Wildtree: Cauliflower Scampi

I'm always looking for side dishes. And for me if they use vegetables that's even better..  While I find that I like veg a whole way lot more than I ever used to, I still get stuck in a rut more often with them than anything else.

I had a head of cauliflower that I needed to use up and I didn't really know what to do with it.  We were having garlic something for dinner that night so i thought instead of doing the standard Cauliflower mash, I try something different.  Something new.  :)  And that's how Cauliflower Scampi was born

Yummmm

Cauliflower Scampi
Ingredients
1 head cauliflower, chopped
2 T Wildtree roasted garlic grapeseed oil
2 T Wildtree Scampi blend

Directions
Toss all ingredients together.  Put in a roasting pan and roast at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes.

That's it.  That's all there is too it.  I like tasty.  I like easy.  Tasty and easy together is a Win-Win in the kitchen as far as I'm concerned

Enjoy!

Mashed Cauliflower

I like having things that feel "normal".  It keeps me aware that I'm not "on a diet", I'm living a healthy lifestyle.  That being said, I love mashed potatoes.  I could eat pounds of them.  And now that I've found a fantastic meatloaf recipe, I want meatloaf and mash for dinner.  A lot !  :)

So how do I get a good substitute for mashed potatoes and still stay Phase 1 friendly?  Mashed Cauliflower (or turnips, or a combination of the two - I'll have to try that and report back)

I've tried making mashed cauliflower before and the results were less than appetizing, but this mashed cauliflower recipe from Andover Diet Center is amazing!   Its creamy and fluffy like regular mashed potatoes, but its so much better for you.  I think there are 2 keys to its success - the milk (remember you get 1 oz of milk a day) and using the food processor to whip the snot out of them,

I made it with garlic powder and Butter Buds in addition to sea salt and pepper, and let me tell ya I could have eaten a lot more than my 2 c. :)  I don't say that very often about cauliflower, but I am learning the error of my ways with respect to this veg.  It has a lot of potential!

Kate's Miso Tahini Acorn Squash

I remember my mom making acorn squash when I was growing up.  I hated it ... who would want to eat squash.  Well as most things go, as I grew up I realized my mom may just have know some things about cooking :)  

I like all kinds of squash now (spaghetti squash, butternut squash and of course zucchini and yellow winter squash)  I have yet to try acorn squash.  I was talking to a friend at work who told me I just had to try this recipe.  It was from a program she had done and it was one of her favorite recipes.

Since I just happened to have an acorn squash sitting on the counter waiting for an epiphany to figure out what to do with it, I thought I'd give it a try.

Here it is waiting to be baked

It turned out fabulous.  The miso and tahini mixture kind of crusted over as it baked.  It was a really nice flavor paired with the squash.  This recipe is a definite keeper.  Very warm and satisfying on a not-so-called autumn evening.  No I want to experiment more with both winter / hard squash and miso/tahini.  I've also seen some miso salmon glazes around the internet.  I suspect that will be coming to a kitchen near me sometime very, very soon.

Here is the recipe courtesy of Kate

Miso Tahini Acorn Squash 

Serves 2
Ingredients

1 medium kabocha (or acorn) squash, cut in half and seeds removed

4 Tbsp. sesame tahini

2 tsp. miso paste

1 clove garlic, chopped

2 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 400° F.

Place squash half cut side up on baking sheet.

Combine tahini, miso, garlic, and oil in a small bowl; mix well.  Cover cut side of squash evenly with tahini mixture.  Bake for 30 minutes, or until squash is fork tender.

Nutrition from MyFitnessPal.com

Calories: 352

Total Fat: 23 g

   Saturated Fat: 4 g

Cholesterol: 0 mg

Sodium: 217 mg

Carbohydrate: 35 g

   Fiber: 5 g

   Sugar: 1 g

Protein: 10 g

Baked Rutabaga Slices

So while we were in Italy, we had some of the most amazing food I've ever eaten.  A lot of it was basic, comfort food, like the potatoes Stephania made.  They were little potato slabs, cross cut, and baked.  Amazingly simple.  Amazingly tasty.

I knew I wanted to try them when we got home, but I'm back in Phase 1 since the vacation until I lose the rest of what I gained.  So, back to the trusty rutabaga.

Don't those look amazing!   They were too, trust me. And super simple.

Enjoy!!

Baked Rutabagas
1 small rutabaga, peeled and sliced into 1/4" slices
EVOO
Sea Salt,  garlic powder to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400.  
2. Cross cut the rutabaga slices on each side.  Just make a little tic tac toe board on each side but be careful not to slice all the way through.
3. Place rutabaga slices on a baking sheet and brush with olive oil.  Sprinkle with sea salt.
4. Flip the slices over, brush with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt and garlic powder.v(you can use what ever spices you think sound interesting.  For the first time out I stuck with simple)
5. Bake at 400 for 25 min
6. Remove from oven, flip over and put back in oven for 10 minutes.

Serves 1

Enjoy

Lemon Roasted Turnips

Tried another recipe off the Andover Site.  Here is a link:  Lemon Roasted Turnips

These were really good.  The lemon sauce was super flavorful.  The only suggestion I have is to make sure they are done.  I checked 1 chunk and it was good but there were some others that weren't as well roasted.  I also broiled them on a Lo Broil for about 4-5 minutes to get them crispy on top.

This will definitely make a repeat appearance on the turnip rotation!

I paired it up with some pan seared pork cutlets (thin cut boneless pork chops).  I used a little Italian seasoning and sea salt on them and sauteed them in some grape seed oil.  The Italian flavor went really well with the lemon on the turnips.

The recipe is copied below for your convenience.

Lemon Roasted Turnips

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds turnips diced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/3 cup low sodium chicken broth
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp salt
• paprika powder
• 3 garlic cloves,grated
• 2 lemons, juiced and zested (I used 6 T lemon juice)
• pepper
• parsley

Directions:
Combine
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Olive oil, oregano, salt, pepper, grated garlic, lemon juice and zest, and chicken broth.
Toss with diced turnips. Sprinkle turnips with paprika, for color.

Put them in a preheated oven for 30 minutes, take them out, flip them over and put them back in for another 20 minutes.

Test for doneness.

When tender set oven to Broil on low temp and broil for 4-5 minutes to crisp up the tops.,

Cauli-bread sticks

I feel like I'm on a cauliflower kick lately.  And for a girl who has hated cauliflower for 45+ years that's saying something.  Today for lunch I made IP pasta and cauliflower bread sticks. Again this felt like a normal meal - not something on a diet.  Sure I used Ideal Protein pasta and Walden Farms sauces but when it tastes this good, I don't even think about that kind of thing!

The original recipe is on The Iron You blog

This version just swaps soy cheese for the mozzarella and Egg Beaters instead of an egg.

Also note you should not have any restricted IP foods on a day you have this.

Cauliflower Crust Garlic Bread sticks                                            

Ingredients 
Makes 10 bread sticks

Cauliflower crust

1 small head cauliflower, cut into small florets (should yield 3 cups of cauliflower rice)
1 egg, lightly beaten (or 1/4 c. Egg Beaters)
½ cup / 1.7 oz / 50 gr Go Veggie mozzarella shreds
2 cloves garlic, grated or minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
½ teaspoon dried Italian herb seasoning
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

Toppings

2 tablespoons shredded mozzarella cheese
A pinch of dried Italian herb season

Marinara sauce, for serving (optional)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a loaf pan with parchment paper so that the excess paper hangs over the sides; lightly grease the parchment paper. Set aside.
Heat the olive oil in a small pan over low heat; add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute max. Turn the heat off and set aside.
In a food processor rice the cauliflower florets (it should be evenly chopped but not completely pulverized).
Transfer cauliflower rice to a microwave-safe dish and microwave on high for 8 minutes, until cooked.
Place the cauliflower rice in a tea towel and twist it to squeeze as much moisture as you can (I usually squeeze out over a cup of liquid). This is very important. The cauliflower rice needs to be dry, otherwise you’ll end up with mushy bread sticks.
Transfer the cauliflower rice to a mixing bowl, add egg, mozzarella, Italian herb seasoning, garlic oil, salt and pepper and mix well.
Spread cauliflower mixture in the prepared loaf pan.
Bake until the loaf is set and starting to turn golden, about 25 to 30 minutes.
In the meantime, line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper.
When the “loaf” is cooked, use the parchment paper to lift out of the loaf pan and carefully flip it over onto the lined baking sheet (so the bottom is on top).  
Bake for further 10 minutes until golden.
Take it out of the oven and preheat the broiler. Sprinkle cheese and Italian herb seasoning on top of the loaf.
Broil a couple minutes until the cheese is melted and golden in spots.
Let cool a couple of minutes before cutting into (10) sticks.
Serve hot or warm or cold (if you let it cool the crust will harden and it will be easy to hold.)

Nutrition facts

One bread stick yields 34 calories, 3 grams of fat, 2 grams of carbs and 2 grams of protein.

Midweek Dinner: Spanish "rice"

I do love me some Mexican food.  One of my girls favorites from back in the day is Spanish rice.  Its a nice side with tacos or enchiladas or a great addition to a taco salad.  I wanted to come up with a Spanish cauli-rice version.  I searched the internet and found several recipes ... all looked really involved and had either restricted or off limits food.  I figured I could use a flavor profile similar to the taco seasoning that I make (a recipe from my friend Lisa ... its at the bottom of this post.) just not as much of everything.

Doesn't that look marvelous!   It came out super the first time (which kind of surprised me).  I had it with some taco meat leftovers.  I opted out of the lettuce, but I could see a nice bed of shredded iceberg under all of this for a great taco salad!

Spanish "Rice"
1 T olive oil
1 1/2  c grated cauliflower
1/4 c diced pepper
1/2 leek, diced
1/2 tsp. chili powder

1/2 tsp . paprika

1/2 tsp. cumin

pinch of sea salt

1/8 tsp. onion powder
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1 packet Goya Sazon

Heat oil in skillet over medium heat.  Saute peppers until beginning to soften, about 1-2 minutes.  Add leeks  and cook another 1-2 minutes. Add grated cauliflower and spices and saute for 5-10 minutes or so, until all the spices are distributed and it looks like an even color.

Bonus Recipe:
Taco Seasoning

This makes a huge batch.  Store it in a jar or ziploc bag for future use.

3/4 c. chili powder

3/4 c. paprika

1/2 c. cumin

3 T     sea salt

1/2 c. onion powder

1/2 c. garlic powder

For tacos brown ground turkey.  Add 2-3 T of taco season and a 1/4 water to a pound of ground meat 

Green Bean Makeover

This weekend was our church small group meeting  Its always a potluck.  This time around we brought a green bean side dish.

The original recipe is here on Six Sisters Stuff ... love this site!!!

The butter amount worried me a little because that would be an awful lot of oil so I googled butter to oil conversions.  Turns out its not 1:1 ... more like 2:1.  I added a link to the conversion site over on the right under Helpful Links

I doubled it to serve the herd that always shows up at small group and still there was nothing left.

Here's the make over

Ingredients:

2 (12 oz) package frozen green beans (I used Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers)
12 pieces turkey bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces

1/4 cup grape seed oil 

1/2 cup Splenda brown sugar

garlic salt, to taste

Directions:

In  a large skillet cook turkey bacon until done, but not crisp.  Add oil and brown sugar and cook until the sugar is dissolved.

Cook green beans in the microwave per package directions..  Season with garlic salt to taste then pour bacon sauce over them and toss to coat.

If the brown sugar mixture starts to go hard, you can quickly reheat it before pouring it over your beans.

Midweek Dinner: Beyond the ordinary

So I'm on week 3 and I've been eating asparagus twice a week for nearly a month now.  Don't get me wrong.  I LOVE asparagus.  So does my husband.  But roasted asparagus twice a week was getting a little old.  One thing I've learned so far is that old = boring and for me boring = cheat/struggle.  So I wanted to change things up a bit.

I've always wanted to try the bacon wrapped asparagus bundles.  Since turkey bacon is "legal"I used that.

I used this recipe from Just a Pinch.

Pretty simple.  Season ... wrap ... bake ... eat.  It took maybe 5 minutes longer than what I would normally do to roast them for prep time.  Bake time was less (higher temp) so all in all it was no more work than usual but it was a really nice change up to make the midweek a little less mundane.

Remember to lower your main protein by the bacon weight.  The turkey bacon  I get is 1/2 oz per slice so I lowered my main protein to 6 oz. Still plenty for a very satisfying meal.

Midweek Dinner : Operation Turnip

So I have never eaten a turnip (let me clarify - I have never willingly or knowingly eaten a turnip) in my life.  But its one of the legal unrestricted veg on the IP protocol so I thought I maybe ought to give them a try.

To the Pinterest boards!!

I found several interesting recipes and decided to combine 2 to make a glazed turnip hash.

The original recipes are from Israeli Kitchen and The Daily Balance.

I started with my little turnip guys

I had read that the peel is quite bitter so I made sure to get every last bit, sacrificing a little turnip to make sure no peel remained.  I did a rough chop on them and also diced 2 leeks.

I simmered the turnips for about 5 minutes.  They were getting tender by then so I drained them and heated up oil in a saute pan.  I threw in the turnip chunks and  diced leeks and sauteed.  I added sea salt, pepper, paprika and splenda and tossed it around the pan until my husband got home ... maybe 10-15 minutes overall.

I also broiled tuna steaks.  I am really digging broiled fish.  It is so easy and just so tasty!

All plated up, dinner is ready to go :)

Enjoy!

Turnip Hash
Ingredients:
   4 medium turnips, peeled and chopped
   2 leeks, chopped
   1-2 T olive oil
   1 T splenda
   Sea salt, Black Pepper, Paprika to taste

Directions
   Simmer the chopped turnips for about 5 minutes until fork-tender (if they are soft to start yu can probably skip this step).  Drain.

   Heat olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat.  Add the leeks and turnips and saute for 2-3 minutes.  Sprinkle with sea salt, black pepper and paprika.  Toss to distribute.  Sprinkle with splenda and toss.  Cook for 10-15 minutes, turning occasionally to prevent burning.

Me 1, Rutabaga 0

So I attempted to make rutabaga fries for lunch today.  Its legal (I triple checked after the spaghetti squash scandal) and I found several Pinterest recipes for them.  Some of the comments said -Ewww blech, and some said - Couldn't tell the difference.  SO I went with a recipe that said "Couldn't tell the diff" and prayed all through church that this was the truth.

The recipe I used was from Novice Housewife.

Rutabagas are a little tough to peel.  We learned a technique in cooking class and I got that part done without too much trouble.  But when it came to cutting said (now peeled) rutabaga, we had a few issues

I won that round :)

The only difference between what I did and what the recipe said was the spices.  I didn't have what was listed and so used Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt and some Essence of Emeril in about the same proportion as listed in the recipe.  Mixed it up and baked until crispy

These were in a word - phenomenal!!  The WF Ketchup on the other hand was not something I would recommend.  Too vinegary and too runny even though I keep it in the frig. But with the little bit of spice these fries really didn't need ketchup anyway (and this is coming from the girl who believes the ONLY purpose of a french fry is as a ketchup carrier).  My hubby almost lost the rest of his because I was going to steal them.  Lucky for him that he ate them all before I could nab any :)

So long for now!