Garlic Chips

Garlic chips add a wonderful flavor as a topping to sauteed vegetables, pasta, mac and cheese, and other side dishes.   They can be a bit tedious to make as you have to watch them carefully so they don't burn, but the results are definitely worth it.  The cooking method is a bit different in that you add your olive oil and garlic slices to the pan before turning on the heat.  This way, the oil and garlic gradually heat up together, preventing the garlic from getting burned quickly as it would if you added it directly to hot oil.  We used garlic chips to top sauteed spinach, adding flavor as well as some crunchiness.

The next day we took leftovers of spinach, garlic chips, Costco rotisserie chicken, grape tomatoes, and pesto to make a quick pasta for dinner.

For those hardcore garlic lovers, it's hard to resist eating the garlic chips straight on their own.  My husband actually loved the garlic chips so much that he asked to make his own batch as a snack to bring to work.  Be forewarned that these will definitely give you garlic breath!   

Garlic Chips
Recipe from Pioneer Woman

5 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced very thin
3 Tablespoons olive oil
Salt

1. Pour olive oil in a large skillet and add garlic slices in a single layer.  Turn the stove on medium heat and let the oil and garlic heat up together. 
2. As the garlic starts to bubble, stir the garlic to cook on both sides.  (Or if you're meticulous like my husband, flip each slice individually to cook the other side.)  
3. Remove garlic from the oil with a slotted spoon when it reaches a golden brown color.  Place on a paper-towel lined plate to drain the oil. 
4. At this point, you have fragrant garlic-infused oil left in the skillet.  This would be great for sauteing vegetables, pouring over pasta, or mixing with balsamic vinegar as a dipping sauce for bread.