Cheesy (Nooch) Kale Chips

Do you see this crispy kale chip, with yummy noochy-y cheesy goodness in every little crinkle?  These are some damned good kale chips yo.  I bit the bullet and bought a big bag of nutritional yeast.  Why I waited this long is beyond me.  It's chock full of B-vitamins and packs a huge protein punch.  Dressed up a bit it's like a close relative of parmesan cheese.  There are billions of kale chip recipes out there with nooch, some complicated, some not.  Most of them call for a base of pulverized cashews, which I neither had on hand nor like using much.  They are quite starchy and fatty without the antioxidants and nutrients of many other nuts/seeds.  And they're expensive to boot.  I also wasn't a huge fan of the quantity most recipes called for- we're talking a cup or more!  Ick no thanks.  Knowing how easy it is to polish off an entire batch of kale chips, that is a ton of cashew to be eating.

So here is what I came up with, and it did not disappoint.  Tweak and experiment until you get the perfect sauce, it's hard to go wrong.

Cheesy Kale Chips
1 bunch kale chips, stems removed (I have found that curly works best)
1/4 cup sesame seeds
3 tbsp GF soy sauce
2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
6 tbsp nutritional yeast
4 green onions
1 cup grape tomatoes
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
juice of one lemon

Process your sesame seeds with red pepper flakes, salt, and garlic powder until it resembles flour.  Add your nooch, tomatoes, green onions (i didn't chop either first), soy, lemon juice, and process until you have a non-chunky sauce.  Taste it and adjust accordingly with more seasonings/liquids.

Dump your torn up kale pieces in a bowl of your sauce and coat well.  Spread out in a thin layer on foiled/greased baking sheet and bake until crisp.  How you bake these depends on a couple things.  Do you have a dehydrator?  How low does your oven go?  Do you care if these are cooked or do you want them "raw"?  If you want to eat them quickly and don't care about raw-ness- throw them in at 325, and they'll be done in minutes.  Watch them though because burnt kale is freaking nast.  If you have more time and your oven does low-temp, try 200 for 90 minutes.  The absolute best way to do these is to dehydrate over night- alas, I have no dehydrator.

Have fun with kale peeps!  XoXoGFG