Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice

Several of my friends and family have been raving about using cauliflower as a substitute for regular rice so I thought I'd give it a try. I was originally going to try it in a fried rice but Trader Joe's had been out of soy sauce for a couple weeks and I can't use any other soy sauce but theirs. I found this recipe on Pinterest via http://healthyaperture.com. I love Chipotle's rice so I thought I'd give this recipe a try. The cauliflower was easy to grind down and the recipe was easy to make but it tasted a little blah. I only made a single serving batch because I was told that the "rice" isn't as good reheated. I'd be willing to try this recipe again and I'll definitely try the fried rice recipe, especially since I was finally able to pick up some soy sauce!

Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice:

1 head cauliflower
1 lime
2 cloves garlic, chopped or minced
1 handful chopped cilantro

Remove leaves from cauliflower and cut the head in half. Remove cauliflower from core so you only have the florets. Place half of cauliflower into food processor and process until only small pieces remain (you can also use a box grater with the larger holes and grate the cauliflower into small pieces). Remove from processor and place into a pan. Process remaining cauliflower repeating the steps.

Add garlic to the cauliflower in the pan. Cook over med for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly. When cauliflower is slightly toasted and garlic is cooked, remove from heat.

Toss with cilantro and juice from the whole lime. Enjoy!




Cauliflower processed into small pieces...






Cilantro mixed in...






Cilantro and lime juice added...

Fruit Salad with Honey-Lime Dressing

My brother got married on April 11th and my aunt threw the wedding party a bbq at her house the Saturday after. I have been craving fruit now that the weather has been nicer so I was put in charge of finding a good fruit salad recipe. I found this recipe on Pinterest via http://ohyoucook.blogspot.com. This salad called for strawberries, green grapes and blueberries but I switched it up and added my own mix. You can basically add whatever fruits you want. We had some hard limes so I don't think we were able to get all the juice so we also zested the 2 limes for more taste. The salad turned out amazing! And it was even better later that night after all the flavors melded together and the raspberries started to melt down! I will definitely make this recipe again and again! (I also received rave reviews from our friends at the bbq!)

Fruit Salad with Honey-Lime Dressing (Enough for a Crowd):

1 pt container strawberries, cut into bite-size chunks
1 pt container blueberries
1 pt container raspberries
1/2 container pineapple, cut into bite-size chunks
1/2 container mangoes, cut into bite-size chunks
6 kiwis, peeled and cut into bite-size chunks
1/4 c honey
Juice from 2 limes
Zest from 2 limes

Combine all the fruit, except the raspberries. Gently mix together with your hands. Add the raspberries on top of the mixed fruit. Add the hone, lime juice and lime zest. Again, mix gently with your hands, so you don't mash the raspberries. Cover and chill at least 1 hour or overnight. Note-if you serve it the next day, the salad will be a lot more liquid-like but it will still taste amazing!




Enjoy!

Garlic Butter Shrimp & Quinoa

I was randomly looking at Pinterest one day and came across this recipe. I love garlic, shrimp and quinoa so this sounded like a good meal to try and it definitely was! Very buttery and garlicky! And topped off with some lemon juice for serving, I will definitely make this recipe again! My only small complaint was that it could have used 2 bags of shrimp! I found this on Pinterest via http://pinchofyum.com.

Garlic Butter Shrimp & Quinoa (8 servings):

1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 c finely chopped onion
10 garlic cloves, minced or 5 tsp bottled minced garlic, divided
2 c uncooked quinoa (I used a mixture of red and rainbow quinoa since that's what I had on hand), rinsed and drained
1 tsp chili powder, divided
4 c veggie or chicken broth
6 tbsp salted butter, divided
1 lb raw tail-on shrimp
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh parsley, for serving
Fresh lemon juice, for serving

Heat oil in large nonstick pot over med-high heat. Add the onion and saute until softened, about 3-5 minutes. Add 2 tsp of the garlic and saute 1 minute, stirring constantly to prevent burning. Add the uncooked quinoa and 1/2 tsp of chili powder. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Saute another minute to add flavor to the quinoa. Add the broth, bring to a boil, cover and cook 15-20 minutes. When the quinoa is done, it will be soft throughout and the liquid will have been absorbed. Fluff with a fork and toss with fresh minced parsley.

While the quinoa is cooking, heat 1 tbsp of butter in large skillet over med-high heat. When the pan is hot and the butter has melted, add the shrimp and sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 tsp of chili powder directly in the pan. Season with salt and pepper and saute until no longer translucent and golden brown on the outside. Just at the end of the saute, add 1 tsp garlic and swirl around in the pan until the garlic is very fragrant.

Melt the remaining 5 tbsp butter with the rest of the garlic to make a sauce for drizzling. Serve the quinoa and shrimp together in one dish, drizzling the garlic-butter mixture over top. Top with fresh parsley and serve with lemon juice. Enjoy!




Quinoa added to the onion and garlic mixture...






Broth added to quinoa mixture...






Chili powder and shrimp added to melted butter...






Cooked shrimp...






Cooked quinoa...






Cooked shrimp added to quinoa...






Garlic & butter bubbling...






Enjoy!...

Crock Pot Kielbasa

I've been craving sausage lately for some reason so I searched Pinterest for an easy idea. I came across the Sausage, Potatoes & Peppers recipe, which I've already blogged about, as well as this one. I had to make this one during the weekend since I work longer than 4 hours during the day. Super easy to make and only 2 ingredients! I did notice that one the brown sugar starts to melt, it's key to start stirring the sausage, otherwise you wind up with some over-done sausage! I also didn't cook it for the suggested 5 hours. I think I only cooked mine about 3 hours and even then some of the sausage was too well done. When I make this again, I'm going to keep a better eye on the brown sugar and start stirring it right away so everything gets even cooking. But other than that, the sausage turned out really tasty! I found this on Pinterest via www.crockinmoms.blogspot.com.

Crock Pot Kielbasa:

3 lb kielbasa
1 (2 lb) box of dark brown sugar

Cut up kielbasa into 1/2 inch chunks, put into crock pot. Add whole box of brown sugar. Cook on low 3-5 hours. Enjoy!




Cut-up sausage...






Brown Sugar covering the sausage...






Enjoy!...

Milky Way Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies

This was the 2nd cookie I decided to make, along with the funfetti cookies, to take over to my friends' house. It sounded like a good combination of a cookie and it definitely was. The sea salt added a lot of good flavor to the cookie. The cookie itself was really rich but oh so good. One thing I learned was that once the sheet came out of the oven, the cookies had to rest on the cookie sheet for at least 5 minutes before being transferred to a cookie rack, otherwise the caramel would drop out of the cookie. Other than that, the prep work was a little more time consuming but the cookies were pretty easy to make. I'd make these again! I found these on Pinterest as well via www.instructables.com.

Milky Way Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies (30+ cookies):

Pkg of Milky Way Simply Caramel Fun Size candy bars
4 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 c unsalted butter, melted
2 c brown sugar
1 c granulated sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
3 c semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325. Sift the flour with the salt and baking soda; set aside. In a mixer, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar. Once incorporated, beat in the eggs, then the vanilla. After the wet ingredients are combined, add in your dry ingredients. Mix until just combined and then add the chocolate chips.

Cut the milky way candies in half and dip them into sea salt to seal the open caramel end. Take a ball of dough, just big enough to cover the half-mini-bar, add more dough if needed. Roll into a ball and sprinkle the top with more sea salt.

Bake for 17 minutes on a cookie sheet. Let cool 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Enjoy!




The wet ingredients...






Chocolate chips mixed into the dough...






Sea salt...






Salting the cut end of the milky way...






About to wrap up the milky way into the dough...






Sprinkled with salt and ready to be baked...






Cooling on a cookie rack...






Enjoy!...

M&M Funfetti Cake Mix Cookies

I love baking but I don't usually like to eat what I bake so it all goes to waste. So I made a deal with some friends of mine..I would bake and they could get the majority of what I bake as long as they keep providing me with my friend Jeremiah's beef stew, which I'm in love with. They are both sugar fans and they have kids living with them so I knew the cookies wouldn't be wasted. My friend loves funfetti and I've always wanted to try turning a cake mix into a cookie. I found this recipe on Pinterest via www.thefrugalgirls.com.

The cookie was super easy to make. I'm not too sure I liked it because it's a softer cookie. I like soft cookies...if they are full of chocolate or caramel or peanut butter. I brought these cookies, along with the milk way cookies over to my friends' house and they loved them so I guess that's what matters!

M&M Funfetti Cake Mix Cookies (About 2 dozen cookies):

1 (15.24 oz) Pillsbury Funfetti Cake Mix
1 1/2 c M&Ms
2 eggs
1/2 c veggie or canola oil

Combine the cake mix, eggs and oil in large mixing bowl and beat well. Stir in the m&ms. Drop onto ungreased cookie sheets in rounded balls. Bake for about 8-9 minutes, or until done at 350. Cool on a wire rack. Enjoy!




M&Ms mixed into the batter...






Ready to be baked...






Cookies cooling on the rack...






Perfect cookie...






Enjoy!...