Mashed Cauliflower

I was so happy when restaurants started serving this as an alternative to mashed potatoes. Sadly, as the Atkins craze started to fizzle, most restaurants pulled the side from their menus. I still like to make it though, and have gotten a few people hooked on it. 

The key to this dish is to give it enough spice that it isn't bland. I've tried all kinds of different cheeses in this dish and never had it turn out bad. Feel free to try anything from American cheese slices to diet powdered "Cheese Buds". 

1 medium head cauliflower

1Tbsp garlic powder

1 Tbsp onion powder

1/2 cup shredded cheese

2 Tbsp spreadable butter

Cut cauliflower into bite sized pieces and boil in a pot of salted water until tender (20-25 minutes). I find that the longer it boils, the better. Drain the cauliflower well in a colander. Transfer to a stand mixer or bowl to mix it with a hand mixer. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. 

You can freeze this side dish in freezer bags and defrost on the counter in about an hour or overnight in the fridge. The photo above is defrosted from my freezer, which is why it appears a bit runny. Heat it back up in the oven and give it a good stir, and it will be good as new. 

Chicken with Lemon

I went crazy over this recipe! It really tastes restaurant genuine. This may have been my first time using flour to dredge chicken and I'll surely be trying it more in the future! I loved it so much that after making it for someone else's dinner, I ran home and whipped up a batch for my own dinner and served it over...(you guessed it) spaghetti squash. Omg, awesome and filling! I was definitely satisfied and there was no snacking after dinner this night.

 

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper, to taste
Flour, for dredging
2 Tbsp olive oil

2 garlic cloves, whole
1 Tbsp capers
1 cup white cooking wine
1 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

1 Tsp onion powder

 

Recipe Adapted from The Recipe Club

Cut your chicken into bite sized pieces, you can do this right in the package it comes in. Coat the chicken in enough flour just to cover it. Add salt and pepper to taste.

 

In a saucepan, heat up oil on medium heat. Add the garlic and capers and cook for a minute or two. Add the chicken, browning on all sides. You will see the "sauce" start to thicken naturally as the dredged chicken makes it's own roux! Add the remaining ingredients, cooking for an additional 5 minutes or so. The sauce should be thick and look creamy. If you don't want someone to mistake a garlic clove for a piece of chicken and get a big surprise, find the cloves and smash them at this point and then mix thoroughly.

This can be served over almost anything and it will taste great. The flavors are very bold. Throw it over pasta or mashed potatoes if you are in the mood for carbs.

Zucchini Pizzas

 If you didn't get enough vegetable pizza goodness from my recent post of Cauliflower Crust Pizzas, here is another great pizza recipe with a vegetable base. I'm not as crazy about them as the cauliflower ones but they are still a good healthy option. They may not be as acceptable to kids and husbands, but give them a try. They are so easy that this recipe barely has an ingredient list.

 

Cut zucchini in 1/4-1/8 inch slices. Spray or brush a baking sheet with olive oil. Then lay out the zucchini. Spray or brush the top of them with olive oil again. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 5 minutes. Then take them out and assemble your pizzas. I added tomato sauce, pizza shredded cheese blend, and then topped off each one with a slice of turkey pepperoni. You can add any toppings you desire. Raise the oven temperature to 500 degrees and bake an additional 5-7 minutes until cheese bubbles. Let sit for 5 minutes after they come out of the oven, as this will help stop the topping from sliding off the zucchini when you try to eat them.

Cauliflower Crust Pizzas

I try to pass healthy things off on my husband and people all the time. In fact we have the same conversation every night, yet it never stops him from trying to get it out of me what he's getting served.

Husband: "What's for dinner?"

Wife: "Food!"

Husband: "What kind of food?"

Wife: "The kind you eat!"

Husband: "I love that kind!" (Starts lifting pot lids and peeking in fridge)

This happens EVERY night in our house, I kid you not. So when I tried to pass this off on him, I was pretty convinced he would not go for it. He was outside working so he didn't see me making it at all and I brought it out to him so we could enjoy it on the patio. After eating one, he clearly knew something was up and I admitted what it was. He was pleasantly surprised. He knew it wasn't pizza crust but couldn't even attempt to put his finger on what it was. After devouring his plate, he exclaimed, to a very stunned wife: "That was great! Is there more?". I think we found a winner in this house! It's picky husband approved!

Crusts:
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups pizza cheese blend
1 grated cauliflower head
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley

 

Combine ingredients and spoon out crusts onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and sprayed with nonstick spray. Don't use wax paper because it will be hard to pull the crusts off. Shape them into squares and they will stay together remarkably well. Bake in a 500 degree oven for 15 minutes. I liked them crispier. Don't be worried if the oven smokes a bit, it's just the spray baking off.

 

Recipe Adapted from Fat Girl Trapped In A Skinny Body

 

Top with whatever you like. I used some tomato sauce and turkey pepperoni with extra cheese on top. Then I baked it for 5-7 minutes more until the top cheese melted.



Hindsight:

What is it about cauliflower that is SO smelly? The first night I went to make this, I realized I didn't have eggs so I hung onto it in a bowl in my fridge. My house smelled like farts for DAYS! If I have one complaint about this versatile vegetable, that would be it!

I still haven't found a great and quick way to grate the cauliflower. The first time I made it, I used a cheese grater. The second, I tried a food chopper but it didn't do a great job and you had to load it a little at a time so it took just as long. Either way, it's going to make a mess. I'll update this if I discover a better way and if anyone else finds one, please comment and share the knowledge!

Stuffed Spaghetti Squash with Feta, Tomatoes, and Chicken

I'm having a bit of a love affair with spaghetti squash lately. This excellent recipe uses it as a pasta and it's served scooped back into itself.

 

1 spaghetti squash

1 can or package of cooked chicken breast, shredded

1/4 cup feta cheese crumbles

10 cherry tomatoes, cut in half

2 Tsp olive oil

2 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

2 Tbsp minced onion

2 Tbsp garlic powder

 

Recipe Adapted from Heat Oven to 350

 

Roast the spaghetti squash according to these directions. You can leave the strands in the squash after you scrape it. In a small bowl, mix tomatoes with oil, parsley, garlic, and onion. 

Spoon mixture over squash and mix in slightly with a fork. Top with chicken, then feta. Bake in a casserole dish in a 350 degree oven until feta starts to melt (10-15 minutes depending on the mixing temperature of the squash).



The skinny on cooking Spaghetti Squash

 Well, my self administered goal of publishing one blog per day has been broken. My husband took a "staycation" this week so I have been enjoying time with him and cooking up goodies instead of posting about them. So, I wanted to do a more in-depth blog today and share everything I've recently learned about my newest diet obsession: spaghetti squash!

 

I don't really know how I've gone so long without trying such a versatile food. I recently just tried it with a bit of Parmesan cheese and fake butter and I was like "Oh my GOD, this is like awesome fake pasta!" In the past year, I have lost over 40lbs by writing down everything I eat and I've definitely discovered that carbs are my weakness. I try not to sit down once a week now and indulge in a recipe that is generally a big plate of pasta. I try not to down the huge shaker of Parmesan cheese that I've grown accustomed to buying. So, when I discovered this, I was mentally doing cartwheels! I have tried a bunch of recipes since then, which I will share in later blogs. For now, I want to share what I have learned about cooking it since I've read so much conflicting information out there and also seen my friends post spaghetti squash fails!

 The first way is to cut it first and then roast it in the oven. It is HARD to get through so please try not to slice off any appendages and cut it lengthwise through. Then, scoop out the seeds with a spoon until it's clean. Then place them cut side DOWN in a casserole dish with a half inch of water or broth. Why would you use water though, when you can infuse your food with flavor? Get creative! Vegetable broth, beef broth, chicken broth; compliment the end recipe! Then roast them in a 375 degree oven for an hour.

 When they come out, flip them over to cool. Then, when they are cool enough to handle, scrape the insides with a fork and the magic that is spaghetti squash will amaze you!

 The second way to cook it is to roast it first and then cut it. To do so, poke holes in the squash or it WILL explode on you when you pierce it after it's roasted. Poke several holes all the way through and roast it in a 375 degree oven for 30 minutes on one side, then flip, and 30 minutes on the other. When it comes out, let it cool. When it is cool enough to handle, cut it lengthwise. Scape out the seeds, careful to not scrape too much of the vegetable with it, and discard. Then scrape it with a fork to make your strands.

 I have to say that the second method was certainly easier at first, but I was not a fan. First of all, there was much more waste. Just look at the top left corner of the above photo and see for yourself. So, lets compare the end result.

The photo on the left was the clear winner for me (the first method). The squash was crisper, more flavorful, and held up better. I think the second method could certainly lead to a recipe fail if you mixed it a lot! But this is just my experience, so take my advice or learn for yourself.

Either way, you should definitely try the spaghetti squash in all it's low carb awesomeness!

 

Note: I didn't try microwaving it, but you can. Poke it and microwave it for 10-12 minutes, turning every 3 or 4 minutes. I just don't cook foods in the microwave, especially vegetables. It just seems wrong to me, although it is certainly quicker and uses less energy. You can decide but I'm just not a microwave girl as you may have already discovered, hence the blog name.