Almond Cranberry Cauliflower Rice

Almond Cranberry Cauliflower Rice

This light dish is sure to delight family and friends during Thanksgiving and Christmas!

1 lb. cauliflower rice

2 Tbsp. Basting Oil (or other herbed oil)

2 Tbsp. Shallot Thyme Finishing Butter

1 handful of sliced almonds

1 handful low sugar dried cranberries

salt and pepper to taste

In a skillet on high heat, warm oil up. Add cauliflower rice and salt/pepper and stir constantly until nearly soft. Add in butter, almonds, and cranberries. Reduce heat and allow butter to melt. It's done when the "rice" is soft and has absorbed most of the oil/butter.

Original Recipe courtesy of Wegmans

Super Light and Fluffy Cauliflower Mash

Because I just had my wisdom teeth taken out, I'm on a strict soft foods diet for a few days. I needed my cauli mash to be super soft, so I decided to boil the florets before putting them into the food processor/Ninja. It came out light and fluffy and smooth and amazing! I might just do this from now on! Here is the base recipe, add a combo of ingredients for different flavors.

Base recipe for Cauli Mash

1 head of cauliflower, chopped into roughly equal sized florets
4 to 5 oz. cream cheese
1 cup of chicken broth, bone broth, or veggie broth (add more if desired)
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp ground black pepper

Boil the florets in salted water. I used a metal frying/boiling basket for quick and easy removal. When you can easily stick a fork through them, drain and put into the food processor. Add cream cheese, broth, and salt and pepper. Whir until completely smooth.

What can I add?
-Garlic Parsley Mash: 1 tsp. garlic powder (or 1 Tbsp. minced garlic) and 1 Tbsp. parsley
-Mexi-mash: dash of cayenne pepper, 1 tsp. chili powder, 1 tsp. garlic powder, 1/2 c. cheddar, monterey jack, colby(jack), or pepper jack cheese, shredded, 1 finely diced jalapeno, 1 chipotle chile (if you like them), and 1/4 c. fresh cilantro (if you like it), squeeze of lime juice
-Loaded Mash: 1/2 c. bacon crumbles, 1/2 c. cheddar cheese, 1 tsp. garlic, 2 Tbsp. fresh chives

Whatever else you like!

Velvety Portobello Mushroom Soup

I recently had some Trader Joe's Cream of Portobello Mushroom Soup. It was condensed, so I added some water and cream. It was delicious, but a little high in carbs. So I decided to make my own. I'm having my wisdom teeth (all 4!) out tomorrow, so I figured I should make some smooth soup while I'm able.

Velvety Portobello Mushroom Soup

Ingredients:
1 32 oz. container Trader Joe's Low Sodium Organic Chicken Broth
1 32 oz. container Pacific Organic Mushroom Broth
16 oz. heavy whipping cream
~11 large portobello mushroom caps, washed, dried, and diced
4 oz. butter (1 stick)
2/3 c. Cabernet Sauvignon (I used The Path brand found at Wegmans- $6!)
1 Tbsp. Thyme
2 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 Tbsp. onion powder [OR 1/2 an onion sauteed with mushrooms]
1 6 oz. jar artichoke hearts, quartered and marinaded (I only added this much but you can add more if you wish!)
salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter in a large pan. Add all spices and some salt and pepper. Add mushrooms (a little at a time if necessary) and sautee until reduced a bit. Add wine and artichokes. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Add 1 cup of the mushroom broth. Simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Heat the rest of the broths in a large soup/stock pot. When the mushrooms are soft and have reduced in size significantly, add the mixture into the soup pot. Using a hand blender, blend until smooth. Add the cream and blend again. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Sausage Zoodle Soup

This soup is similar to chicken noodle soup, but with breakfast sausage and zucchini noodles instead.

Sausage Zoodle Soup

1 32 oz. container chicken broth (I used Trader Joe's Organic Chicken Broth)
8 oz. turkey or chicken bone broth (I used Pacific Organic Turkey Bone Broth)
4 large carrots, peeled and sliced
6 stalks of celery, washed and sliced
1/2 red onion
1 16 oz. roll pork sausage (I used Jimmy Dean breakfast sausage)
1/3 c. Wegmans Basting Oil (sunflower seed oil with parsley, thyme, and garlic)
3 small zucchinis, washed, ends chopped off, and spiralized
1 Tbsp. poultry seasoning (sage, thyme, salt, oregano, ground mustard, basil, red and black pepper)
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. adobo seasoning (optional)
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. onion powder

Heat broth, carrots, and celery in a large soup pot until veggies are soft. Medium heat should do. Saute red onion in a bit of oil and add to pot. Add all seasonings to the pot. Stir well. Cook sausage and add to pot. Add raw zoodles 20 minutes before serving. Serve and enjoy.

Spice Cake

This soft, eggy cake can be eaten for breakfast or dessert. It's not overly sweet. I like to top it with vanilla spiced pudding.

Spice Cake

Cake:
1 c. CarbQuik
1/2 c. almond flour
5 oz. cream cheese
1 stick butter, softened
1/4 c. heavy whipping cream
1/3 c. water
4 eggs
a little less than 1 tsp. liquid Splenda
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice blend

Pudding Frosting:
1 box Sugar Free Vanilla Pudding Mix (get the slightly larger box)
1 1/4 c. heavy cream
1 c. water
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

For the cake:
Combine CarbQuik, almond flour, and pumpkin pie spice in a bowl. Set aside.
In a mixing bowl, combine butter and cream cheese. Turn mixer on to the 3 setting or so until combined. Add other ingredients in order as listed above. When all the wet ingredients are mixed, add in the bowlful of dry ingredients. Grease and flour a cake pan. Pour batter into pan and bake at 350 F for about 35 minutes. Allow to cool. Flip cake out of pan.

For the pudding:
Combine all ingredients into mixing bowl. Using the whisk attachment, whip until thick. Scrape bottom of bowl and mix again. Serve pudding atop the cake. Chill if not eaten immediately.

Sausage Crust Veggie Quiche

Alex and I made this for dinner one night; it was delicious. Quiches are a great way to use leftover veggies in your fridge. Good veggies to use include: spinach, tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, peppers, kale*, swiss chard*, other dark leafy greens (not lettuce), zucchini, yellow squash, asparagus, eggplant, broccoli, etc. You could put other meats in here as well like bacon, diced ham, chicken, or turkey. You don't have to do the sausage crust if you don't want to. It's a very flexible recipe.

*Please don't use these unless you actually like them.

Sausage Crust Veggie Quiche

Ingredients

8 oz. baby bella or white mushrooms, washed and diced

~5 oz. sundried Tomatoes, jarred

~11 oz. fresh or frozen spinach (thawed and drained)

8 oz. shredded cheese (pretty much any kind: cheddar, american, muenster, swiss, colby jack, pepper jack)

1 roll (16 oz.) breakfast sausage, any kind/flavor

6 eggs

1 c. heavy whipping cream

Herbs! Parsley, sage, chives if you want (~ Tbsp. each)

Salt and peppah to taste :) (~1 tsp each?)

1 Tbsp. minced garlic OR 1 tsp. powdered garlic

1 tsp. onion powder if not adding fresh onions

bit of butter for the veggies

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a large casserole dish. Press raw sausage into dish so that it's flat on the bottom. If there's enough to press it against the sides of your dish, feel free to. Bake until brown. If there's still a bit of pink, that's fine because it's going to be baked again! 

2. While the sausage is cooking, throw together your veggies and butter into a saute pan (except delicate stuff like fresh leafy greens) and cook until soft. Add in salt, pepper, herbs, onion powder, and garlic. Add in delicate leafy greens if you're using them and cook a bit until wilted. 

3. In a bowl, whisk together eggs and cream. Add most of the cheese to the egg/cream bowl and mix. 

4. Remove sausage crust from oven if you haven't already and spread veggies into the crust. Pour over egg/cream/cheese mixture and mix carefully so you don't tear up the sausage. 

5. Sprinkle over last bit of cheese. Bake until mostly firm. Allow to cool slightly. Serve with berries if you want. Enjoy! 

P.S. You could also do this in muffin cups or ramekins. Cook the sausage on the stove top, crumbling it up, and add it to the veggie mixture. Line a muffin tin with paper muffin cups OR use silicone cups/greased ramekins on a baking sheet. Add veggie/meat mixture evenly to all cups and then pour over egg/cream/cheese mixture and stir carefully. Bake until just slightly jiggly, so likely not as long as the big casserole dish.

Carbquik Brownies

These cakey brownies with fudge on top make the world go 'round. This recipe is from the carbquik site, but I've tweaked it a bit.

Cakey Brownies with Fudge Frosting

Ingredients:
Brownie:

3/4 stick butter
4 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate
2 cups Splenda
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 whole eggs
1 egg yolk
3/4 cup Carbquik
8 drops liquid Splenda (sucralose)

Chocolate Frosting:

2 tablespoons butter
2 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate, cut into pieces
2 cups powdered Splenda
2 to 3 tablespoons hot water (or enough to make the consistency fudgy-icing like)
Note: To make powdered Splenda, add the Splenda to a food processor and pulse till very fine.

Instructions:
Brownie:
1. Heat oven to 350ºF. Grease bottom and sides of square pan, 9x9x2 (or similar) inches.
2. Melt chocolate in the microwave, stopping and stirring every 30 seconds or so. Add butter near the end, when the chocolate is nearly all melted.
3. Add Splenda to chocolate and blend well till smooth.
4. Beat vanilla and eggs in medium bowl with electric mixer on high speed 5 minutes. Beat in chocolate mixture on low speed.
5. Beat in carbquik just until blended. Add in liquid Splenda and stir well. Spread in pan.
6. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or just until brownies spring back in the middle and begin to pull away from sides of pan.
7. Make frosting while they cook.
8. Spread with Chocolate Frosting. Allow to cool. Cut into slices.

Chocolate Frosting:

1. Melt chocolate in microwave till nearly melted. Add butter and finish melting.
2. Stir in Splenda and stir till smooth; add hot water as needed to form a smooth frosting.


This recipe contributed by: Chef Gregory Pryor

Comfort Food: Mini Beef Pies

I made these adorable and delicious little pies twice- once with zucchini and once with mirepoix. I really loved the mirepoix as it tastes like authentic English cooking to me, but you could add lots of different veggies if you want. My family loved this recipe. The pies are super cute, and quite filling. You could add zucchini or yellow squash to this recipe if you want.

Mini Beef Pies

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef
1 white or yellow onion
2 carrots
2 stalks of celery
3 Tbsp. butter
2 c. Carbquik
2/3 c. water (or enough to make the dough...doughy)
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
8 8oz. oven-safe ramekins
3/4 c. heavy cream
savory herb blend (sage, thyme, rosemary, parsley, black pepper, salt)
(1 Tbsp.) minced or fresh garlic (or 1 tsp. powder)

Preheat oven to 350 F.
1. Brown beef in a skillet. Add in some savory blend. Set aside. Do not drain pan.
2. Dice the veggies into small chunks or use a food processor. Melt the 3 tbsp. of butter in the pan. Add some more savory blend. Add veggies, saute until soft and onions are translucent.
3. While the veggies cook, mix up the biscuit mix (2 c. Carbquik + 2/3 c. water).
4. When the veggies are done, add the beef back in. Add the cream. Combine.
5. Place ramekins on a baking sheet. Grease with some spray. Spoon meat and veggie mixture into ramekins. Divide biscuit dough into 8 equal parts. Flatten into disks with your hands. Place dough over meat and veggies mixture.
6. Bake until biscuits are golden and fluffy. Remove from oven. Brush tops with 2 tbsp. butter. Serve.

Glorious Biscuits and Sausage Gravy

Dude. Duuuuuude. Dude. Holy crap dude. I just...I can't....I've missed my biscuits and gravy that my dad and I used to make on Sunday mornings so so so much. And now I can have them again! Okay, well, I don't have any days off this semester in which to leisurely make breakfast, but maybe you do! Alex bought this Carbquik stuff off of Amazon. It comes in a bright yellow 3 pound box for around $13. It's made of "carbalose" flour, which is basically the fibrous part of wheat flour. Because it is a wheat product, it's not gluten free, and not suitable for people with wheat allergies or Celiac's. If you make drop biscuits with them, each biscuit comes out to around 2 net grams of carbs. We attempted pancakes first, and found the middles didn't cook properly. We then thinned out the batter and ended up making these crispy crepe like pancakes. They were delicious. Then we made drop biscuits and gravy with it. It's delicious and has no funny aftertaste like soy, almond, or coconut flour. They have many recipes on the box, and many more on their website.

Sausage Gravy
1/2 lb.  breakfast sausage. I like Jimmy Dean All Natural

4 Tbsp. Carquik
3/4 c. heavy cream
3/4 c. water
salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and sage to taste

Brown and break up the sausage in a skillet. Add carbquik and coat the sausage with it. Add the cream, water, and spices and turn the heat down to medium. Use the back of your spatula to break up any lumps until the gravy is thick, bubbly, and smooth. Serve over biscuits.


Buttery Biscuits

2 cups Carbquik
2 ounces butter, cold (1/2 a stick)
1 pinch salt
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup water

Instructions:

-Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
-Cut the cold butter into the Carbquik with a fork, till the mixture resembles coarse meal.
-Add the salt and blend well.
-Mix the heavy cream with water to equal 1/2 cup of liquid, pour into dry mix.
-Mix till dough forms and comes together, but do not overwork the dough.
-Drop the dough onto a lightly greased cookie sheet approx 1 ounce size portions.
-Bake in hot oven 8-10 minutes till biscuits are golden brown.

IBIH's Ranch Chicken Nuggets

I recently tried this recipe and it's top notch. My mother immediately bought another packet of ranch mix so we could make it again. It's from I Breathe I'm Hungry's website, and I'm definitely a fan. The website is here.

Ranch Chicken Nuggets

INGREDIENTS
For the chicken:
2 lbs chicken tenderloins (or breast) cut into bite sized pieces
1 cup almond flour
¼ cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
1 packet Hidden Valley® Original Ranch® Salad Dressing & Seasoning Mix
½ cup mayonnaise
1 tsp Dijon mustard

For the dipping sauce:
⅓ cup mayonnaise
¼ cup Dijon mustard
¼ cup sugar free maple flavored pancake syrup
INSTRUCTIONS
To make the chicken:
Combine the almond flour, cheese, and Hidden Valley® Original Ranch Salad Dressing & Seasoning Mix in a medium bowl.
Combine the mayonnaise, mustard, and chicken pieces in another medium bowl - stir well.
Dip the mayo coated chicken pieces in the seasoning mixture and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet.
Bake the chicken at 400 degrees (F) for 15 - 18 minutes (depending on size of pieces) until golden brown and cooked through.

For the dipping sauce:
Combine the ingredients and whisk until smooth. Adjust for your preference by adding a little more mustard or a little more syrup if necessary.
NOTES
Approximate nutrition information per serving:

1 serving (5 oz) chicken: 351 calories, 20g fat, 4g net carbs, 40g protein

2 Tbsp sauce: 110 calories, 12g fat, 0g net carbs, 0g protein

Mexican Cauliflower Rice

Mexican Cauliflower Rice

Recipe courtesy of SkinnyTaste; I have altered the recipe a little.

Ingredients:
4 cups cauliflower rice
1 Tablespoon olive oil or butter
1/2 medium onion, finely diced
2 medium plum tomatoes, small dice
1/2 jalapeno, seeds removed, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
½ teaspoon cumin
¼ smoked paprika
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Heat the butter or oil in a skillet. Saute onions, plum tomatoes, and jalapeno until tender. Add the garlic and cauliflower rice, saute until rice is soft. Add the tomato paste, cumin, paprika, cayenne, salt, and pepper. Stir well and serve. Cilantro garnish is optional.

Pesto Zucchini Lasagna

I now have a wonderful new mandolin, and I decided to make lasagna "properly" with long, flat zucchini noodles. I decided to do a no tomato version, and sub in pesto instead.

Pesto Zucchini Lasagna

Ingredients:

2 zucchini, washed, ends chopped off

16 oz. ricotta cheese

6 oz. basil pesto

1 lb. ground beef (or pork)

8 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese

1 Tbsp. minced garlic

Directions:

Brown the ground beef. Mix ricotta, all but 2 Tbsp. pesto, and garlic. Using a mandolin, slice zucchini lengthwise about 1/4 in. thick. Spray the bottom of a baking dish. Lay in slices of zucchini neatly side by side. Spread 1/2 ricotta mixture over zucchini. Spread 1/2 of the ground beef over top. Sprinkle on enough mozzarella to cover beef. Layer again with zucchini, ricotta mixture, beef, and mozzarella. If you have leftover slices of zucchini, arrange them nicely on top and spread remaining pesto on slices. Optionally you can add any extra mozzarella on top. Bake at 350 F for 40 minutes or until cheese is golden brown. Serve with Italian or Caesar salad and sugar free shaved ice (or panna cotta) for dessert!

My Dad's Cream Cheese Pancakes

Cream Cheese Pancakes

This is my dad's favorite breakfast to make when he has time. It's a very simple recipe, you can modify it as you see fit.

Base recipe:
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
3 eggs
1/4 c. golden ground flaxseed
1/4 tsp. baking powder
vanilla extract
2 packets splenda
2 Tbsp. flavored simple syrup (like vanilla or caramel)
1 tsp. cocoa (optional)

Topping Ideas:
-pats of butter
-sugar free syrup
-sugar free jelly/jam cooked with fresh/frozen fruit
-whipped cream
-melted sugar free chocolate

Caribbean Jerk Shrimp

For whatever reason, sugar and shrimp just go together. Honey, mango, brown sugar- they all make shrimp taste amazing. I had been craving a tropical tasting shrimp dish, and this recipe is what I threw together last night. Marinading the shrimp for at least 3 hours makes the flavor even richer.

Caribbean Jerk Shrimp

 

(photo is not mine)

In a bowl combine:

1 tsp. molasses

1/4 c. Jack Daniels Honey Whiskey (regular flavor works too)

2 Tbsp. McCormick Caribbean Jerk spice mix

2 tsp. lemon juice

1 Tbsp. minced garlic

1 tsp. paprika

4 packets Splenda

1 c. chicken broth (or 1 cup hot water with 1 bullion cube, dissolved)

Stir well.  Peel, devein, and take the tails off of 2 lbs. of cooked shrimp. Place shrimp in a gallon sized ziplock bag and pour in the marinade. Marinate for about 3 hours. 

Option 1:

Open the bag just slightly and pour the marinade into a pan large enough to hold your shrimp. Let the marinade by itself simmer until it reduces by 1/2. Add shrimp to pan and heat up. Serve immediately.

Option 2:

Remove shrimp from marinade and put on skewers. Grill until grill marks are visible. You can save the marinade and reduce it in a pot and serve it with the shrimp if you want.

A great serving idea is a salad with avocado, spicy creamy dressing (I like Habanero Ranch), small chunks of jicama, and red pepper and red onion slices.

Bonus Lime Ice Cream!

 Mix about 1 Tbsp. of your leftover lime juice with 1/2 tsp,. lime zest with 1/2 c. vanilla Carb Smart Ice Cream. Stir until completely combined. Devour!!!! It was divine!

Broccoli Cheese Tots

Alex made these and he did a great job. They were delicious. They're even better than tater tots in my opinion!

Recipe courtesy of Buzzfeed (I've made a few changes)

Ingredients:
12 ounces broccoli, cut into small florets
¼ cup scallions, thinly sliced
2 large garlic cloves, finely diced (~2 tsp. minced garlic)
⅔ cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 egg, beaten
⅔ cup bread crumbs almond flour
Salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 400F.

Wash and finely chop the broccoli (or put it through a food processor). Put it in a bowl and microwave it for 2 minutes or so.

In a mixing bowl, add broccoli, scallions, garlic, cheddar, egg, and almond flour. Mix well and chill in the refrigerator for 15–20 minutes.
Spray a nonstick baking sheet with nonstick spray. Shape the mixture into tot shapes and spread them evenly on the sheet.
Bake for 8–9 minutes. Flip and then bake for an additional 8–9 minutes on the other side until golden brown.

Cilantro Lime Zoodles with Chorizo (+Limeade!)

Alex loved the Zoodles I made last week so I decided to make them again, but with a different twist. This is fabulously delicious and fresh tasting. Despite the cream sauce, it tastes light. The cream does balance the acidity and the spice well though. I used chorizo, which definitely has a bite to it. You can use a plainer sausage if you want, or you can throw in some cooked chicken (or shrimp).
For an appetizer, Alex made Broccoli Tots from a Buzzfeed recipe. I've posted that here. They were fabulous. I used the leftover lime juice and zest to make lime ice cream here. Some of the juice went into my glass to make fresh Limeade; that recipe is below the zoodles.

Before you start this recipe, we're gonna take care of these limes. You'll need 2 for the dessert, the dinner, and the drink. If you're just doing the dinner dish, you only need 1.
1. Wash them.
2. Zest them using a microplane. Set aside the zest.
3. Microwave them for 30 sec-1 min until soft and warm to the touch.
4. Roll them forcefully on a flat, clean surface. This breaks the little pockets of juice open inside.
5. Cut in half and squeeze out all the juice. Set juice aside in a non-metal bowl (they're acidic!).

Ingredients:
3 zucchini, washed and spiralized
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/4 c. heavy cream
6-8 chorizo sausages, precooked and cut into ~1/2 in. slices
3 tsp. lime juice (fresh tastes best)
1/4 c. scallion, washed and chopped
1/4 c. fresh cilantro, washed and chopped (for international readers, I'm talking about the leafy stuff)
2 tsp. lime zest
6 oz. garlic simmer sauce (Wegmans) (if you don't have this, add in 3/4 c. chicken broth and 2 tsp. minced garlic)
dash of onion powder
dash of cumin
black pepper to taste

Saute the chorizo in a bit of oil or butter until hot. Add cream cheese, cream, garlic simmer sauce, lime juice, lime zest, and spices. Cook on medium and stir until well combined. When it's warm enough it'll bubble a bit. Before you add your zoodles, cut them up a bit so they don't ball up together in the pan. Add the zoodles. Add in the cilantro and scallion. Mix well. When the zoodles are soft, turn off the heat and serve. Garnish with a bit of fresh cilantro if you want.

Limeade

~1 Tbsp. lime juice
2 packets Splenda (or favorite sweetener)
10-12 oz. ice water

Combine and stir until sweetener is dissolved. Enjoy!

Creamy Pesto Zucchini Pasta with Italian Sausage

In celebration of 1000 views, this is something I made tonight that I had to stop myself from going back and getting 2nd, 3rds, and maybe even 4ths... Alex loved it and so did my mom. Safe to say that it's a crowd pleaser. Thanks for the 1000 views, you all are great!

Creamy Pesto Zucchini Pasta with Italian Sausage

3 zucchini, washed, ends chopped off, and spiralized into spaghetti sized strands

3 oz. pouch or jar (drained) of sun dried tomatoes, chopped finely

8 oz. brick cream cheese, softened

1/2 c. heavy cream

~7 oz. basil pesto (I used Wegmans Italian Classics)

~6 Mild Italian sausages (or Hot if you like)

2 tsp. minced garlic

McCormick Italian Herb Seasoning Grinder (or similar) and garlic powder (optional)

bit of olive oil

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Lay down a baking sheet and lay a silicone mat or parchment paper on it. This will make the oil drips much easier to clean. Set a cookie/cooling rack on top. It's better to use a slightly too big baking sheet than have your rack hanging off. Make sure the cooling rack is only metal. The rack helps circulate air underneath the sausages so they get evenly done. Lay the sausages on the rack and using a basting brush, coat them in some oil. Twist the seasoning grater over each sausage and then lightly sprinkle with garlic powder. Bake for about 35 minutes, or until no longer pink inside.

In a large skillet, mix softened cream cheese, pesto, garlic, tomatoes, and heavy cream. Use a rubber spatula to incorporate the cream cheese into everything else the best you can. Add in the zucchini pasta and stir, coating the zoodles. If the sausage is still cooking, cover the skillet and let sit on low. The zoodles will shrink a bit and the sauce will get smoother and more...plentiful...something like that. When the sausage is done, slice it up and add to the zoodles. Mix to coat and serve.

Creamy Mushroom Truffle Risotto

This recipe uses cauliflower rice to simulate risotto.  I was also lucky enough to have some truffle-flavored extra virgin olive oil on hand for a little extra something. This recipe is not difficult, it just takes a bit of time for the cauliflower to soften. If you don't have truffle oil, that's fine, it isn't necessary. Truffles have a very earthy flavor and it only takes a teeny bit to flavor a dish.

Creamy Mushroom Truffle Risotto

1/2 head cauliflower, leaves removed, washed and chopped into florets (small enough to fit into a food processor)
2 Tbsp. butter
2 tsp. minced garlic
about 6 baby bella mushrooms, washed and dried off
2-4 drops of truffle oil
dried or fresh parsley to taste
1/2 c. chicken or veggie broth or dry red wine
1/4 c. heavy cream
pinch of onion powder
tsp. lemon juice
1/4 c. parmesan cheese, grated
salt and pepper to taste

Process the florets in a food processor or Ninja until rice-sized. Set aside.

Chop the mushrooms into about 1 cm square pieces. Melt the butter in a saute pan. Add mushrooms, garlic, onion powder, red wine, cream, and parsley. Simmer and stir until mushrooms shrink a good bit. Add in the rice, truffle oil, lemon juice, and parmesan. Stir well over high heat. Reduce heat to low, cover, and let simmer for 10 or so minutes. Serve with your favorite Italian meal.

This turned out very delicious, and Alex said I should make this every week haha. So I guess it's a winner which is why it ended up on here! Enjoy!

Wegmans Recipe: Cauliflower Rice Stir Fry

Cauliflower Rice Stir Fry

This isn't an official recipe but we came up with this to showcase our new product at the store: cauliflower rice. It is simply finely chopped cauliflower that, when cooked, looks, feels, and tastes like rice. I had many customers remark that they were very surprised that it wasn't really rice! When you add the sauce, the rice turns a light brown color, making it look exactly like brown rice. The stir fry sauce I used is Wegmans' own house brand, and it has 3g of sugar per Tbsp. if you can find one with less sugar, feel free to use that. You can also make your own sauce if you're feeling adventurous.

Ingredients:

1/2 head of cauliflower

1/2 c. snow peas

1/4 c. shredded carrots

1/4 c. baby corn, chopped into 3rds or 4ths (optional)

1/2 c. bell pepper, any color, diced

1/2 c. broccoli florets, small

1/4 c. sliced shiitake mushrooms

1/3 c. stir fry sauce, low sugar (I used Wegmans Organic Stir Fry Sauce)

2 oz. Wegmans Organic Garlic and Parsley Finishing Butter, or other herbed butter

Wash and rough chop the cauliflower. Processes in food processor until the pieces are roughly the size of rice grains. In a wok or frying pan, melt the butter. Add in rice and cook until rice has absorbed the butter mostly. Add a pinch of salt and pepper blend if you wish. Push the rice to the outsides of the pan. Place the veggies in the center, and pour the sauce over the veggies. Stir the veggies up in the sauce until coated, then mix the rice and veggies together and stir until veggies are slightly soft (or until desired doneness). If you wish to cook the veggies a little more, turn down the heat a bit to keep things from burning. You can also cover the pan and let it steam a bit if you want. 

Beef Enchiladas, Homemade Queso Sauce, and Mexican Cauli Rice

Beef Enchiladas and Queso Sauce with Mexican Rice

I wanted to make a gordita/enchilada hybrid. Back in public school, they used to serve us cheap gorditas: crappy ground beef, a super thick, fluffy tortilla (that's actually quite similar to a real gordita) tortilla, and some cheap nacho cheese. Alex really loves gorditas so I tried to do a fusion sort of dish. Unfortunately, because of the how similar the end product ended up being to an enchilada, he didn't like it. Oh well. If you like enchiladas you'll love these.

The rice is an interesting story. Wegmans just debuted cauliflower rice in the veggie market, and I wanted to come up with a recipe to showcase the new product. We had been doing Asian dishes for a while, so I wanted to do something different. We have a new red chile sauce too, and I wondered if I could use the chile sauce to make the rice look and taste like Mexican rice that you get in Tex Mex restaurants. The Wegmans brand chile sauce only seems to come in 24 oz. containers for now, and that seemed to be way too much for my needs for tonight, so I got Frontera's Red Chile sauce. The package says mild, and it may have been the Rotel (which I've never used before this) but the rice was quite spicy. Not reach-for-the-milk spicy, but definitely clear-your-nasal-passages spicy. I used the whole 8 oz. in my rice. Because of this, I'm recommending you use 1/3 c. of the sauce and then dong the 1 and 2/3 c. chicken broth option. Nevertheless, the rice turned out much better than I expected, especially with the homemade queso sauce on it.

Filling:
1 lb. ground beef
taco seasoning (I like Jack Scalfani's recipe here, it's in the description. Quadruple it, but only use 1/4 tsp. salt)
1/2 c. water

Brown the beef in a skillet with the taco seasoning. When the meat is nearly brown, add the water and let thicken a bit. Transfer meat to a bowl and set aside.

Queso:
1 c. unsweetened unflavored coconut milk
1 can Rotel original
1 tsp. minced garlic
3 slices pepper jack cheese
7 slices Cooper cheese
1 c. shredded white cheddar

In a medium saucepan, heat coconut milk and rotel until bubbling. Add in cheese bit by bit until smooth and creamy. Stir often during this process and don't let it burn. You can add extra Cooper cheese if you'd like a thicker queso.

Mexican Cauli Rice:
1/2 head cauliflower
1 c to 1/3 c. red chile enchilada sauce (1 cup makes very spicy rice, 1/3 will make medium rice)
1 c. chicken broth (1 and 2/3 c. if only using 1/3 c. of chile sauce)
1 can rotel original
1 red bell pepper, diced
4 Tbsp. butter, divided in half
1/2 pack of Splenda (about 1/4 tsp)

Wash and cut cauliflower into chunks small enough for your food processor. Process until pieces are rice-sized. Transfer to a microwaveable container and add 1/3 c. red chile sauce, 1 2/3 c. chicken broth, and the rotel. Microwave on high for 20 minutes. In a pan big enough for all the rice, fry the bell pepper in 2 Tbsp. of butter. When the rice is done in the microwave, add it to the peppers and add the extra 2 Tbsp. of butter and bit of Splenda. Pan fry the rice until 95% of the liquid has evaporated.

Other:
6 oz. white shredded cheddar
6 large low carb tortillas or 8 smaller ones

Topping:
1 c. chicken broth
1/2 c. heavy cream
8 oz. of red chile enchilada sauce
2 oz. shredded white cheddar

Mix the chicken broth and heavy cream in a pourable container. On a clean, flat surface, lay out a tortilla. Place 1/6th or 1/8th of the meat (depending on how many tortillas you have) on one end of the tortilla. Add 1/4 c. queso and a sprinkle of white cheddar. Tuck the ends in and roll up. Place seam side down in a baking dish. Repeat for all other tortillas. Pour over the topping mixture of cream and broth. Cover enchiladas in enchilada sauce. Sprinkle with cheese. Spray the underside of some foil and cover the dish. Bake at 350 F for about 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 5-10 minutes. Serve with the rice and the extra queso sauce.

Veggie Cream Cheese Stuffed Mini Peppers

Philly Cheesesteak

So this isn't really steak, I suppose you could use chopped steak if you had it on hand. I used ground beef for this and it's amazing. I made it and then my mom made it a few nights later she liked it so much.

Philly Cheesesteak 

1 lb. ground beef 

1 white onion, chopped into strips

1 green bell pepper, diced

Cheese sauce:

2 slices provolone cheese

4-5 slices Cooper cheese

1/3 c. unsweetened unflavored coconut milk (I like SO Delicious brand- green container)

garlic powder

bit of salt

fresh ground black pepper

In a cast iron skillet, caramelize the onions almost fully. You'll need a bit of butter or oil. Add in the peppers when it's almost done. Let cook for another few minutes. Remove from pan. 

Brown and break up ground beef. While the beef is cooking, place all cheese sauce ingredients in a small saucepan and heat while stirring until all ingredients are melted. It may take a while, but it will happen. Adjust the amount of cheese and coconut milk if you like. 

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Spread beef evenly over the bottom of the skillet. Top evenly with cooked onion and peppers. Pour over the cheese sauce. Bake until bubbly. 

Cheesy Zucchini Bake

This is so simple and easy, but tastes and looks (with a little effort) amazing.

Cheesy Zucchini Bake

I made this a while back and kinda threw stuff into a pan so I'm gonna try to remember what I put into it. Measurements aren't going to be exact.

Slice up a large zucchini (or yellow squash) or two, and either layer it in the pan as shown, or just toss it in there. I won't judge you. Grease the baking dish before you put the zucchini in.

In a small sauce pot combine a few slices of Cooper cheese, a splash of heavy cream, some parmesan cheese (1/4 cup?), some butter (about a Tbsp), and some italian spices (Basil, oregano, parsley, black pepper, salt, & onion powder). Also add in some minced garlic or garlic powder. Cook, stirring over medium heat until all ingredients are combined. Carefully pour it over the zucchini slices. Top with some more parm and bake at 350 F until top is golden brown and sauce has thickened. 

Roasted Tomato Arugula Personal Pizza and Bacon Dijon Spinach Melt

There are so many things you can do with low carb tortillas. You can make a quesadilla, a pizza, a "crepe", a wrap, pinwheels, and tortilla chips. They're super versatile, and you can use one as a base for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or dessert. I've made so many different types of pizza using a tortilla, this is just one example. Personal pizzas are a good way to use up leftover veggies or meats left in the fridge. A few days ago I made Alex a sauteed mushroom and baby spinach pizza. He loved it. This one is a roasted tomato and arugula pizza, made using leftovers from the salad. (No I didn't keep the salad this long, the picture is from nearly a month ago.)

Roasted Tomato Arugula Personal Pizza

 Ingredients:

1 low carb tortilla (Tumaro's)
1/4 c. low sugar pasta sauce
1 handful mozzarella cheese
1 handful chopped baby arugula
a few roasted tomatoes, packed in oil, cut up
sprinkle of feta cheese (I used a French sheep's milk feta, you don't have to be that fancy)
Italian spices (oregano, basil, parsley)

Spread the cheese over the tortilla. Sprinkle on mozzarella. Add next 3 ingredients. Sprinkle on the spices. Bake in the toaster oven or oven (probably 350 F will do it) until edges crisp and cheese is melted.

You can do this little pizza with whatever you have on hand, veggies, meat, etc.

Bacon Dijon Spinach Melt

Ingredients:

2 slices bacon

several slices of Cooper or White American Cheese

1 handful of baby spinach. 

1 tsp. to 1 Tbsp. of dijon mustard, depending on preference

1 tortilla

Fry bacon until crispy. Remove from pan and allow to cool a bit. Lay tortilla in bacon grease. Cover with Cooper cheese. Tear up the baby spinach as you put that on top. Coat the spinach with the mustard using a fork to carefully mix it. Add fresh ground black pepper if you wish. Chop up bacon and sprinkle on top. Fold tortilla in half carefully and flip over. When the tortilla is golden brown and crispy, remove from pan and serve. Makes a meal for one or a snack for two.