin for both of  these recipes. It's okay if you don't have one, a knife works well, but a mandolin is a lot easier and prettier. Even slices means even cooking, so a mandolin helps give you a much finer end product. We got ours at Wal Mart, so there shouldn't be any trouble finding one. I love mine solely for making Scalloped potatoes and apple pie. Saves me from chopping off my fingers.

I found these to be a rousing success, and I think Dave did too. There's something really nice about knowing exactly what is in your food. Remember that having a craving doesn't have to be the end of the world. I like our home made pizza much better than delivery. Dave's brownies are 20 times better than anything you'd get at the store. And hopefully these chips will be one less craving that drives you crazy. Enjoy!