How To: Cauliflower Rice

I'd heard a lot of great things about Cauliflower Rice,

but hadn't given it a try until this summer.

It intrigued me, but something was holding me back.

In an attempt to eat even healthier than I already do,

I decided to whip up a batch one night.

A quick Google search led me to these instructions.

Turns out, Cauliflower Rice is really easy to make!

After making it a few times for myself, 

I decided to show you all how to make some for yourself.

The Goods:

Cauliflower

Food Processor

Remove the leaves and stem from your cauliflower

and then cut into quarters with a sharp knife.

Remove as much of the core as possible, reserving all the florets.

Put the cauliflower florets into the food processor

and simply pulse until you have a rice-like texture.

My food processor isn't huge, so I have to do it in two batches.

Once you have your cauliflower rice made,

simply saute and season it like you would regular rice.

Spicy Turkey Nachos

MMMMM nachos!!!

Boy do I love me some nachos.

If I'm craving them, I have to have them.

Otherwise the craving just never goes away.

I will seriously crave them until I have some!

And now that I've gone on and on about my love of nachos,

let me show you how to make some that are super easy and tasty!

The Goods:

Tortilla Chips

Taco Meat

Spanish Rice

Black Beans

Shredded Cheese

Avocado

Pickled Jalapenos

Green Onions

Plain Greek Yogurt

Fresh Lime

I like to layer all the goodies, so I don't end up with all the hearty stuff on top,

and just sad, dry, boring chips left alone on the bottom.

For this batch, I did the following:

A thin layer of chips, followed by meat, beans, and rice.

Then sprinkled some cheese on top of that layer.

Followed by two more layers done the exact same way.

Lastly, I added some jalapenos to the top layer.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees,

then pop your nacho dish in the oven for a few minutes.

Keep an eye on it, and pull it out when the cheese is melted and bubbly.

Once it's nice and hot, remove from the oven and

add fresh squeezed lime, avocado, green onions and greek yogurt.

Now grab a ton of napkins (this IS finger food) and dig in!!!

Sausage Zucchini Rice

I bought ingredients intending to make Sausage Stuffed Zucchini Boats,
but I was making it on a work night and I wanted something a little quicker.
So I decided to do a little research and my friend Google
gave me a recipe for Sausage Zucchini Rice that sounded amazing!

I went home that night and made it and it was quite good.
Then I made it again, and I'm pretty sure I made it once more.
THEN I realized I hadn't, but needed to blog about it,
so here I am to tell you all about it today!

The Goods:

Italian Sausage

Zucchini

Basmati Rice

Onion

Unsalted Butter

Chicken Broth

Parmesan Cheese

Parsley

Basil

Salt

Pepper

Note - I omitted the Pine Nuts from my version

because I had a bad experience with them once

and have been afraid to eat them ever since.

Feel free to use them if ya like - I'm sure it'd be tasty!

Chop your zucchini and onion.

And shred your cheese.

Brown the sausage.

Meanwhile, cook the rice...

Add butter to pot and sauté onions - about 5 minutes.

Add rice and broth to pan and bring to a boil.

Cover, reduce to a simmer and cook until water is absorbed.

While rice is cooking, start your zucchini...

In the same skillet you cooked the sausage,
cook your zucchini until tender - about 4 minutes.
Return sausage to the skillet and add broth and water,
cooking until heated through completely.

Add sausage and zucchini mixture to cooked rice.
Stir to combine and taste, then adjust seasoning if needed.

Now - serve and ENJOY!!!

Oh and before you go...

On a totally unrelated, but important note -
if you haven't signed up for Ebates yet, you need to.
It's so easy and right now lots of store have DOUBLE cash back!
Like I said before, I wish I had done it sooner!
Oh and with all the Christmas time you're probably doing.
Why not earn a little cash back while buying gift for others?

Chicken Soft Tacos

If you haven't figured it out yet - I LOVE to cook. 

I love it even more when I can cook for a group of people like my amazing family or my close friends.

 I love searching cookbooks and online for recipes (heck - I do this for fun all the time!), I love going to the market (sometimes more than one!) to buy all the ingredients, I love the whole cooking process (yes, even all the prep work too!) and I love seeing the happiness and full bellies once the meal is all over.

 Without boring you even more about how much I love to cook, let me tell you about an amazing and SUPER EASY meal I made for myself and two of my girlfriends a few weeks ago!

I was randomly browsing recipes online one night (surprise surprise, right?) and I round a recipe for chicken tacos. I've made chicken tacos countless times, but this recipe sounded so simple and looked amazing! I called for a crock pot, a few ingredients and not much else.

I used this recipe as a starting point, but made a few modifications. I didn't use green chiles because I didn't have any. Instead of using a jar of salsa, I made my own, which is so easy too! Lastly, I used chicken thighs AND chicken tenders because...I wanted to and I did! The only thing I'd do different next time would be to use "fajita" sized instead of "soft taco" sized tortillas. Sounds odd, I know, but the "soft taco" ones are quite large.

Butternut Squash Risotto

I had a Butternut Squash that I needed to use, and I didn't want to just roast it like I usually do so I did a little searching online. After looking at a few recipes, I found one that sounded amazing from my ol' favorite, The Pioneer Woman. It looked great and I couldn't wait to a make it, so last Saturday I tried making risotto for the very first time! To be honest - I was a little nervous, but I haven't screwed up a recipe too bad in quite a long time so I got busy cooking and hoped for the best! Take a look at the whole process below.

The Good:

Butternut Squash

Arborio Rice

Chicken (or Vegetable) Broth

Olive Oil

Butter

Onion

Chili Powder 

Salt

Pepper

Parmesan Cheese

Fresh Parsley

Cut the squash in half, scoop out the seeds, peel, bag half the squash, and dice the other half.

Melt butter, add the squash, season with salt, pepper and chili powder. 

Cook until tenter, but not falling apart. Set aside until rice is cooked.

Melt remaining butter and saute onions until tender and translucent.

Add the rice and stir, cooking about a minute.

Add the broth to the rice one cup at a time. 

Simmer and let absorb, adding more broth until rice is tender but still has a little bite. 

Add freshly shave parmesan and the cooked butternut squash.

Fold into the cooked rice and season if needed. Top with freshly chopped parsley. 

The finished product with a yummy green salad!

Was my first time making risotto a disaster? Absolutely not! In fact, every time I think about this recipe, tell someone about this meal, look at the pictures I took while cooking - I can taste the deliciousness! I actually ended up omitting the turmeric and cream, but wouldn't have wanted it any other way. I cannot wait to make this again and share it with someone else who will appreciate how great it tastes!

Sunday Night Dinner: Take 31 - Part 2

In this post last Sunday, I mentioned there was a Part 2 to come. And I'm sorry it's been a week, but Part 2 is FINALLY here! I hope you're not disappointed because I honestly think it was worth the wait! 

When I made the Pesto Chicken, Rice and Grilled Veggies I intentionally make much more than I'd be eating that night because I knew I'd be able to use them in meals the next few day. Meals, yes - I said meals as in using one meal's cooking for multiple other meals! I learned to do this awhile ago and it's GENIUS if done right!!

Everything cooked Sunday Night

So what did I do with the leftover deliciousness? I made three different things actually, but unfortunately only have pictures of two of them! :( Have no fear - the unpictured rice bowl was still amazing and I would have one right now if I could.

For lunch Monday, I took leftovers.

And made a chicken, rice, grilled veggies, hummus and sprouts 

pita sandwich that was so tasty. 

A co-worker even asked where I'd purchased it!

Tuesday night I made a salad with chicken, rice, grilled veggies, sprouts and a little light ranch dressing. 

All the different meals were amazing and different enough so I didn't feel like I kept eating the 

EXACT SAME THING!

I'll try to share more meals I make like this as I do it. It makes cooking delicious homemade food SO much easier and even quite enjoyable to some extent. 

Sunday Night Dinner: Take 31 - Part 1

Another Sunday Night Dinner post, but this one is Part 1 of 2 for the meal! Keep your eyes posted for Part 2! Until then, let me tell you about tonight's amazing dinner!!

Yesterday, while I was planning out my meals for the week I decided I was going to make some homemade pesto and make Pesto Grilled Chicken for dinner tonight and to enjoy a few more times this week! With the chicken, I would have Herbed Basmati Rice and Grilled Peppers and Onions. YUM!!!

I pretty much just ate this meal, but I'm getting hungry again just thinking about it... Go make this meal and see how delicious it is for yourself! 

Sunday Night Dinner: Take 29

Another Sunday night, and once again...another yummy Sunday night dinner! Tonight, I got to enjoy the company of my girlfriend Alison and catch up on our busy lives. It was a great evening and I look forward to more nights like tonight in the near future!

We started with some fresh watermelon juice and had some tasty olives too! Soon after, she was digging into the Soft Pretzels I made last night! They're so good, even after freezing. And the main course was just as good - salmon with herb garlic butter, roasted brussels sprouts and herbed basmati rice. YUM! We both were stuffed and completely satisfied!!

Sunday Night Dinner: Take 25

Tonight's Sunday Night Dinner Post is EXTRA SPECIAL because we have a GUEST blogger! Please welcome one of my best friends, and Podcast host - Robin Rhys!!!

It's Sunday night and I'm at Robyn's for dinner. First off, this is not an unusual occurrence  and it's always a pleasure. We never seem to have the same thing twice and tonight is filled with yet more surprises! 

Alright, so here's tonight's menu: 

We started with some bomb chips and guacamole - ALL FRESH! I actually brought the avocados and they were so green and prefect for the guac if I do say so.  

After that came the main course and it was oh, so good!  

We had chicken and shrimp soft tacos, Spanish rice and refried black beans.

And oh yeah, I can't forget the oven roasted freakin' corn. Best corn I've ever had!!! 

I'm so full and rolling over on myself, but as usual - it was all AMAZING! 

Thanks to Robyn for being the most fabulous host as always. 

Sunday Night Dinner: Take 24

It's been a few weeks, but I'm back for a NEW Sunday Night Dinner post. And I'm back with an AMAZING recipe that I tried for the first time and I will without a doubt be making it again! The flavors of everything just went together so well and I couldn't have been happier with all my food decisions. 

Now that I've told you about the delicious dinner, take a look at the meal for yourself!

Kabobs!!!

Homemade Pesto Chicken Kabob, Bell Pepper and Red Onion Kabob, Grilled Zucchini and a Homemade Feta Herb Baked Rice Pilaf! 

It was SO good and I'm quite excited that I have so much to eat for leftovers the next few days!!

Sunday Night Dinner: Take 17!

It's been FOREVER since I've done a Sunday Night Dinner post. I'm sorry for the absence and I HOPE post most in the near future!

I enjoyed a delicious piece of Salmon that was fresh AND wild caught! Such a treat and tastes so much better!! Along with the fish I had NEW brown and wild rice recipe. Look for a blog about the rice recipe soon!! And to finish off the meal I had some fresh, farm grown green beans that I blanched and then sauteed with a lil bacon. Yuuuuuuuuum! Sunday dinner was great and I look forward to sharing more of them with you soon!!! 

Adventures With Rice: Feta and Herb Orzo Pilaf

You didn't think I'd let the blog go thiiiiiiis long and not come back with another rice post, did you??? I hope not! If you haven't figured it out yet - I'm a big fan of rice. :)

The rice in this post is based off this recipe, but I modified it quite a bit. It's one of my favorite rice recipes and I really don't make it enough!

Here's how to make this super easy, but amazingly tasty rice pilaf!

The Goods:

Butter (Not Pictured)

Green Onions

Garlic

Long Grain White Rice

Orzo

Chicken Broth

Salt and Pepper

Fresh Herbs (Basil, Parsley, etc.)

Feta

Melt the butter

Add the sliced green onions

And the garlic!

Sauté a couple of minutes.

Add the orzo and sauté 2 minutes.

Add the rice and sauté 2 more minutes. 

Pour in the chicken broth.

And add the salt and pepper!

Pour it all into a covered casserole dish.

Bake at 350 for about 35 minutes.

Let the rice sit for about 10 minutes

Add the feta!!!

And the herbs.

And give it one last stir to combine everything.

Now enjoy!!!