{"id":8643,"date":"2011-04-22T11:22:29","date_gmt":"2011-04-22T16:22:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/crankymouse.com\/?p=8643"},"modified":"2011-04-23T11:28:18","modified_gmt":"2011-04-23T16:28:18","slug":"homemade-potato-chips-and-avocado-ranch-dip-for-an-earth-day-virtual-picnic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crankymouse.com\/index.php\/2011\/04\/22\/homemade-potato-chips-and-avocado-ranch-dip-for-an-earth-day-virtual-picnic\/","title":{"rendered":"Homemade Potato Chips and Avocado Ranch Dip for an Earth Day Virtual Picnic for the Planet"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s Earth Day! Come celebrate with a Virtual Picnic in honor of the Picnic for the Planet<\/a> the Nature Conservancy<\/a> are hosting around the globe today. We’re bringing crisp baked potato chips and avocado ranch dip with us. Won’t you join us?<\/em>
\n\"\"
\nWarming weather to this family means plenty of outdoor eating, sitting in the grass and running through wide open spaces. We love a good picnic, especially if it involves all the lovely picnic foods like potato salad and hamburgers. However, one thing our picnics lack is potato chips. We don’t buy them, and my dear husband hasn’t had one pass his lips in over 15 years. While he’ll tell you that he doesn’t miss the salty crunch potato chips bring to the party, I was bound and determined to find a potato chip recipe that he would deem acceptable for consumption. Turns out baking potatoes, even in chip form, does not a potato chip make. According to him.
\n
According to me, I made homemade potato chips. Baked. Then I topped it of by making a creamy avocado ranch dip to scoop up in my homemade potato goodness. We’re ready to picnic and potato chips are invited to the party.

\n\"\"<\/a>We’re inviting you to a Picnic for the Planet today in honor of Earth Day. Get involved and check out these five things you can do to support the planet:<\/strong>
\nEat Smart.<\/em> Know where your food comes from and what’s in it.
\nEat Local.<\/em> Shop at farmers’ markets, join a CSA, locate a co-op or buy direct from a farm.
\nEat Sustainably.<\/em> Choose sustainable options when purchasing seafood.
\nEat Green.<\/em> Look for organic options and add more produce to your diet, and be sure to check out the Eat Well, Spend Less<\/a> series to do it on a budget.
\nEat Out.<\/em> Join the Picnic for the Planet and eat outside today, celebrating what we have all around us.<\/p>\n


Start by thinly slicing potatoes. I used Sara<\/a>‘s mandoline for nice, even slices, but you could also do this with a vegetable peeler or in your food processor, too.
\n\"\"
\nLay out the potatoes and brush lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. These get put into a fairly hot oven and then baked into golden glory goodness. Drain them on a baking rack, paper bag or kitchen towel.
\n\"\"
\nFor the dip, we’re going to start with creamy and ripe avocados. Mine were a gift from California Avocados Direct<\/a> and were some of the best avocados I’ve had<\/a>. They were fresh and creamy and completely void of those annoying strings you so often see in store-bought avocados. The creamy green was perfect for eating on its own or turning into dips and spreads or, in this case, avocado ranch dip.
\n\"\"
\nMix in Greek yogurt, lemon juice, a cocktail of spices and herbs and mash in the avocados for a dip that is made for those hearty potato chips.
\n\"\"
\nPacked tightly inside a lemon-rubbed canning jar and then covered with a piece of parchment, this avocado dip won’t brown nearly as easily as guacamole. Squeeze out as many air bubbles as you can while packing, cover with a piece of parchment right on top and then seal with the lid. You’ll be good for 24 hours.
\n\"\"
\nLightly oiled potato chips hold up to this creamy ranch dip and will have the kids squealing and may even reform those on self-imposed potato chip bans. Plus, they’re perfect picnic eats.
\n\"\"
\nHappy Earth Day! Thank you so much to Amber<\/a> and Aimee<\/a> for coordinating the whole thing! Come join our virtual picnic by visiting the rest of our group:<\/strong>

\nSimple Bites | Pressed Sandwiches<\/a>
\nMy Baking Addiction | Mixed Berry Cheesecakes in a Jar<\/a>
\nBluebonnets & Brownies | Nanny’s Potato Salad<\/a>
\nGourmande in the Kitchen | Honey Ginger Lemonade<\/a>
\nDine & Dish | Sangria<\/a>
\nAdd A Pinch | Herbed Tortellini Salad<\/a>
\nBakers Royale | Fruit Recipe Roundup<\/a>
\nThree Many Cooks | Black and White Caviar<\/a>
\nFood for My Family | Homemade Potato Chips and Avocado Ranch Dip<\/a>
\nSugarcrafter |Apple Hand Pies<\/a>
\nTickled Red | Tangy Potato Salad<\/a>
\nWhat’s Cooking with Kids | Kale Chips<\/a>
\nConfessions of a Cookbook Queen | Mini Lemonade Cakes<\/a>
\nTidyMom | Picnic Pies in a Jar<\/a><\/p>\n


Today’s recipe was inspired by and adapted from the cheeky wonder, Brooke McLay<\/a>. I’ve been dreaming of potato chips ever since I saw hers, and I knew I needed to bring them into my own kitchen and out on a picnic with me.<\/p>\n

\n\n\n
\n

Baked Potato Chips<\/a><\/h2>\n<\/td>\n

Print me!<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n
\n2 pounds potatoes
\n1\/4 cup olive oil
\nsea salt
\n
Preheat oven to 400\u00b0 F. Using a mandoline or vegetable peeler, shave potatoes into very thin slices. Lay slices onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Brush lightly with olive oil on both sides and sprinkle lightly with sea salt.
\n
Bake at 400\u00b0 F for 15 minutes or until potatoes start to turn golden on one side. Flip the slices and continue baking for another 7-10 minutes. Flip again and bake until potatoes are golden brown and crisp, another 5-10 minutes. Cool slightly and serve warm or cool completely and store in airtight container.
\n

\nMakes 6 cups potato chips.
\n
Copyright © Food for My Family<\/a>.<\/center><\/font>\n<\/div>\n


<\/p>\n

\n\n\n
\n

Avocado Ranch Dip<\/a><\/h2>\n<\/td>\n

Print me!<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n
\n2 avocados
\n1 cup Greek yogurt
\n2 tablespoons lemon juice
\n1 tablespoon fresh chives, finely chopped
\n1 tablespoon fresh flat-leaf parsley, minced
\n1 teaspoon dried dill
\n1 teaspoon onion powder
\n1 teaspoon garlic powder
\n1\/2 teaspoon kosher salt
\nchips and vegetables for dipping
\n
Peel and mash avocados. Mix avocados with Greek yogurt and lemon juice. Stir in chives, parsley, dill, onion powder, garlic powder and salt. Serve with homemade potato chips, pita chips or fresh vegetables for dipping.
\n

\nMakes 3 cups.
\n
Copyright © Food for My Family<\/a>.<\/center><\/font>\n<\/div>\n


<\/p>\n

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It’s Earth Day! Come celebrate with a Virtual Picnic in honor of the Picnic for the Planet the Nature Conservancy are hosting around the globe today. We’re bringing crisp baked potato chips and avocado ranch dip with us. Won’t you join us? Warming weather to this family means plenty of outdoor eating, sitting in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[38,23,10],"tags":[621,619,620],"class_list":{"0":"post-8643","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-appetizers","7":"category-featured","8":"category-recipes","9":"tag-avocados","10":"tag-picnic","11":"tag-potato-chip-recipes","12":"entry","13":"has-post-thumbnail"},"mv":{"thumbnail_id":null,"thumbnail_uri":null},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crankymouse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8643","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crankymouse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crankymouse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crankymouse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crankymouse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8643"}],"version-history":[{"count":33,"href":"https:\/\/crankymouse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8643\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8709,"href":"https:\/\/crankymouse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8643\/revisions\/8709"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crankymouse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8643"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crankymouse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8643"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crankymouse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8643"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}