Cauliflower Fried Rice

I tried this tonight and YUM!  So good!  I added shrimp and also used Flavor God Garlic Lover's seasoning, their seasonings are awesome!!  I did not have just peas and carrots, but I had a bag of mixed veggies so my version also had corn and green beans in it which still tasted fantastic.  

I found this great recipe at http://therecipecritic.com/2015/01/cauliflower-fried-rice/

Ingredients

• 1 head of cauliflower, (about 2½ cups chopped in a food processor)
• 2 Tbs sesame oil
• 1 small white onion, chopped
• 1 cup frozen peas and carrots, thawed
• 2-3 Tablespoons soy sauce (more or less to taste)
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 Tbsp chopped green onions (optional)

Instructions

1. Rinse and chop the cauliflower into florets and put into a food processor. (If you don't have a food processor continue to chop the cauliflower into tiny pieces.) Pulse until the cauliflower until it is small and resembles rice.
2. Preheat a large skillet or wok to medium heat. Pour sesame oil in the bottom. Add white onion and peas and carrots and fry until tender.
3. Slide the onion, peas and carrots to the side, and pour the beaten eggs onto the other side. Using a spatula, scramble the eggs. Once cooked, mix the eggs with the vegetable mix.
4. Add the cauliflower to the veggie and egg mixture. Pour the soy sauce on top. Stir and fry the rice and veggie mixture until heated through and cauliflower is tender. Add chopped green onions if desired.

Healthier Chicken Parmesan

Recipe share time! This dinner was so yummy and simple to prepare, perfect for a week night dinner! You can prep some of it a little ahead too, like flatten the chicken, to get it on the table in even less time! 

Taco Pasta Salad

Looking for a side dish perfect for all of this summer's BBQ's?  This one is it.  Perfect for large groups since it makes a lot, and it's a unique change from the typical potato and macaroni salads.  Everyone always asks for the recipe once they've tried it!

Ingredients:

1 (16 oz) package tri-color rotini pasta

1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 (11 oz) can mexican style corn, drained

1 (4 oz) can chopped green chilies

1/2 cup italian style salad dressing, or more to taste

1/2 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend

1/3 cup minced fresh cilantro

2 tbsp taco seasoning mix

1/2 lime, juiced

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil; cook the rotini at a boil until tender yet firm to the bite, about 8 minutes.  Drain, and rinse with cold water, place in fridge to cool.

2.  Mix black beans, corn, green chilies, italian dressing, mexican cheese, cilantro, taco seasoning and lime juice together in a bowl.  Add rotini and lightly stir to combine.

3.  All done!  This tastes best freshly mixed, so it is ideal to wait until right before serving to mix the rotini with the sauce mixture.  To refresh leftovers, just add a little bit of italian dressing and stir to combine!

Enjoy! Take a picture and share how yours turned out!  Or share any yummy extras you added!  

Baked Pears

This is such a delicious recipe, I found it on Pinterest and OMG! So good. Perfect fix for that sweet tooth and best part, it's good for you!

Ingredients:

4-5 Bosc Pears

2 tbsp honey

2 tbsp coconut oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

1. Cut pears in half and remove core

2. Place on 8x11 baking dish cut part facing down

3. Mix together honey, coconut oil, vanilla and cinnamon in sauce pan. Cool at med/high setting, bring just to a boil stirring occasionally, and remove from heat.

4. Drizzle sauce over pears and cook for 30-35 minutes at 400 degrees.

5. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving. Spoon any extra sauce over pears and serve :)

Yum!

Grilled corn & Poblano Guacamole

I. Love. Guacamole.

Let me repeat.

I. LOVE. Guacamole.

Ok, now that I have confessed my love, let me tell you I have recently found a delicious recipe for... You guessed it. Guacamole! 💃 

It's hard to get a good pic of guacamole I decided... Just trust me. It's good.

Ok, so here is what you'll need:

3 has avocados

1 tsp garlic, minced

1/4 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 lime, juiced

1 tbsp cilantro 

1 poblano pepper, grilled and diced 

1 corn on cob, grilled until slightly charred and kernels removed

Combine all ingredients into medium bowl. I like my avocado with chunks so I used a potato masher and then mixed it all up with a spoon. 

Serve with tortilla chips and enjoy!

Fire Roasted Corn Salsa

Charred corn and poblanos from the grill give this salsa great roasted flavors! You can control the level of heat you want with the amount of jalepenos you use, or none at all for a sweet corn salsa! This salsa goes perfect with chips or in shrimp tacos!

Ingredients:

3 poblano peppers, sliced in half and seeds removed

2 ears of corn

1 red bell pepper, diced

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

Juice of 1/2 lime

1/2 of 4oz can jalepenos, or less depending on how much fire you like! 

(I used half, it was very spicy and I like spicy. I think 1/4 of the can might be the perfect amount so I will try that next time)

Instructions:

1. Heat grill.

2. Once ready, spray corn with olive oil spray and season with salt & pepper.

3. Place corn and poblanos on grill. Cook on all sides until slightly charred.

4. Meanwhile, add red pepper and cilantro into a medium bowl. Add salt and pepper

5. Remove from grill. Allow corn to cool. Dice peppers and cut kernels off cob.

6. Add corn and poblanos into bowl with other ingredients. Mix well. Add lime juice and taste for season. Adjust with salt and pepper if needed. 

7. Serve immediately or chill in fridge. 

T.P. Roll reindeer

A simple craft, perfect for toddlers! It took a little bit to convince my son to let me trace his hand (He turned 2 a couple months ago) but he eventually came around and let me trace ONE hand. And it looks like he is making the sign Spock makes on Star Trek lol but I just used that to make both antlers.

 For this craft you need:

Scissors

Glue or glue stick

Brown construction paper

Toilet paper roll

Red Pom Pom ball 

Black marker to color the eyes

White construction paper for eyes

Pencil 

Trace your kiddo's hands. If they are difficult you can just do what I did and get one hand and then use that one for both. 

Draw ovals for the eyes and cut out, draw the pupil in black how ever you want, silly Googly eyes or add color if you'd like, it's all up to you :)

Last, glue on the eyes, Pom and hands. Easy!