Cauliflower cakes

A very good day everyone!

Dinner tonight was to be hamburgers on soft rolls with a pasta salad as the side.

Instead of a pasta salad I had a small head of cauliflower and thought squash the pasta salad idea and make some cauliflower cakes instead.  The recipe is similar to potato pancakes but using fresh cauliflower instead.

After cleaning the cauliflower I used my food processor.  I placed bite sized florets slowly into
Processor and kept pulsing until it was of the texture I wanted.

Here’s my approximate recipe

I small head cauliflower(cut into pieces)
2 eggs
3/4 tsp. Salt
Pinch pepper
1/2 tsp. Onion powder
1/4 tsp. Garlic powder
1/4 cup flour
Vegetable oil
Sour cream optional

Whisk eggs, salt, pepper. Garlic and onion powder together.  Fold in chopped cauliflower using a large spoon making sure all ingredients are incorporated.

In a large frying pan place a generous amount of oil ( 1/4 cup or more) on medium heat.  Once oil appears warmed make individual small to medium size patties.  Place in oil and allow to brown slowly.  Turn over and repeat frying until browned.  At this point watch heat they could start to brown quickly.

Remove with spatula and Place on a dish lined with a paper towel or two to remove some excess oil.

Serve with sour cream or possibly a little salsa!

Cheesesteak macaroni

Hi everyone!

I pretty much made this recipe as below for the exception of I used regular cream cheese and I used thin steak pieces instead of ground beef.  

It was rich but so delicious.

You decide which method works for you. I usually adapt most recipes to our taste and actually most unless noted I do not use any sugar,butter or cheese substitutes. I do use applesauce as a substitute in baking at times though to cut back on butter.

Ps.  I felt a real cheesesteak IMO would use thin minute steak like steak and not so much ground beef.

Use what is convenient for you and if you’re watching calories go the less fat cheese recipe.



Enjoy!

8

oz uncooked large elbow macaroni (about 2 cups)

1

lb extra-lean (at least 90%) ground beef

2

cups thinly sliced yellow onions

2

medium green bell peppers, cut in thin strips

1

tablespoon Montreal steak seasoning

1

package (8 oz) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese (Neufchâtel), cubed

1/2

cup beef broth (from 32-oz carton)

2

cups shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese (8 oz

• 1

  Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 13x9-inch (3-quart) baking dish with cooking spray. Cook macaroni to al dente; drain as directed on package.
• 2

  Meanwhile, in 12-inch nonstick skillet, cook beef, onions, bell peppers and steak seasoning over medium-high heat 9 to 11 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is thoroughly cooked and vegetables are tender; do not drain. Remove from heat. Stir in cream cheese until melted. Stir in hot macaroni and broth.
• 3

  Pour macaroni mixture into baking dish; top with Cheddar cheese.
• 4

  Cover with foil. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until mixture is hot (at least 165°F in center) and Cheddar cheese is melted.

  
  

Zinnias Short and tall versions

Summer gardening 

From my garden to yours 

Lesson 1

Buy quality seeds, Container and /or potting soil 

Do not plant seeds in ground until after Memorial Day.

Frost can occur at any time before that date .  It’s pretty safe to say it shouldn’t occur after that date.

Clean up area you plan to plant seeds.  I usually use a little good soil to mix in with ground soil.  I plant my seeds in a row close to my house for some support and I like the uniformity.

Zinnias will need some support as they grow.  I use twine or string and attach the twine/string to posts I hammer in ground.

(you do not need to put posts in ground until seedlings/ plants are at least 1 foot high.

Note:  you can start seeds in early May in small containers in your home to give the seeds a quick start.

I’ll do another tutorial on how to do that early step in another blog post.

THESE ARE THE ZINNIAS 2020 July.
 It was necessary to add two rows of string to support them.

These were planted from last years seeds collected in the fall.

CONTAINER GARDENING!

FIVE

FOUR

THREE

TWO

ONE

Air Fryer stuffed chicken breasts

I'm still learning how to cook in my airfryer.  Most of it has been guessing temperatures.  In my air fryer instructions there wasn't any absolute frying degrees but hints of temperature to cook meat, chicken etc. so this was relatively simple.  My chicken was a little dry after it was cooked so I will watch it carefully next time.  Twenty minutes may be enough.  I did drizzle the breasts after they were cooked with my homemade white sauce.  I'm sure you can top it with salsa or even a cheese sauce.  You decide.

Air fryer boneless skinless chicken breasts

2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts

salt and pepper to taste

paprika

garlic powder

onion powder

olive oil or cooking spray

a little flour 

Mix dry ingredients.  Stuff chicken breasts with Stove top stuffing or broccoli and cheese mixture. Dip both sides in dry ingredients after inserting toothpicks to hold ingredients. Spray or coat with olive oil.

  I needed 5 toothpicks for each chicken breast.  Be careful to not overstuff.

Place the chicken breasts inside the air fryer basket. Set the temperature to 360 degrees (or as close to that as yours allows) and set it for 25 minutes. 

Press "start."

At the halfway point, open the air fryer and turn the breasts over to the other side and resume cooking.

Enjoy!

Scampi on couscous

I made the short cut recipe of the recipe below using the below ingredients.

No complaints! Yummy!

Victoria’s marinara sauce (1/2 bottle)
Olive oil
Diced carrots
Diced onions
Minced garlic
Parsley
Crushed red pepper
Lemon juice.
Parmesan cheese

Sautéed onions, carrots and garlic Until they are cooked.  I Added sauce and warmed.   Placed all in large food processor with 1/2 cup water. Pulsed until liquid.

Sautéed cleaned shrimp in olive oil, garlic, Red pepper and parsley. I added lemon juice and tossed until shrimp is warmed.  Do not overcook!

Add 1 cup couscous to thin sauce .  Allow to stand about 10 minutes. Fluff with fork.

Scoop Couscous into dishes.  Sprinkle Parmesan and top with shrimp!  Yummy!


Giada’s recipe

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

1 garlic clove, peeled and smashed, plus 2 garlic cloves minced

2 (8 ounce) cans chopped tomatoes in their juice

1 (8ounce) bottle clam juice

1/4 cup dry white wine

1 cup water

2 cups plain couscous

2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 lemon, juiced

1 tablespoon red pepper flakes

Parsley 

In a large pot, heat 1/4 cup olive oil. When almost smoking, add onion, carrot and 1 clove smashed garlic and saute until vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the canned tomatoes and their juice, clam juice and white wine. Bring to a boil and simmer on medium heat for 10 minutes, uncovered. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Carefully pour tomato mixture in the bowl of a food processor and puree. Add a couple of tablespoons of water if needed - you want to end up with a broth. Check for seasoning.

Return broth to the pot. Add 1 cup of water and 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and add 2 cups couscous. Cover pot and remove from heat. Let rest for 10 minutes, allowing the couscous to absorb all the liquid. Fluff with a fork and season with salt and pepper.

In a large skillet, add the remaining 1/4 cup oil and the 2 cloves of minced garlic. Heat the oil, making sure not to burn the garlic. When the oil is hot, add the shrimp and stirring occasionally, cook the shrimp until they start to turn pink, about 5 minutes. Be careful not to overcook the shrimp or they will become tough. Remove from heat and add the lemon juice, red pepper and chopped parsley. Check for seasoning.

To serve, mound the couscous in the center of a platter and top with the shrimp

Food network recipe