Cauliflower and Pimiento Chowder
This year, Josh got me a handy dandy immersion blender for Christmas. Practical? Yep. Do I love it? Yep.
And I've been a little soup happy this week--getting in lots of practice with my new immersion blender. Maybe he should get me a new vacuum next year, and then I'll get vacuum happy :)
Maybe not.
I've been wanting to create and try this recipe for a while now, and I was happy to learn that it didn't disappoint. Not only is it light and smooth, but it is flavorful and lick-the-spoon good!
The key to this soup is roasting the cauliflower. And garlic. And onion.
You know it's done roasting when it looks a little brown around the edges. Just like it got a nice tan.
I wonder what that's like?
Have fun roasting, blending, and slurping away!
Cauliflower and Pimiento Chowder
Makes about 4 servings
Printable recipe
Ingredients:
1 head of cauliflower
1 medium onion (thickly sliced)
3-4 cloves of garlic
1 14oz can of chicken or veggie stock
1/2 cup of sour cream
1/2 cup of pimientos from the jar (small jar)
1/2 cup of water
1-2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
2. Break apart the head of cauliflower and place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Add the sliced onion and whole garlic cloves.
3. Using a spatula, spread olive oil over cauliflower, onion, and garlic. Sprinkle on pepper.
4. Bake for 30-35 minutes (or until top is slightly brown).
5. In a large pot, warm chicken stock. Add roasted cauliflower, onion, and garlic (the garlic should come out of the outer shell/skin).
6. Break apart cauliflower in the pot. Once soft, blend it all together. You can use an immersion blender or pour mixture into a blender. Blend until desired texture. I like mine a little chunky!
7. Add water, pimientos, and sour cream. Mix together and serve.
{I'm sharing my recipe at It's Overflowering, Tatortots and Jello, Whipperberry}
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4 Ingredient Go Green Smoothie
I'll confess.
My pants are too tight. Not the just-out-of-the-dryer tight, but the yank-'em-up-and-hope-they-button tight.
Those morsels of spritz cookies, pizza, cider, hot chocolate, appetizers, potatoes, ham...etc are haunting me now. Jingle bells should be translated into jiggle love handles! Anyway, I always feel better after I eat fresh, wholesome, and light meals for a few weeks after the holidays. Plus, my pants tend to fit better too :)
Enter my favorite light breakfast: My go green smoothie.
Most of the time, I like it just as it is. Sometimes, I add some flax seed or oatmeal to make a little more filling.
It's definitely one of those things that you have to have a taste for. And my husband, well, he still thinks I'm crazy when I wander around the house, slurping my green stuff, and proclaiming, "This is SO good."
Maybe you'll think I'm crazy too. Oh, well.
Here are the ingredients:
I think that the lime is the star of this go green smoothie.
Recipe for Go Green Smoothie
Makes one smoothie
Ingredients:
1 small frozen banana
3/4 cup of almond milk (or regular milk). Reduce milk amount if you want it a little thicker.
1 cup of spinach (or kale)
Juice from one lime
(you can also add flax seed, oatmeal, other fruit, etc., for a more hearty mix!)
Directions:
Put it in a blender and blend away. Pour into a cup and enjoy!
{I'm sharing here: Tatortots and Jello, Whipperberry}
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Instarecipe: Arugula and Feta Pizza
While in process of making these delicious little personal pizzas, I couldn't find my "real" camera. It was lost in the chaos that we currently call our office.
So, I grabbed my cell phone and snapped photos. And then I "instagramed" them!
It was the perfect solution for documenting a yummy, quick, and simple recipe.
Be prepared for future "instarecipes."
We recently joined in on a local CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), and now I am getting acquainted with lot of new greens!
Like, arugula, for example.
It's a little like spinach and yet has a more mustard-like flavor. And it's very yummy on pizza!
No worries. If you don't have arugula laying around, spinach works just as grand!
I tweaked the pizza dough recipe from the Pioneer Woman a bit to make it a little healthier and heartier.
It's a fantastic recipe for making a quick and easy pizza dough.
Then, I added some of my homemade pizza sauce. I like to add a pinch of cayenne to my pizza sauce for a little spice :)
And then I sprinkled on the arugula and feta.
Let it bake for a few minutes and the personal pizzas are ready to snarf down.
Arugula and Feta Personal Pizzas:
Make 2 personal pizzas or one large pizza
{Printable Recipe}
Ingredients:
For the crust (adapted from The Pioneer Woman):
1/2 tsp yeast
3/4 cup of warm water
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp garlic salt/powder
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp olive oil
2 minced garlic cloves
1 tbsp flax seed (optional)
For the toppings:
3/4 cup of pizza sauce (homemade or from a jar)
1.5 cups of chopped arugula (or another leafy green like spinach)
1/2 cup of crumbled feta cheese
Directions:
1. Mix yeast and warm water together; let bubble.
2. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, seasoning, salt, garlic, garlic salt/powder, and flax seed.
3. Slowly add the 3 tablespoons of olive oil into the flour mixture.
4. Add the water and yeast mixture to the bowl. Stir. The dough should still be a little sticky.
5. Shape into a ball and put into a greased bowl. Cover with plastic and place into the refrigerator for an hour or until needed.
6. When ready to make pizza, preheat oven to 475 degrees. Split dough in half and roll each half out on a floured surface. Place dough on a cookie sheet or pizza stone.
7. Spoon pizza sauce onto the dough and spread evenly.
8. Add chopped arugula and feta evenly on each pizza.
9. Bake for 10-15 minutes. Crust should be lightly browned when finished.
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