Tag: Carrots

Riced Cauliflower

I am sure that title is causing a few of you to cringe a little! Riced cauliflower? Yes! It is very easy to make and can be used instead of rice or quinoa…not in a casserole, though!

I heard about ricing cauliflower over on the THM Facebook page and decided to give it a try last week. The hubby enjoyed it. That is saying a lot since he loves his rice, potatoes, or quinoa. Obviously, the flavor is not the same as rice, but once you add a little gravy (low-carb, of course), it makes a great side for our Sunday dinner pot roast.

Before I share the recipe, let me show you what I harvested from our garden this morning. Yes…this morning…February 6! Last summer and fall, Tim would plant new veggies after harvesting some others so that he could see if he could grow crops year-round. The radishes were planted in the same bed where he grew our sweet potatoes. The carrots grew in the bed where he had the yellow squash. Even though we did have a few days of sub-freezing temps and a brief snow/ice storm, these grew well! I will add them to the crockpot for our Sunday dinner tomorrow!

Ok, now for the cauliflower recipe!

1 large head of cauliflower

2-3 tbsp. coconut oil

salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and other spices to your own liking

Cut the cauliflower into small pieces and put them into the bowl of your food processor. Don’t overload the processor. I did mine in 2 batches. Chop the cauliflower into fine, rice-like pieces.

Heat the coconut oil in a large skillet. Add the riced cauliflower and seasonings. Stir gently until all the cauliflower is coated with oil and the spices are well-mixed. Keep stirring as the cauliflower cooks. Once you notice that the cauliflower is shrinking in size, remove it from the heat and serve immediately. It will get mushy if you over-cook it. It should still be crispy when you serve it.

This makes for a great side dish for a pot roast or chicken. Enjoy!

Autumn Vegetable Soup

While many people think that social networking can be a great waste of time, and I can agree a little here, I have found it a fun way to reconnect with family and friends from the past.  Not too long ago I reconnected with my cousin’s daughter.  I think I met Jessica years ago when she was just a tiny thing, but I’ve not seen her since.  She shared this wonderful recipe the other day and gave me permission to share it here.  With the cold weather coming (even here in the south), soups are great on the menu!

 

I experimented a little this afternoon with a soup and it turned out better than expected! Here is an easy recipe for autumnal soup that amounts to roughly 100 calories per 1 1/2 cups!

 

Makes two servings:

 

2 cups of chicken stock

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

Whisk together with paprika, salt, and pepper over low heat and let simmer. (I did this part while the onions and carrots were cooking).

 

1/2 cup yellow onion (1 small onion) rough chop

1/4 cup carrots sliced

1/2 cup mushroom (whatever you prefer)

1/4 cup zucchini

1 cup kale shredded

 

1/4 tbls olive oil

2 cloves of garlic

Salt, pepper, and other agreeable seasoning

 

Sautee oil, onion, and carrot together in a covered pot over low heat, stirring occaisionally. When slightly softened, add mushrooms and zucchini, stir, and cover. Once those have slightly softened toss in the kale.

 

Give the veggies a minute or two more then pour over the broth and stir. Separate into two bowls and add raw, pressed garlic and stir.

 

Enjoy!

Chinese Carrots and Easter Memories

It is hard for me to believe that Easter weekend is here again.  So much has happened in my family that the year has just flown by.  In just a few weeks we will be celebrating our 2nd birthday here on the blog!!

One of my special memories of Easter includes my mom.  Each Easter morning she would greet us with the sentence, “He is risen!”  We would reply, “He is risen indeed!”  Sometimes, as we got older, we would try to say “He is risen” before she did, but she was pretty quick…it was hard to beat her to it!  I am so thankful for my godly mom and for her teaching me of Christ, the risen Savior.

My Russ left on Tuesday for BMT in San Antonio.  He has made it through the first 4 days, known as Week Zero.  Since we’ve not heard from him, we can assume that all is well.  Only 8 more weeks to go!  On Thursday,while I was bemoaning the fact that this will be my first Easter without all my kidlets around my dinner table, I received a call from my Knob.  As an award for a recent achievement at The Citadel, 3rd Battalion was given the weekend off!!!  This meant that Ben would be home for Easter!!  He and one of his buddies, Joshua, drove up yesterday!  So even though I won’t have my girl and my Airman here, I will have my Sam and my Knob…plus an extra Knob and Russ’s girlfriend.   Those not here will be greatly missed, but I am thankful for those who will be here.

Today I was very thankful for my Kitchen Aid mixer that Barbi gave me for my birthday last summer.  It was used a lot today!!  This morning I made waffles for the family for breakfast.  Then I used it to mix up my weekly batch of sour dough bread.  I decided to make Pavlova for our Easter dessert, so I used it to whip up the egg whites.  And finally, I used it tonight to grate the carrots I need for a favorite side dish, Chinese Carrots! My mixer certainly made my life easier today!

I have no idea why this dish is called Chinese.  I just know that my hubby absolutely loves it!  And other than the time it takes to peel and grate the carrots, it is a pretty easy recipe to make.

2 lb carrots

1 stick butter, cut up

black pepper to taste

Peel and grate the carrots.  In a large sauce pan,  put about 1/4 of the butter.  Place about 1/4 of the carrots on top of the butter; sprinkle with black pepper.  Repeat layers until all the butter and carrots are in the pot.  Place over medium heat.  Cook carrots, stirring frequently, until tender, about 20-25 minutes.