Beet Chips

I've bought beet chips a handful of times.  They are a family favorite, but I felt like I could make them myself and save some money.  While grocery shopping I spotted some beautiful beets and had to pick them up!

So, I looked up several different recipes for them and found out they are super easy to make and taste just like store bought (better in my opinion!)  Side note--while looking up various recipes for beet chips I came across 2 great food blogs that are new to me.  They are Fix Me A Snack and Natural Noshing.  Definitely worth checking out!  Okay, back to the beets...Beet chips really don't require much hands-on time, but can take a little while in the oven.  You don't need any special kitchen equipment, although a mandolin would be nice, to make these.  I don't own a mandolin, but I do have a sharp knife and it worked out great.  You'll want an apron on too since the beet juice can stain your clothes.  Your fingers will turn pink, but a quick soap and water wash takes care of the pink.

Beet Chips
Ingredients
Fresh beets (I prefer the organic ones as opposed to risking some of the GMO possibilities)
Olive oil (spray is preferred)
Coarse sea salt (optional)
Directions
Heat your oven to 350
Scrub the beets and cut the root tip end off and discard it.  If your beets come with all the greens on them too, just trim these off (you can saute or stir-fry the greens if desired) a few inches above the beet.  These stem parts become a great handle while slicing the beets.
Use a sharp knife or mandolin to thinly slice the beets.  Try to get each slice as even as you can and to be about 1/8 inch thick.  If using a knife, just go slow.

Spread the beet slices in a single layer on a baking sheet.
Lightly spray the beet slices with the olive oil and sprinkle some salt on them.  If you wish, you can flip them over and spray and salt the other side as well.  If you don't have olive oil spray, just toss the slices in a bowl with a bit of olive oil.
Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.  Keep an eye on them.  You want to see them change from deep red to light pink in color.

The length of cook time depends on how thinly you cut them.  Some of mine were closer to a 1/4 inch and these took significantly longer--closer to 30-35 minutes.  As they turned pink I removed them from the cooking sheet to cool and left the others to continue cooking.  I did have to cook something else before the beets were done, so I just set them on the stove while the other dish cooked then I put the beets back in the oven.  They still turned out great!