Just Delish!

Cauliflower Fried Rice

When i get on a healthy eat kick i tend to over shop. And if you're like me, you hate wasting money and if you're like me you probably also feel like you should eat more vegetables but there's just so many ways you can eat them before they get boring. But alas, the internet has swooped in and given me a way to use a head of cauliflower that was probably going to go bad and a different way to get my vegetables in. I give you, cauliflower fried rice.

1/2 head of cauliflower (this was enough for Phil and I to have heaping portions)

Basically any vegetables/protein you like in fried rice. I used mushroom, carrot, egg, and onion. But be creative!

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil or sesame oil

1 tbsp minced garlic

Soy sauce to taste

Take the 1/2 head of cauliflower and cut it into similar sized florets and put them in your food processor. Process it until the consistency reminds you of rice (really it reminded me more of Farina). Once you have the processed cauliflower, heat your skillet with the oil and garlic and add the cauliflower. Let it get nice and toasted. Add in your vegetables and wok it up. Add soy sauce liberally or not, up to you. (We actually didn't use any and it still tasted bomb) And that's it! Cauliflower fried rice ya'll. Def a healthier, sneaky alternative.

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We Need To Go Shopping Soup

So my grandma makes this squash soup and its so simple, yet so delicious. it's literally just squash, onion, potato, egg, and broth. i always admire her ability to whip up a 5 course meal with nothing in her cabinets. so last night when it came time to make lunch (at 10pm) i decided to pull a grandma. i refused to spend another dime this week on lunch and was determined to make use of what i had. which was not a lot. i didn't even have enough to make grandma's empty cabinet soup. so i made the ghetto, ghetto version. and let me tell you, it was quite good. (also this is a super friendly weight watchers lunch, the points are basically only from the eggs) 

2 cans low sodium chick broth ( i used Swanson  but by all means use any brand, even vegetable broth to make this veggie friendly)

4 large stalks celery, chopped into half moons (i have no idea if anyone will know what i mean by this)

1 medium onion, chopped (but not minced)
2 eggs

put everything into a pot, except the eggs. bring to a boil, and let boil for 10-15 mins (you want the celery to really get soft, i dont like cold hard celery - so soup is a good way to work them into your diet) once it's boiled for a decent amount of time, just drop the eggs in. they will cook in the soup. another 5-7 minutes and youre done. wah lah! super filling, super easy soup.

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Goat Spinach Pizza

Do you love pizza, in all of its glory, in any form? Do you have 10 minutes? Yes? Perfect. Try this! We made 4 pizza's over the weekend, (regular, vegetable & buffalo chicken) but this was the most exotic. Pizza is literally the easiest thing to make (especially when you buy the dough from the pizzeria like we did, don't use the frozen stuff!). If you love pizza, but want to try something a little different, give this a whirl for a quick weeknight treat.

1 roll of pizza dough (it'll make one pie if you roll it out thin enough, our dough was sort of thick, but still delish)
1 bag of spinach (or fresh spinach, however that comes, about 6 cups)
olive oil ( a really good variety, dont cheap out here - how much you use depends on your taste and health priorities really)
1 package of goat cheese

All you have to do is roll out the dough, saute the spinach with some garlic and oil, drizzle olive oil on dough, place spinach on top, place cheese on top of spinach, pop in the oven at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes and voila! enjoy a little slice of heaven.

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Rip Off Ramen Soup

There is this delish Spicy Ramen soup that i get from Water Street (cafe water) and last night i accidentally made a rip off version of it. I started with the intent of making chicken soup, like regular chicken soup, and somehow it evolved. The best part of any soup really, is that you only have to use one pot (well in this case, i used  2 because i didn't want to cook raw chicken in my soup).  Also, i never think its necessary to tell people to add salt &/or pepper to a recipe, isnt that a given by now? Hope you enjoy this as much as i did (and i hope i wasnt just starving and thats why it tasted so good)!

2 14.5oz cans of chicken broth
1/4 cup of mushrooms (any variety, i actually used canned mushrooms - dont judge)
6 ribs of celery (chopped obviously, not whole)
1 cup of arugula
1/2 large onion (again, chopped)
8oz can of Tuttorosa tomato sauce
1tsp garlic salt
5oz of dry Pastina
4 eggs
5oz of chicken breast, bone & skinless
As much Sriracha sauce as your heart can handle

Throw all  of the ingredients (except eggs at this point) into one pot, and let simmer on stove while chicken boils in separate pot. Once the soup starts to boil, crack the eggs in, the soup will be hot enough they'll hard boil. Once the chicken is cooked through, shred it and add it to the soup. Let all the ingredients simmer for at least 5 minutes. You can add the Sriracha directly to the boiling pot or add it into individual bowls after you serve. I added mine a little at a time so i didn't kill my taste buds.

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Swedish Meatballs

These are not Swedish Meatballs in the traditional sense. They are the version that my mom makes. They should probably be called 'Sweet & Spicy Meatballs' actually. My mom does not write down or follow recipes, her food never tastes the same twice (but is always tasty), and even when I pleaded for her to measure the ingredients she was putting in, there was still heaping cups of that and dashes of this. So, please feel free to be liberal with this guideline recipe and adjust according to your tastes. Make the meatballs first, then combine the sauce. Pop em in the oven at 325-350 for about 30-45 minutes (just to get the glaze sticky and warm - that's what she said). Ready to devour!

Meatball:

2 lb of Ground Chuck Chop Meat

3 Eggs

1 tbsp Garlic & Pepper Seasoning (or just some black pepper and some garlic salt/powder - also note this is one of those guesstimates of how much to put, when I asked her, she said 'just this much' and put it into the mix)

1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese (according to my mother, be liberal with cheese, it gives good flavor)

2 1/4 cups Italian Seasoned Bread Crumbs

2 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce (this is one of those items i always saw in my fridge growing up, with the paper wrapping around the bottle, but never knew what this mystery liquid was for)

1 tbsp Franks Red Hot Sweet Chili (this shit is addicting, you've been warned)

Sauce:

2/3 cup Guy Fieri Brown Sugar Bourbon Barbecue Sweet & Sticky Sauce (this just happen to be in the house, this is one of those ingredients you can be creative with, she'll never use the same one twice)

2/3 cup Dai Day Duck Sauce (for the record, if you buy any other duck sauce you're a weirdo)

2/3 cup Open Pit BBQ Sauce (my mother calls this the secret ingredient, even though it's sold nationwide)

2/3 cup Maple Syrup (anything but sugar free, it tastes thinner, yes i said it tastes thinner)

1/3 cup Franks Red Hot Sweet Chili

* my mom makes her meatballs on a george foreman. 

you have to really pack them together as i later found out, or they smash. 

i eventually fit about 50 meatballs at a time. make them however you please.

*the multitude of condiments is not just for this recipe, my mother often stocks our refrigerator & cabinets like this. we often make fun of her for having more condiments than food. love you Jo!

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Pumpkin Bars

Thanksgiving to me, is really the last sign of pumpkin until next year. I don't remember exactly where I first stumbled upon this recipe, but its quick and delish!

1 Box of Angel Food Cake Mix (any brand will do, I used Duncan Hines)

1/2 Can of 100% Pure Pumpkin (make sure not to get Pumpkin Pie Filling!)

Pumpkin Pie Spice to your desired taste (mine was a shit load)

All you need to do is follow the cake box instructions and just fold in the pumpkin for the last 2 minutes of mixing. Once the cake is cooled, cut into desired sized bars. To finish them off, I sprinkled powdered sugar and some cinnamon on top. Enjoy!

*Side note, if they come out a little dense for your liking, 

pop them in the toaster for a few minutes, they crisp up and are just as fab.