Garlic and Chive Mashed Cauliflower

Going way on trend here and making use of the most uneaten vegetable on the veggie tray at a party. You know that it's true. Everyone is all yum, broccoli, tomatoes, cucumbers...then they see the white stuff (not the ranch dip) and pass.

It makes crusts, steaks, roasts, filling for tacos, and has recently has made headlines for its excellent substitution for potatoes in the ever classic mash. Without further ado (had to google that because I have only ever said it, not written it!), I give you.....Mashed Cauliflower.

Here's the set up. 1 head of cauliflower, 1/4 c chives/green onions, 2 cloves garlic minced (if you aren't using the frozen Trader Joe's, why not?), 1 tbsp chicken or veggie stock, and 1/4 c cream cheese. In the picture I have the fake cream cheese but use real if you have it! Although I will say the vegan cream cheese was really great in them and Joey didn't even notice. 

 Chop cauliflower into similar sized pieces. They can be big, small whatever you prefer, but they will cook all the same if they are close to each other in size.

 Bring pot of SALTED water to boil and throw the cauliflower in. It will take about 10-15 minutes to cook.  To know that they are done, you should be able to stick a fork right into the pot and easily pierce the cauliflower - a.k.a. fork tender.

The fun begins. Break out the gadgets! Use a hand blender, or a real blender if you don't have this guy.

 I put the chives, garlic, stock, and cream cheese (not pictured sorry!) right in the bowl.  Drain cauliflower when done and put directly into the bowl. Fire up the blender and blend to your desired consistency.

Voila! You have mashed cauliflower. Pat yourself on the back for being trendy and kind to the lonely white veggie.

Recipe Recap:

1 Head Cauliflower

1/4 c green onions

2 cloves garlic, chopped or minced 

1/4 c cream cheese

2 tbsp chicken or veggie stock

Bring pot of salted water to boil

Put cauliflower in boiling water for 10-15 minutes until fork tender

Drain and combine with rest of ingredients in a bowl

Hand blend or use a stand blender until your desired consistency.

Enjoy!

Make these and come back here and tell me how you liked them. :-)

Shrimp Verde

A.K.A. Green Shrimps. Probably one of the easier recipes I've made, simply for the fact there are 4 ingredients. Shrimp, rice, Salsa verde, and chicken broth. Probably everything is in your pantry minus the shrimp. Super uber delicious.

Cook rice according to directions with 1 cup broth, 1/2 c salsa verde. Let those flavors get all up in the rice. I love the Trader Joe's organic brown basmati (quick cook). It is done in around 20 minutes. P.S. as a side tip, if you want any extra flavor with anything that is usually boiled in water, flavor it up with your favorite broth or add any seasonings you like. Adding the salsa verde from the get go really gave the rice a great flavor.

 Olive oil on med-high heat.

 Oh yes, one more ingredient if you are garlic lovers like us, I add 2 of these beauties into pan right in with the shrimp.

 I use Trader Joe's Argentinian Red Shrimp from the frozen section. It's peeled, deveined, and cooks up really nice. They are a little bit bigger too.

 Right after you add shrimp, add rest of the salsa verde (1/2 c) into the pan along with the shrimp with a little salt and pepper (just a pinch or two).

 Let them simmer for 2-3 minutes until pink and your shrimp will be done. Be careful to not overcook your shrimp or it'll taste like rubber. Shrimp cooks incredibly fast so don't think just because it's just a couple of minutes they won't be done...promise, they will be!

 I just serve up the rice and shrimp all together and enjoy.

Here's the rundown:

1 16oz. bottle of mild salsa verde (still gives it a nice kick)
1 lb shrimp peeled and deveined
1 cup quick cook TJs basmati rice
1 cup chicken broth
Optional 2 cloves garlic

Cook rice according to directions on package until done (substituting salsa verde and broth for the water)
1 tbsp olive oil in med/high heat pan. Add shrimp, s&p, garlic and salsa verde. Simmer and flip shrimp for 2-3 minutes each side until slightly pink.

Serve together and enjoy.

Joey and I were huge fans of this and will make it again soon. Inexpensive and delicious, and took about 20 minutes start to finish, and there were plenty of leftovers to dig into the next day!

Tomato and Spinach Israeli Couscous

I am really into Israeli couscous lately -  it randomly caught Joey's eye at the grocery the other day and we had it plain cooked in chicken broth and it was really good. So this time I thought I'd jazz it up a bit with a couple of fresh additions. There are so many flavor combos out there in the www for me to try. I think next I may try a lemon/bacon combo - goat cheese with tomatoes and basil - mint and citrus? I might get a little carried away - but it's SO easy to make so why not play around with it a little?

Ingredients:

1 cup israeli couscous (I got mine in bulk section of my specialty grocer)

1 1/4 c chicken broth or chicken stock

1 handful spinach (make sure to rough chop)

2/3 c sliced grape tomatoes

s&p to taste

How to do it (easy!)

Bring broth to boil on high heat in small sauce pan -  as soon as you see it boil, add couscous, bring back up to boil - should take 10 seconds or so. Add a pinch or two of kosher salt and a couple of spins of black pepper. Then cover, and turn heat down to low. Don't bother it for about 7- 8 minutes. Give it a quick stir and add your spinach and tomatoes. Cover again until the spinach wilts - about 2 minutes. You will see the couscous has absorbed all the chicken broth. Finish with a hit of olive oil, stir and serve!

Enjoy! A super easy side that is faster to make, and more delicious than most!

Breakfast Sammies

Joey and I have had trouble remembering to eat breakfast daily. It's the most important meal of the day- hellur! We needed something that will keep us full until lunch and have a on-the-go quality without being fast food. Enter - the freezer breakfast sammich.

I sent Joey this picture of these Egg Rings from Williams Sonoma - these were a splurge/impulse buy -I  could pretty much hear him swooning over text. If you don't want to blow a ridiculous amount on egg rings (we have been talking about them for weeks so it was time to splurge), muffin tins work pretty good too.

I got the Whole Grain english muffins, but any type of bread you want will work fine too!

6 English Muffins (or bread of your choice)

6 eggs

6 slices American Cheese (or any cheese of your choice)

3 slices turkey bacon (news flash: Joey didn't know it was turkey bacon until I told him, HA!)

6 baggies

patience :-)

 Overall this will take you about 20 minutes to do. How to help pass the time? Watch Scandal DVR at the same time. ;-)

Start by cooking your turkey bacon - you want to cook this all the way through!! Probably about 5 minutes on each side and then drain on paper towels. Then give it a rough chop. Set to the side until you are ready to cook up your eggs.

Scramble your eggs in a bowl. Add some pepper if you want. There is salt in the bacon already that will help season the eggs.

The egg rings!  Heat a non-stick pan to medium heat. Spray your ring and pan with nonstick cooking spray!! I learned this the hard way. 

About 1/4 c is one egg. Add some bacon in your egg scramble. This is where the egg rings get a little complicated. I didn't want to flip super runny eggs so I covered the pan and hoped that the egg would cook through better that way, and it did! So while there was still a little runny-ness on top, it was easy to remove the egg ring and give the egg "patty" a quick flip. 

(Or muffin pan at 350 for 20 minutes) When building sandwich using muffin tin eggs, I slice them hortizontally to cover more of the english muffin, if you go that route!

It's not beautiful but it definitely does the job! When finished, place on plate and let cool for a few minutes. 

 The best part! Building your sandwich.  I used american cheese slices, but you can use whatever your heart desires. Slice your english muffin with a serrated knife. Add egg and cheese.

Seal your breakfast sandwich and put in the freezer for breakfast for the week!

When ready to eat, wrap sandwich in a paper towel and heat for 45 seconds, check if it is hot enough for your liking, and enjoy! The cheese gets really melty and delish.

These are super awesome to grab and go to work everyday, because if you are like me, I get ready in the mornings for work by the minute. Sleep is not wasted in our house.

The Easiest Soup You Will Ever Make

My mom's friend shared the following recipe with her (Thanks, Rose!), and my mom graciously shared it with me. It is the easiest soup to make.....ever. This will feed several people. Perfect for a cold day, quick dinner, unexpected guests, or just cause you're feeling it!

The ingredients....yes, just these!

Beautiful!

If I had to name this soup - it would be Black Bean, Roasted Corn & Rice Soup.  But that's a little long, so you can just say "That Trader Joe's Bean Soup"

The ingredients are:

1 bag frozen roasted corn from Trader Joe's
1 bag chimichurri rice from Trader Joe's
1 box Latin Style Black Bean soup from Trader Joe's
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed.

Pour all into a pot, cover, heat through until everything is hot - about 30 minutes stirring occasionally on med-low.

I served it with a little shredded cheddar and oyster crackers.

I think next time I will add cubed cooked chicken for a non-vegetarian option.

Seriously- that's it! Perfect substitution for chili if you are a vegetarian.  After Joey had some he said to "add it to the list", so you know it's good.

Next time you are at Trader Joe's, pick these items up and keep them handy for a last minute dinner idea - it will seem like you worked all day on it. So quick and easy!