Broccoli & Cauliflower Pesto Pizza

I saw it all over Pintrest. Cauliflower pizza crust. Seriously? Could this really be any good? So I had to try it.

But of course, I don't really ever follow recipes. Ever.

I bought some cauliflower. And it sat in my fridge for a while. Cauliflower crust? Really? But then I finally decided to give it a go.

This is the blog I adapted my recipe from: Eat. Drink. Smile.

So, as I was chopping up the cauliflower and thought, "Hey! I have broccoli too! Cauliflower... Broccoli... same family... Why not?"

So I chopped up some of that as well and threw it in there.

I saw the spices list for this recipe, and I like a lot more flavor than just garlic, salt, and oregano... so I searched my fridge, and found some pesto. Yahtzee! So I threw in a spoonful of that as well. Mmmm, I love the smell of pesto!

We are proud new owners (one week today!) of three beautiful and hilarious chickens. They have been very good egg layers and we are accumulating quite the collection in our fridge. So, our crust has delicious and nutritious farm fresh eggs in it!

So my recipe is as follows:

1/2 cup cooked, riced cauliflower
1/2 cup cooked, riced broccoli
1 cup shredded cheese of your choice (I used colby jack)
1 egg, beaten
1 tbsp pesto
1 clove crushed fresh garlic
olive oil (optional)
salt
pepper

pizza toppings of your choice

1. Cut off some florets of cauliflower and broccoli and run them through a food processor (If you don't have a food processor, I've been told a cheese grater will work, but I definitely don't have the patience for that! haha!)

2. Place the processed cauliflower and broccoli in a microwave safe bowl and microwave, uncovered, for 8-ish minutes. Don't add water because it will make the mixture too soggy and wet.

3. Once cooked, add the cheese, pesto, garlic, salt, pepper, beaten egg, and optional drizzle of oil and combine until pasty.

4. Generously oil you pizza pan (I found this out the hard way! Mine was soooo stuck to the foil I lined my pan with... pictures later on...) and spread the yummy mixture evenly onto the pan with a spatula or your hands.

5. Cook at 450F for about 15 minutes. Keep and eye on it, I burnt mine a little.

6. Remove from oven, add desired toppings 

7. Cook for another 3-5 minutes, mostly until cheese is melted.

As I mentioned before, this first attempt got horribly stuck to the foil. I promise I sprayed it with my oil spritzer! Next time I make this recipe, I'm going to either oil it MUCH better, or maybe sprinkle some cornmeal on the pan to keep it from sticking. If you try this, please let me know how it works!

We mostly got toppings on our plate, but still got the crust. It was so yummy! I really like cheese and broccoli/cauliflower anyways, so I knew I would like it. Not to mention, my husband added ranch dressing and chicken. Two other favorites. Awesome.

But it looked a little reminiscent of something a lunch lady would plop on your cafeteria tray.

...all right, maybe not THAT bad, but it definitely didn't look like pizza!

But still delicious. My hubby even went back for a second helping. Win!

Let me know what you all think of the recipe!

Roasted Veggie Lasagna

In my nutrition class on thursdays, we were given a recipe modification project. We had to take a recipe and change at least three things about it to make it better and healthier. I chose a creamy chicken lasagna and made it vegetarian!

Here is the original recipe if you are interested: Creamy White Chicken and Artichoke Lasagna

And here is my healthier, vegetarian version!

Ingredients:

1 medium head of garlic
6-7 fresh Roma tomatoes
1/2 of a large white onion, chopped
8 ounces fresh spinach
2 cups plain greek yogurt
1 block silken tofu
2 sprigs of fresh basil (approximately 21 grams
2 large zucchini, sliced lengthwise
Parmesan and/or feta cheese (for sprinkling on top... could use goat cheese too! I'm a fan!)

Directions:

1.     Roast garlic: Set oven to 350°F. Cut one end of the head of garlic off. Spritz garlic with extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) spray. Wrap in aluminum foil and roast in oven for one hour. Remove and let cool. (when it comes time to add it to the sauce, it should be cool enough to just squeeze the roasted garlic from the skin... Easy Peezy!)

2.     Cut tomatoes into quarters, spread out on sheet pan, cut-side up. Spritz with EVOO spray. Roast in oven for 45 minutes (can do this the same time as the garlic.)

3.     Chop and sauté onions: in a medium sized skillet, spray EVOO on pan and add chopped onions. Sautee onions until tender. Set aside.

4.     Place small amount of water in a large saucepan. Add spinach. Place a lid on the saucepan and wilt the spinach. Once wilted, set aside.

5.     In a food processor, add block of silken tofu, 2 cups of Greek yogurt, basil, onions, and garlic. Process until smooth and creamy. Mix in wilted spinach. Set aside.

6.     With a knife or a mandolin, slice 2 zucchini, length wise, into strips.

(yes, I know I took a picture of three... But you only need two :))

7.     In a 9x13 inch glass baking dish, place a layer of the creamy yogurt mixture. 

Sprinkle a layer of the roasted tomatoes on top of the creamy mixture. 

                                                    Add a layer of the sliced zucchini.

Repeat.

8.     Add the last little bit of creamy mixture to the last layer of zucchini. Sprinkle with tomatoes and chopped fresh basil. 

Cover with aluminum foil and cook, covered, at 350°F for 45 minutes. 

Meanwhile, while the heavenly aromas started to eek from my oven and fill my beautiful home, I tackled these suckas!!:

Complete. Dish. Ownage. 

Please note how the sink shines with awesomeness.

*sigh*...I just love a clean kitchen :D

Well, it didn't take me the full 45 minutes that the lovely lasagna was cooking to finish the dishes, so I was a nerd and tackled some homework as well... Go me! 

Then the timer on my oven went off. Most annoying timer. Ever. It beeps three times in a row, waits less than 5 seconds, and feels the need to remind you with another beep.

...and every 5 seconds after that...

 Welp, back to my project!

Uncover the dish and sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top of the lasagna. 

Cook for an additional 15 minutes.

9.     Remove from oven and cool for about 15 minutes, cut, serve, and ENJOY!

Feast your eyes on this beauty. Oh man, and when it's cooking.... The basil and the garlic smell...

AMAZING.

The Greek yogurt adds so much protein, the tofu adds body to the dish, The spinach and tomatoes are superfoods that add anti-oxidants and loads of vitamins that you're beautiful body needs.

Although, I didn't add any salt to the recipe (I'm trying to cut back on my sodium intake.) I think it tastes fine without it, but you all will probably want to add some :)

I hope you enjoy this dish! Please let me know what you think about it!!

BTW, Here is the recipe all together, so it's easier to copy and paste and print if you want :D

Roasted Veggie Lasagna

Serves 12

Ingredients:

1 medium head of garlic

6-7 fresh Roma tomatoes

1/2 of a large white onion, chopped

8 ounces fresh spinach

2 cups plain greek yogurt

1 block silken tofu

2 sprigs of fresh basil (approximately 21 grams

2 large zucchini, sliced lengthwise

Parmesan and/or feta cheese (for sprinkling on top)

Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

1.     Roast garlic: Set oven to 350°F. Cut one end of the head of garlic off. Spritz garlic with extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) spray. Wrap in aluminum foil and roast in oven for one hour. Remove and let cool.

2.     Cut tomatoes into quarters, spread out on sheet pan, cut-side up. Spritz with EVOO spray. Roast in oven for 45 minutes (can do this the same time as the garlic.)

3.     Chop and sauté onions: in a medium sized skillet, spray EVOO on pan and add chopped onions. Sautee onions until tender. Set aside.

4.     Place small amount of water in a large saucepan. Add spinach. Place a lid on the saucepan and wilt the spinach. Set aside.

5.     In a food processor, add block of silken tofu, 2 cups of Greek yogurt, basil, onions, and garlic. Process until smooth and creamy. Mix in wilted spinach. Set aside.

6.     With a knife or a mandolin, slice 2 zucchini, length wise, into strips.

7.     In a 9x13 inch glass baking dish, place a layer of the creamy yogurt mixture. Sprinkle a layer of the roasted tomatoes on top of the creamy mixture. Add a layer of the sliced zucchini. Repeat.

8.     Add the last little bit of creamy mixture to the last layer of zucchini. Sprinkle with tomatoes and chopped fresh basil. Cover with aluminum foil and cook, covered, at 350°F for 45 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top of the lasagna. Cook for an additional 15 minutes.

9.     Remove, cool for about 15 minutes, cut, serve, and ENJOY!

Choco-Stachios

I love chocolate. A lot. And pistachio pudding. And cookies. So why not combine them all? I've been wanting to try out all these pudding cookie recipes I've been seeing on pintrest, so tonight, I did just that! 

I didn't quite like the way some of the recipes looked though... so I did some tweaking.

I added more vanilla, because, personally, I think it can never hurt. 

I added salt (the recipe had none...) because it helps bring out the sweetness.

I added baking powder, just because.

I added cocoa powder, because I didn't want my cookies to look a gross green of the brown sugar and pistachio pudding, and more chocolate is ALWAYS better.

...And they came out beautifully.

Seriously...

I've never seen cookies disappear so quickly. 

This recipe makes almost 4 dozen cookies, and I swear they were gone before they even hit the table... Like my hubs likes to say, "I was on it like a bulldog on a pork chop!"

Choco-Stachios

Ingredients:

3/4 c butter (1 1/2 sticks) softened

3/4 cup brown sugar, packed

1/4 cup white sugar

1 (3.4 oz.) package instant pistachio pudding

2 eggs

1/2 cup cocoa powder (you can add more cocoa powder if you want chocolat-ier, just make sure to take out the equivalent of flour, otherwise you will dry out your cookie dough.)

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (mexican or madagascar vanilla ROCKS.)

2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips (I'm a fan of Ghirardelli's 60% cocoa chips) 

Preheat oven to 350F.

Cream together the softened butter, sugars, pudding, eggs, cocoa powder, and vanilla. Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the creamed mixture and stir with wooden spoon until well combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.

(the flash made the dough and cookies look kinda not-so-chocolatey, but I promise, they were!)

Scoop cookie dough onto a lightly greased cookie sheet with cookie scoop 

Bake for 8-12 minutes. Mine are perfect at 10 minutes, but ovens vary. Check them at 8 minutes then keep cooking until they are perfect for you.

Ta-da! Now watch them disappear!

The French Tortilla

CREPES!!!

(need I say more?)

Ingredients:

6 eggs
6 egg yolks
12 fl. oz. water
16 fl. oz. whole milk (I used 1% because it's what we had, but I'm sure whole is a whole lot tastier!)
1 tsp. vanilla
6 oz. granulated sugar
1 tsp. salt
14 oz. all purpose flour
5 oz unsalted butter, melted

Directions:

1. Whisk together the eggs, yolks, water, vanilla, and milk. Add the sugar and salt. Slowly sift/whisk in the flour to avoid lumps. Lastly, whisk in the melted butter. Cover and set aside to rest at least an hour before cooking.
2. Heat a small sauté pan; spray lightly with oil. Pour in 1 to 1 1/2 oz of batter (I just used a soup ladle, about 3/4 full); swirl to coat the bottom of the pan evenly.
3. Cook the crepe until set and light brown, approximately 60 seconds. Flip it over and cook 30 seconds longer. Remove from pan. I made a video, maybe this link will work to get to it? How to cook a crepe

Your cooked beauties can be used immediately or covered and held briefly in a warm oven. They can also be wrapped well in plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for several weeks, which is great because then you can just pull them out whenever you have a craving! MMmmm!

(my crepes stack... because I am the crepes MASTER!!)

My favorite toppings: nutella, bananas, strawberries, any fruit, chocolate syrup, whipped cream, peanut butter, marshmallows, chocolate chips, jams and jellies, and pretty much anything you want!!

Variations:
savory crepes:
Reduce the sugar to 1 tbsp. Substitute up to 5 oz buckwheat flour or whole wheat flour for an equal amount of the all purpose flour if desired. Cook them the same. With these you can treat them more as wraps, and add cheeses, meats, etc. I had one at City Market here in Indianapolis that had roast beef, blue cheese crumble, spinach, and a raspberry vinaigrette dressing. MMMMmmm!!!

Basque Cake

I know this picture doesn't look so appetizing, but trust me: This cake is AMAZING. The Basque cake is a classical cake from Spain. It's a type of pound cake (or tea cake) filled with vanilla custard (A.K.A. pastry cream) which is added to the middle before the cakes are baked, making the cake very moist. In this recipe, it calls for rum, which is fine to bake with because the alcohol will cook out if you don't like or don't do alcohol, but I never add it anyways. But it is an option if you would like, and you can adjust the amount to suit your taste. Store it covered, in you fridge. It should keep for about a week this way. This happens to also be one of the hub's favorites that I make. He took the leftovers to work with him one day and apparently it was all his co-workers could talk about for the rest of the day. :)

Ingredients:
pan shmear
1 lb. 8 oz. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 lb 8 oz. granulated sugar
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
5 eggs at room temperature
1 lb 4 oz cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons dark rum or imitation rum flavoring (optional)
1 lb pastry cream
2 oz. thinly sliced almonds (optional)
Powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Grease the inside of two 10 inch round cake pans using pan shmear or pan spray

2. Cream together the butter, sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time.

3. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually incorporate the dry ingredients into the butter mixture.

4. Place the batter in a pastry bag fitted with a No. 5 (10mm) plain tip. Pipe in a spiral pattern over the bottom of your prepared pan, starting from the center and working your way out. Pipe an additional ring around the very edge. Repeat with the second pan.

5. Stir the rum into the pastry cream. Divide the pastry cream between the pans on top of the batter and spread it out evenly within the extra ring of batter you did in step 4. Make sure the cream doesn't touch the edges of the pan.

(This is actually a picture of my cake-making partner-in-crime, Veronica, because I forgot to take a picture of my pastry layer before I put the last batter layer on my cake. Check out her cute little baby bump :))

6. Pipe the remaining batter in a spiral (starting in the center and working out just like step 4) on top of the pastry cream in each pan. If needed, use a small spatula to spread the batter to the edge of the pan. If using, sprinkle slice almonds over the tops.

7. Bake at 350F for approximately 50 minutes. Allow to cool in the pans.

Once cool, remove the cakes from the pans and dust with powdered sugar.

Cut into desired portions and enjoy!