Cauliflower "Mashed Potatoes"

You'll Need - 


1 medium head cauliflower

• 1 tablespoon cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup grated cheese (parm, mozz, cheddar)
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• freshly ground black pepper and salt
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 
  

Clean and cut cauliflower into small pieces. Cook in boiling water for about 6 minutes, or until well done. Drain and pat the hot cooked cauliflower very dry between several layers of paper towels.

With a hand mixer or in a food processor, puree the hot cauliflower with the cream cheese, cheese, garlic, salt and pepper until almost smooth.

Serve hot with pats of butter.

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Cheesy Baked Broccoli and Cauliflower

You'll Need- 
1 Head of Cauliflower (cut into bite-size florets)
1 Head Broccoli (cut into bite-size florets)
1 Cup Non-Fat or 1% Milk
3 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 Cup Flour
3/4 - 1 Cup of Light Shredded Cheese
Freshly Ground Black Pepper and Salt (to taste)




Preheat the oven to 375. Boil the cauliflower and broccoli and cook until it's al dente. Reserve 1 cup of the vegetable cooking water. Place the cooked veggies in a large bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Once it's cool place it in a baking dish. 


In a small pot combine the milk, cooking water and cheese and heat until the cheese is melted into the liquids. I recommend using a bold cheese like extra sharp cheddar! I made mine with Gouda and wished I'd picked a cheese that had a little more flavor to it!!


In another small pot, add the olive oil and flour, and stir over low heat for a few minutes to make a roux. Add the hot liquid to the roux stir and simmer until it's nice that thick. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper.


Add the cheese sauce to the baking dish with the broccoli and cauliflower and sprinkle a little extra cheese on top! Bake 20-25 minutes, until bubbling.





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Garlic Mashed Potatoes

This recipe is meant for a crowd so you may want to 
downside it if you’re not feeding an army! 
I made these at my sister house for a 
New Years Eve dinner party and they were a hit!

You'll Need- 

5 Pound Bag of Potatoes

½ Quart of Light Cream

1 Stick of Butter

Fresh Garlic Cloves

Start by peeling the potatoes and dicing them into evenly sized chucks…the smaller you make the the quicker they cook! 

Add them to a boiling pot of water and simmer until you can poke right through them with a fork! 

Strain the potatoes and add them back to the warm pot and mash them! (I like to use a hand mixer and really whip them up!) While you’re mashing slowly add in the cream and butter while tasting along the way!  Once you are happy with the flavor and consistency grate in some fresh garlic and season with salt and pepper! 

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Roasted Patty Pan & Tomatoes



You'll Need -

Patty Pan
Grape Tomatoes
Minced Garlic
Salt
Pepper
Olive Oil
Lemon

Preheat oven to 350. Half the patty pan and tomatoes and season them with a little bit of of olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper.  

Place on a baking sheet and roast for about 15 minutes. Garnish veggies with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.




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Baked Onion

You'll Need -


Large Sweet Onion (Vidalias are my favorite)
2 Tsp of Light Butter
1 Beef Boullion Cube
1 Tsp of Minced Garlic


Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Remove the ends and skin from your onion. Use a spoon to dig a hole into the center the onion...dig about halfway down.  Next, cut the onion into quarters from the top down, stopping within an inch of the bottom. Place the bouillon cube, butter and garlic into the hole. Wrap the onion tigltly in tin foil.

Bake for about 45 minutes to an hour...until your onion is nice and tender all the way through. Enjoy!!

Approximate Nutrition Information Per Onion

Calories - 93

Total Fat - 3.5 (1.4 Sat)

Carbs - 14

Fiber - 2.5

Protein - 1.6

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Teriyaki Beef Skewers

You'll Need-

Steak (cut into super thin strips)
Teriyaki Sauce
Soy Sauce
Fish Sauce
Minced Garlic
Crushed Red Pepper
Sriracha

If you can’t find pre-sliced steak, buy a flank steak and use a very sharp knife to slice the meat into thin strips. Cut against the grain and on a bias to maximize the surface area of each slice! Traditional teriyaki sauce is made with soy sauce, mirin and sugar. For my marinade, I use store bought teriyaki and then doctor it up with a little bit of extra soy sauce, fish sauce, minced garlic, crushed red pepper and sriracha for a kick! Start by adding just a little of each and season to taste! Once you are happy with the flavor of your marinade, add the beef and refrigerate for one hour!

Then skewer each piece and grill them! Make sure to soak the skewers beforehand so they do not burn. We have a Cuisenart counter top grill and it is GREAT for our apartment...they take about one minute on there! You could also grill outside or on a grill pan…cooking times will vary based on your grill!

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Broccoli Slaw

My friend Dana made this slaw as a snack for a day at the beach! Don't let the Ramen Noodles freak you out! This dish is very light, refreshing and so yummy!

You'll Need -

2 Packages of Chicken Ramen Noodles (crushed)
2 Bags of Broccoli Slaw
1 Cup Almonds (whole or sliced)
1 Cup Sunflower Seeds
½ Tsp Chopped White Onion

Dressing -

½ Cup Sugar
2/3 Cup Veg Oil
1/3 Cup White Vinegar
Seasoning From Noodles

Layer in order of ingredients (Don't mix)! Pour dressing over salad and chill for 12 hours. Mix right before serving.

This slaw is great alone, as a side dish, or top with some roasted chicken or grilled shrimp and make a meal out of it!

Makes 12 Servings -

Calories  - 251
Fat -  19 (Sat 1.7)
Carbs - 17
Fiber - 2.8
Protein - 4

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Zucchini Fries

You'll need -

Olive oil, for frying

1 3/4 Cups of Grated Parmesan

1 1/2 Cups of Breadcrumbs

2 tsp Salt

2 tsp Pepper

1 tsp Chili Powder

2 Large Eggs

3 Medium Zucchini (cut into fries)

Directions -

Stir the parmesan, breadcrumbs, chili powder, salt and pepper in a medium bowl and blend.  Wisk the eggs in another medium bowl. Working in batches, dip the zucchini in the eggs to coat completely and allow the excess egg to drip back into the bowl. Then, coat the zucchini in the bredding mixture. Place the breaded zucchini aside.

When the oil is hot, working in batches, fry the zucchini fries until they are golden brown, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the fried zucchini to paper towels and drain.

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Oven Roasted Veggies

A simple side dish that goes well with just about everything...

Mix it up and use whatever veggies you like best!

You'll Need -

1 10 oz Container of Grape Tomatoes
1 Large Summer Squash
1 Bundle of Asparagus
EVOO
Salt & Pepper
Crushed Red Pepper

Directions -

First wash all the veggies! Chop the summer squash and asparagus into bite sized pieces. Arrange all of the veggies on a baking dish and coat with a little olive oil (I use my "misto"...a wonderful gift I received for Christmas last year! It's a refillable spray bottle for oil which helps reduce the amount you'll use.) Lastly, season with salt, pepper and crushed red pepper. Bake in a 350 degree over for about 20 minutes or until the veggies are tender.

Makes 4 servings

Approximate Nutritional Information Per Serving -

(I accounted for 1tsp of EVOO but probably didn’t use that much with the misto)

Calories - 71

Fat - 1.7 (.3 Sat)

Carbs - 12

Fiber - 5

Protein - 3.5

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