Some Family Favorites with Cauliflower "Mashed Potatoes"

Several years ago, we traded in potatoes for cauliflower and have never looked back! Below are some of the girls' very favorite recipes. The BarbequeTurkeyburger "Cupcakes"  are also yummy just made on the grill as burgers minus the mashed cauliflower "icing."  Likewise, the Big Easy Shrimp tastes great with rice instead of the cauliflower "grits".  And of course, you could use real mashed potatoes instead of cauliflower for the cheeseburger pie.

P.S. Let's just be honest here - using real mashed potatoes really make these old favorite family recipes the most delicious!

BBQ Turkey Burger “Cupcakes”

1 ½ ground turkey     

½ cup bread crumbs

1 egg beaten

½ cup plus 3 tablespoons bottled barbeque sauce

 (or South Beach Diet recipe for BBQ below)

6 green onions, sliced

¼ teaspoon thyme

1 teaspoon salt (divided)

1/2 teaspoon pepper (divided)    

¼ teaspoon garlic

1 head cauliflower, cut into flowerets

2 tablespoons margarine or butter

Mix the meat, bread crumbs, barbeque sauce, green onions, egg, thyme, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper, and garlic powder.  Divide the mixture between 12 muffin cups in a muffin tin that has been oiled or is nonstick.  Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees.  While the “muffins” are baking, cook the cauliflower in enough water to cover it until the flowerets are very tender.  Drain the water and with a hand mixer or immersion blender, mash it up along with the margarine, the other ½ teaspoon of salt, and the other ¼ teaspoon pepper.  When the “muffins” are baked, take them out of the muffin cups and “frost” each one with the mashed cauliflower.   Drizzle the tops with the remaining 3 tablespoons of barbeque sauce.

South Beach BBQ Sauce – From South Beach Diet Book
1 (8-ounce) can Tomato sauce
2 tablespoons White vinegar
2 teaspoons Chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Ground mustard
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/8 teaspoon Freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon Garlic powder
Combine all ingredients together. Refrigerate in a plastic container.

Big Easy Shrimp with Cauliflower “Grits” from The South Beach Diet Cookbook

2 strips of cooked turkey bacon, crumbled  

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion chopped

½ green pepper, diced

1 celery stalk, cut length wise and sliced

1 garlic clove, put through a press    

1 (15 oz.) can chopped tomatoes

1 bay leaf

                                                                       

 1 teaspoon salt (divided)

 1/2 teaspoon pepper (divided)

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon hot-pepper sauce

1 head of cauliflower, cut into flowerets

2 tablespoons butter or margarine

1 pound peeled and deveined shrimp

Over medium heat, cook the onion, green pepper, and celery in the olive oil until tender.  Add the garlic and cook for 30 more seconds.  Add the tomatoes, bay leaf, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and hot pepper sauce, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, and ¼ teaspoon of the pepper. Heat to boiling, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. While the sauce is simmering, cook the cauliflower in enough water to cover it until the flowerets are very tender.  Drain the water and with a hand mixer or immersion blender, mash it up along with the margarine, the other ½ teaspoon of salt, and the other ¼ teaspoon pepper. Set aside. Add the shrimp to the sauce and cook until it completely turns pink. (Or, if using already cooked shrimp, cook just enough to warm the shrimp.)  Add the bacon crumbles. Serve the shrimp and sauce on top of or beside the cauliflower “grits”.

Cheeseburger  Pie – adapted from a Pillsbury recipe

1 ½ pounds extra-lean ground beef or ground turkey

½ cup bread crumbs

¼ cup finely chopped onion

¼ cup ketchup                                                    

2 teaspoons yellow mustard

1 egg, beaten

1 teaspoon salt (divided)

1/2 teaspoon pepper (divided)

1 head of cauliflower, cut up into flowerets

2 tablespoons butter or margarine

1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese (divided)

1 small tomato, seeded and diced

2 green onions, sliced

Mix the meat, bread crumbs, onions, ketchup, mustard, egg, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, and ¼ teaspoon of the pepper together and press into a pie pan.  Put in a 375 degree oven for 15 minutes. While the meat in baking, cook the cauliflower in enough water to cover it until the flowerets are very tender.  Drain the water and with a hand mixer or immersion blender, mash it up along with the margarine, the other ½ teaspoon of salt, the other ¼ teaspoon pepper, and ½ a cup of the cheese. Remove the meat from the oven and carefully pour off any grease.  Spread the mashed cauliflower over the top of the crust.  Put the rest of the shredded cheese on top.  Return to the oven and cook 10 minutes more.  Before serving, sprinkle the top with the diced tomato and sliced green onion.  Cut into slices to serve.

Super Easy Sauces - Spicy Red & Classic White

     Roy's paternal grandmother was from Nova Scotia, Canada, and she had quite the repertoire of phrases. Whatever the occasion, she seemed to come up with just the right saying.  One that the family still uses today is, "Hunger makes good sauce".  Of course it means that if you are starving - even the plainest food tastes great.  Recently, six of us got to take a sauce class (demonstration) at Caroline's favorite restaurant for her birthday, and I thought about Grandma Yates's little expression. There is no question that the addition of a sauce to a dish really enhances it, but in every day cooking - who has time to mess with a complicated recipe in addition the main entre?  I got the answer to this when Jenn called me up a couple weeks ago around dinner time.  She stated she was so bored of eating a plain chicken breast for dinner and she asked if I had any suggestions. I remembered the quick and easy sauce I use for chicken parmesan that basically involves just opening a can of tomato sauce and heating it up along with a few spices.  She tried it and loved it!  She just poured it over her grilled chicken breast, but I've included the whole chicken parmesan recipe.  I'm also including a recipe for a simple white sauce along with a few additions that will jazz it up.

Super Easy Red Sauce

1 (15oz.) can of tomato sauce  

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

(1 tablespoon sugar if you prefer a sweeter sauce)

Put all ingredients in a sauce pan, mix them together, and heat it up!

Chicken Parmesan

4 chicken breasts

1 egg

1 tablespoon milk 

3/4 cup bread crumbs (Italian style is nice)

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

3/4 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup olive or vegetable oil

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

In a small bowl, whisk the egg and milk together.  In a second bowl combine the bread crumbs and the Parmesan cheese.  In a final bowl, mix the flour, oregano, salt, and pepper together.  Rinse the chicken breasts with water and then pat them dry with a paper towel.  One chicken breast at a time, first coat it with the flour, then dip it in the egg, and last coat it with the bread crumb mixture. Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat.  When the oil is hot, place the chicken in the pan and brown each side.

In an oven safe dish, spoon some of the red sauce from the recipe above in order to coat the bottom of the dish.  Place the chicken in the dish and pour the rest of the red sauce over the chicken. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 50 minutes.  Take the pan out of the oven and put 1/4 cup of the mozzarella cheese over each chicken breast.  Return to the oven and continue to bake just until the cheese melts.

Super Easy Classic White Sauce

I'm using whole wheat flour here - that's why it's dark!

3 tablespoons butter or margarine    

3 tablespoons flour

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1/4 teaspoon of pepper

1/8 teaspoon of garlic powder

1 1/2 cups milk, warmed in microwave

 

Over low heat, melt the butter in a pan.  Add the rest of the ingredients and whisk together to make a paste.  Cook the paste over medium heat, stirring constantly for about 30 seconds.  Then add the milk, a little at a time, while stirring constantly. Keep stirring and adding the milk until the sauce is thick.

Suggested Uses

                                                                                  

Truffled Cream Corn:   

Add sauce to 10 oz. cooked corn along with

2 teaspoons of truffle oil

 

Creamed Peas or Pearl Onions:

Just add the sauce to 10 0z. of the

 the cooked vegetable

 

Creamed Spinach:

Add sauce to 10 0z. of cooked and

drained spinach along with a pinch of nutmeg and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.

Creamy Baked Risotto with Pan Fried Scallops

     Last night I tweeted a pic of the rice and scallops shown above and below. I was SO excited to get some retweets and mentions, so I'm quickly putting the recipe up here in response to requests!
    The rice method is a combination of Cook's Country (America's Test Kitchen) and Ina Garten's way of making oven baked risotto.  I got the idea of adding the mushrooms and shallots. The drizzle of truffle oil over the scallops along with the tang of the diced green apple takes this dish over the top! It was delicious!

Creamy Baked Risotto with Pan Fried Scallops
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
5 Cups chicken broth, warmed
1/2 cup dry white wine
4 good sized shallots, diced
8 oz. sliced mushrooms
1 clove garlic, put through press
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons butter
In a dutch oven, saute shallots and mushrooms in the olive oil until soft. Add rice and garlic and stir for 30 seconds.  Add 4 cups of the broth and wine. Cover the rice mixture with a sheet of foil and then put the top on the dutch oven. Bake for 45 minutes in a preheated 350 degree oven. Take it out and stir in the cheese, remaining cup of broth, and butter.

Scallops:
Combine 1 cup flour with 1/4 teaspoon each of salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Dredge the rinsed, drained, and dried scallops in the flour mixture. Cook over medium low heat in a skillet with 2 tablespoons of olive oil - about 7 to 10 minutes on each side to get a nice browned crust and ensure that scallops are done.

Serve scallops on bed of the rice. Drizzle a slight bit of truffle oil over each scallop. Top with finely diced Granny Smith apple.

More Comfort Food - Chicken Pot Pie

     Another family favorite dinner that the girls grew up with was chicken pot pie.  Back in the day, I used lots of butter and even (gasp!) potatoes in this recipe.  Now I make this comfort meal with only one pat of butter and I ditch the starchy potato carbs.  The topping is from a ready made pie crust, but more South Beach Diet friendly would be the use of puff pastry or phyllo.  We still love this on a cold winter day, but have found that using individual souffle dishes lends to better portion control.

 

Ingredients:

 

2 to 3 chicken breasts (good idea to include more and save/freeze for use later)

1 tablespoon butter

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, diced

6 tablespoons flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 (15 oz.) cans chicken broth

1 (12oz.) package of frozen mixed vegetables, cooked in microwave for 5 minutes

1 prepared package of prepared pie crust dough such as Pillsbury's

Directions

     Place at least 2 or 3 chicken breasts  in a large pot along with some celery, a carrot or two, and an onion to give them a nice flavor.  Cover the breasts with water and heat to boiling.  Turn the heat down and let the breasts simmer for about 20 minutes.

 

     Meanwhile, dice one large onion and saute in 1 tablespoon butter and 3 tablespoons of olive oil until soft.  Add 6 tablespoons of flour and mix it into the onions.

 

      Add 2 (15 oz.) cans of chicken broth to the pan and cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the mixture is like thick gravy.  Cut the chicken up and add it to the pan along with a 12 oz. package of frozen mixed vegetables that has been cooked in the microwave for about 5 minutes. Mix in 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

     Lay out prepared crust such as Pillsbury's and use the individual souffle dishes to cut out the dough.

 

 

Spoon the chicken vegetable mixture into each dish.

     Place a pie crust top on each dish and bake at 450 degrees for 20 minutes or until the crust is flaky and brown.

Enjoy!

Spinach Cheese Stuffed Pasta Shells - Comfort Food!

This has been a favorite family recipe for years.  The savory sauce is light, tangy and just zings when paired with the satisfying ricotta cheese spinach filling of the pasta.  It was a cold and snowy today – just the right night for this comforting yummy dish!

Spinach Cheese Stuffed Shells

You will need a 12 oz. box of jumbo pasta shells – cook half of them according to the package directions.  A good time to do this would be while sauce is simmering and you are mixing up the spinach cheese filling.

Ingredients for the Sauce:

1 pound ground beef (optional)

1 onion, diced

2 garlic cloves put through a press or ¼ teaspoon garlic powder

1 (15 oz.) can of tomato sauce

1 (15 oz.) can chopped tomatoes

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon oregano

Brown the ground beef and onion or medium low heat and drain the oil.  (This would be a good time to microwave the spinach for the filling – directions are below)  If using fresh garlic add it to beef and cook for 30 seconds before adding the rest of the ingredients.  (If not using ground beef, sauté fresh garlic in about 1 tablespoon of olive oil for 30 seconds and then add the rest of the ingredients) Simmer about 10 minutes or so while you combine the ingredients for the cheese spinach filling and cook the jumbo pasta shells

Ingredients for Spinach Filling
1 pound (16 oz.) ricotta cheese (I use part skim)
1 (10 oz.) package frozen spinach
½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional)

Cook spinach in microwave according to the package directions.  Squeeze/drain the excess water out of the spinach and mix it with the rest of the ingredients.

Directions for constructing this dish:

Stuff each shell with a heaping tablespoon of the filling.

  Arrange the shells in a baking dish.  Spoon the sauce over the stuffed shells.  

Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.

Enjoy!