Quick, easy, cheap and beautiful: Roasted Cauliflower!!

Looking for an easy, cheap, and spectacular side dish: Roasted Cauliflower!!! 

No joke, this was the first time I made this, and it turned out fantastic!

Ingredients:

1      head of cauliflower

2tbs olive oil

That's it!!

Time: 45 min total

Serves: 2 as dinner, 6 for a side only

Directions:

1) Wash the head of cauliflower and remove excess steam so that the head will sit up on the baking sheet.

2) Place the head on the backing sheet and lightly coat the top with the olive oil.

3) Place in the oven at 425 degrees!  It's really this easy! Note: do not adjust the temperature for altitude.  

4) Place roasted head on a pretty plate and serve hot!  That's all there is to it!

Cost:

cauliflower     $1

olive oil          $.030           

Total               $1.30

Served as a side: 21 cents!

Shown here served with grilled Tri-Tip and oven roasted potatoes!

Asian Fusion Pizza!

So it's a Sunday, and I feel like pizza :)  But not just any pizza: Asian Fusion Pizza with sesame and garlic based sauce topped with Muenster cheese, onions, broccoli, sausage and fresh greens!  Served on a Agave pizza crust!

Ingredients:

The Pizza!
1/4      white onion
1c       grated muenster cheese, ( for finally chopped)
4 tbs   Asian Toasted Seasame Seed Dressing
2-4     sausages, pretty much any kind, cooked
1 1/2c spring greens, washed
1c       fresh broccoli

The Dough!
(This should make you think twice about buying ready made pizza crusts!)
2 1/2 c all purpose flour
1 tbs    agave
1 tsp    salt
1 pkg  quick active dry yeast (or Rapid)
3 tbs   olive oil
1 c.    very warm water
(But no boiling!  Boiling will run the risk of killing the yeast)

Serving: 4 people, easily
Time: 1 hour all in

This recipe will definitely demonstrate what a hodgepodge cooker I am.  If it's in the fridge, it's game to be used!  Point and case, the "sauce" for this pizza is salad dressing-- And it will be amazing!!  Just trust me :)

For recipe involving dough, you always need to read the whole recipe first to know if you need to make the dough first or the 'filling,' so to speak.  Timing is much more important if anything has yeast in it.  There are precise chemical reactions going on to make your food yummy!

For this recipe, and all pizza recipes, start with the dough.

Directions:

1) In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, salt, package yeast, and agave.  Do not mix yet.  There are a lot of pizza recipes out there that get very elaborate at this point.  Although this is an important step, getting fancy doesn't make the dough taste better nor does it make your time in the kitchen more enjoyable.

2) Add the warm water evenly over the top. Slowly pour until you can no longer visibly see the yeast.


3) Mix thoroughly for 5 to 7 minutes.  The dough should be between tacky and stringy at this point.  Add more flour or warm water as necessary.  Be careful with the water-- A little goes a LONG way.

4) Ball the dough loosely in the middle of the bowl and cover loosely with cling wrap.   Do not use a damp cloth unless you hate that cloth-- I have definitely wrecked cloths that way.


5) Set aside for 30 min.  If you aren't ready for dinner just yet, set in the fridge for 3 to 4 hours.

6) Prepare the toppings, including grating or chopping the cheese.

7) This is also a good point to start preheating the oven to 400 degrees.  If thick crust, 375, and if thin crust 425 will work best.

8) Once the dough has more than doubled in size, with floured hands and on a floured surface, work the dough into the round disc everyone associates with pizza!

9) Place the dough on a backing sheet, that has flour or cornmeal spread on it, for easy lift off at the end :)

10) Add the dressing 'sauce' to the dough, and spread around smoothly with the back of a spoon up to 1/4 inch from the edge of the dough.

11) Add cheese and toppings as desired.

12) Bake for 20 min OR LESS.

13) Add the fresh greens to the top of the pizza after slicing.

14) Serve warm!

Cost:

All purpose flour                     $0.50

Agave                                     $0.10

Salt                                          $0.02

Quick active dry yeast            $0.50

Olive oil                                  $0.20

White onion                            $0.25

Muenster cheese                     $0.75

Asian Toasted... Dressing      $0.20

Sausages                                 $1.00

Spring greens                         $0.30

Broccoli                                  $0.20

Total                                       $4.02

Per serving                             $1.00

How much pizza this recipe actually makes!!

Pumpkin Ravioli in Home-Made Cheese-Potato Sauce with Broccoli Florets

 Just in time for fall! This is a quick and colorful meal that also happens to be well balanced :)

Ingredients:
1  package pumpkin ravioli (available at Costco)
1/2 bag frozen broccoli
1 cup hard white cheese of choice ( recommend: Jarlsberg) grated
3 red potatoes
2 tbs oil ( or bacon grease if so inclined)
1/4 cup milk (reduced milk works better than non-fat milk)

Estimated time: 30 min
Serves 4

So I'm going to make an effort to talk more about the food as there is clearly more to it than throwing some stuff you bought in a pot.  This meal is actually one of my favorite quick-and-easy dishes because 1) It's quick and easy, 2) It's reasonably healthy, 3) It's vegetarian friendly, 4) It stores super well!, and 5) It's easy to adjust to whatever you currently have in your fridge.

Also, my husband has recently quite smoking (YAY!) and broccoli is not only a great source of protein, calcium, and fiber-- Broccoli is also partially good at cleansing you of toxins, specifically including those from cigarette.

Directions:

1) Cook the potatoes.  I prefer boiling them in a pot of water, but that takes longer than microwaving them so it's up to your time schedule.  You will know when the potatoes are done because you will be able to easily stick a fork into them. At that point, let the potatoes cool to the point you can slice them up comfortably.

2) Boil water for the pasta.  Add at pinch of salt (to increase the temperature at which the water boils) and a dash of oil, any kind of oil but I use olive oil, (to help the pasta not stick to itself while it's cooking).

3) Place cooked and sliced potatoes into a bowl and pour the milk over the potatoes. This will keep the potatoes from browning AND will give the potatoes a creamy taste that is oh-so-good!  Let soak at least 7 minutes.

4) To a sauce pan, add the bacon grease to liberally coat the bottom of the pan.Then add the grated cheese. The harder the cheese the more time you will need to give the cheese alone to get "sweated."  Basically, you are just softening up the cheese, which you will know you have done by the limping texture of the cheese, or on thicker pieces, but the droplets of oil that are escaping from the cheese.

5) Add the butter soaked potatoes slices and broccoli to the sauce pan and stir well.  Keep an eye on your sauce pan and stir as needed, which will be often.

Note: If you are using fresh broccoli you may want to pre-steam if for 5-10 minutes.  You can do this in a third pan with some water and and a lid, already brought to boil before the broccoli is added OR in a bowl in the microwave with a WET paper towel placed on top.  Just remember, broccoli is one of those foods that looses it's victims when cooked throughly.

6) Add the pasta to the boiling water.  Let cook 10 min. With the Costco brand, I find the ravioli falls apart if you cook it longer than this...

7) Drain the pasta. Add your broccoli and cheesy potatoes to the pasta.  Mix well. Serve hot!

Definitely feel free to season to taste!  I usually ad basil (because it's my husband favorite), pepper, and cayenne pepper (because tis' mild for a pepper but makes everything look so tasty!).  An easy way to increase the serving size is to add more potatoes and broccoli.

Cost:

Package pumpkin ravioli   $4 (for one of the two jointed packages from Costco)

1/2 bag frozen broccoli      $1.50

hard white cheese              $1

3 red potatoes                    $0.50

oil                                      $0.10

milk                                   $0.15                                              

Total                                 $7.25

Per Serving                      $1.81

Alternative "Gateway Sushi"!!!

To convert even the most resistant meat eaters to the way of bait!!

Warning: This post is for the adventurous!! 

 So making sushi itself is a lot easier than any recipe I've seen has made it look. This is assuming you are not interested in single handedly perfecting the true art of sushi.

1)Make a pot or rice, (doesn't really matter what kind).
2) Cut up veggies of choice into long slivers. Carrots, cucumber, even lemon peels work great!
3) Mix the rice with some salt, sugar, and rice vinegar so that is is malleable.  If you add to much-- just smush it in your hand to drain off extra liquid.  It really is that simple!
4) Keep a small bowl of rice vinegar and sugar to the side to "rinse" your ands with in-between rolls.
5) Lay out a small strip of rice onto sushi sea weed sheets. Lay on top of the desired ingredients.  Salmon (Sake) or meatloaf-- I'm a believer in happy customers of all kinds!
6) Roll up the rolls nice and tight.  Notice I have not given any proportions-- it really REALLY doesn't matter as long as you like it.
7) "Seal" your roll with just a touch of the vinegar mixture you have to the side.  Think of it like an envelope.
8) With a very sharp knife, cut the roll in to sushi size pieces.  Make presentable to serve!

 Green tea or Sake (the booze) will bring the experience together no matter what you've made.

 For homemade pickled ginger-- plan ahead-- that does take a good 24 hours to make right, and 4 hours at the minimum. Basically chop the ginger as thinly as possible and then soak it in a bowled (and now cooling) mixture of rice vinegar, a lot of sugar, a pinch of salt, and water.  Chill overnight in the fridge if you can.

This is the happiest first time sushi eater I have ever seen-- Otherwise known as my father.  After years of trying futilely to convince him to eat sushi-- Brown rice, low salt, and meatloaf sushi is the success story!

Hence I really truly believe in doing whatever works for you :)
I also really truly believe in buying the Wasabi...

Rice about         $1
Sushi sheets      $1-7 (depending on where you live)
filling                $1-20 (depending on your tastes)
Rice vinegar     $1.50-7.00 (depending on where you live)
sugar and salt    $1 or less                                                      
                         $5 to $$$... it's all up to you....

The Avocado Snack that Makes a Easy Meal~

Fast+Healthy= Will actually happen

Ingredients:

2 slices of toast

1/2 avocado

Lawyer's Seasoning Salt

Directions:

Prep as shown in the picture and toast in toaster, lightly.  The end.

Time: 5 min

Serves: 1 

Cost: Basically the cost of the avocado so if you time it right this is a $1 meal

AND DELICIOUS!!!!

Did I mention delicious? ;)

Adventures in Quinoa: Pasta Substitute Time!

As promised: Californian Summer Pasta with Chicken

(Except with Quinoa ;) )

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts 

1 avocado

1 lemon

3 oranges

1/4 cup orange liquor

fresh rosemary, thyme, black pepper, etc

2 cup quinoa

1 large tomato (Or several small ones as pictured here.)

Directions:

Heat the 2 oranges of juice and two oranges of zest in large frying pan.  Add chopped seasons and pepper, one lemon of juice, and the orange liquor to the pan. Heat sauce on low and then add thawed chicken breast, (2 and cut in half to serve 4 people or you can add 4 whole beasts), to the pan. Cover until the chicken is cooked.  In the mean time, add 2 cups of Quinoa to 4 cups of boiling water.  Add more water as needed. Plate and place chicken breast on top.  Add the fresh avocado-- and any food art desired--Serve hot!  The third orange is for garnish, as you may have noticed--

Serves 4!

Cost:

chicken           $1.99

oranges           $1.00

lemon              $0.50

avocado          $1.00

Quinoa           $1.00

spices/etc.       $0.25     

Total cost:      $5.75

So less than $1.50 a person for this meal.. and it's looks and tastes gourmet!

Time to prepare is thirty minutes, and it makes a great Mother's Day meal ;)