Cauliflower Crust Pizza

Alright, listen. I'm not about to sit here and tell you that this recipe will satisfy every single reason you eat pizza. Sometimes you just really need Papa John's thin crust Hawaiian BBQ pizza delivered to your front door. I get it. I really do.

However--if you are like me (I hope you're not, but if you are...), you just can't eat take-out pizza all the time. It's delicious for sure, but it's difficult to stay healthy if this is one of your go-to meals. So. Here's a thought. Save the take-out for every now and then and master this delicious alternative which will satisfy at least most of the reasons you enjoy cardboard box pizza. 

Ingredients:

2 cups cauliflower, very finely grated or processed in food processor

2 eggs

2 cups freshly grated cheese in your favorite combination. (I typically use some combination of mozzarella, Parmesan and sharp cheddar, but I have made this with cheddar only and mozzarella only, and those were equally delicious)

2 tablespoons Italian seasoning (or any combination of your favorite dried herbs. Basil, oregano, and parsley are some of my favorites)

Roasted garlic paste (I keep this in my fridge ALL THE TIME. It makes almost everything more delicious. Recipe here.)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

2. Spray metal pan or baking stone (preferably stone) with nonstick cooking spray. 

3. In medium bowl, combine cauliflower, eggs, cheese(s) and spice(s) and mix well. Press evenly onto pan or stone, about 1/4" thick. Bake for about 7 or 8 minutes, until it just begins to firm. Remove from oven and gently spread garlic paste over crust. (The paste should be soft enough to almost melt right into the crust.) Put back in oven and bake for an additional 5-7 minutes, until golden brown.

This can be topped with any of your favorite sauces and toppings, and then just place the pizza back in the oven until toppings are warmed and cheese is melted.

One note: Most likely, you will need to eat this with a fork rather than pick it up like a typical slice of pizza, but the flavor is so satisfying, and this is so much more nutritious than dough-crust pizza.

Roasted Garlic/Garlic Paste

This isn't so much a recipe as it is a suggestion. I suggest that you never not have roasted garlic and/or garlic paste in your refrigerator. Preferably both. It is such a flavorful addition to literally almost any savory meal.

Ingredients:

Whole garlic bunch (or several)

Olive oil

Sea Salt

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Remove loose skin, slice off the top of a whole head of garlic (or several), and nestle it (cut side up) into a piece of foil. Drizzle with olive oil and close up completely in the foil. (Make sure none of the garlic is exposed, or it will burn.)

3. Bake in the oven for at least an hour, but keep it in there (checking every 15 minutes or so) until it is a deep, rich caramel color. I have baked mine for up to 2 hours before without burning it. The longer it stays in the oven, the more mellow and rich and creamy the flavor. It can burn, but it doesn't happen quickly wrapped in the foil, so just keep an eye on it.

4. At this point, you can just let it cool and then store it in the fridge. Pop out a few cloves as needed to drop into a soup, stew or sauce. It adds so much depth and richness to even the simplest recipes.

5. If you want to take it one more step to create paste, simply sprinkle a few cloves with sea salt just like you would do with raw minced garlic. You can either crush with a mortar and pestle or just mash up with the edge of a chef's knife or even a fork. This can be added to most of the same things as the roasted garlic cloves, and it will incorporate a little easier, but it is also magical stirred into things like quinoa, pasta, butter (to create compound butter for topping steaks, bread, etc.) or even eggs or grits. Honestly, you could spread this onto bread or crackers just as it is, and it would be delicious.

Almond Meringue Bark

Ok, I have a confession. I really wish that I could eat dessert after every single meal, or sometimes even instead of some meals. Not gonna lie about it. Specifically chocolate. Like all of the chocolate. Almost any kind of chocolate or even several different kinds all at the same time. I don't understand on any level the phrase "too chocolatey." There is no such thing. 

Sadly, I don't eat dessert with every meal (or even every day), because I'd rather not weigh 600 pounds, which I surely would if I ate as much chocolate as I wanted to. But simple, lighter recipes like this one help me satisfy my sweet tooth pretty often without wrecking a healthy eating plan. 

Almond Meringue Bark

Ingredients:

1/2 cup slivered almonds, divided (*pre-toasted if you prefer. See note below.)

1 teaspoon plus 1/4 cup coconut sugar

4 egg whites

pinch salt

1 tablespoon cocoa powder

1/3 cup mini chocolate chips

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Add 1/4 cup almonds and 1 teaspoon coconut sugar to food processor or blender and process until consistency of cornmeal. Chop remaining almonds and set both aside.

3. In a separate bowl or in a stand mixer, beat egg whites and salt until soft peaks form. Combine 1/4 cup coconut sugar and cocoa powder in small bowl and slowly add to egg white mixture a tablespoon or so at a time (while continuing to beat) until it reaches stiff peak stage. Do not overbeat.

4. Gently fold in almond meal until well-incorporated, being careful not to flatten the meringue.

5. Spread the mixture onto lined baking sheet in a thin layer and sprinkle chopped almonds and mini chocolate chips evenly over the top.

6. Bake for 1 hour. Then turn off oven (do not open) and allow meringue to dry for at least an additional hour as it cools.

7. Remove from oven once cooled and crisp, and break into pieces to serve.

*When I make this, I like to toast my almonds in a dry pan before processing/chopping because I like the added flavor, but this is completely optional. The recipe works fine either way.

It's also important to note that any level of moisture is a huge enemy of this recipe. It's best to bake it on a clear, dry day, and it's critical to store it in an airtight container. It will become chewy if it picks up too much moisture from the air. But if that does happen, don't throw it away. You can put it back in the oven at about 200 degrees for about 30 minutes (and then turn off oven while it cools and dries out again) to get it back to crispy. Just please don't serve it chewy or soggy. That would be such a sad day. ;-)

(Adapted from a recipe by Claire Robinson on 5-Ingredient Fix)

Shepherd's Pie

Today is my oldest daughter's birthday. Happy Birthday, Macy! So in honor of her, I'm posting one of her favorite recipes. She absolutely loves this stuff, and for a dish with such a wide range of typically questionable ingredients, it is actually a favorite for my entire family. Bonus!

This recipe is a lifesaver. Because no one in my family is extremely picky, but everyone is picky about something entirely different. If I had to avoid every item that just one person in my family doesn't care for, the list would become rather long pretty quickly. Shepherd's Pie to the rescue! For 2 reasons, this works well even for the pickiest eaters. 1. There is so much going on in here that you can add small portions of non-favorite ingredients and get away with it since they're not that prominent. (Hush. You know you do it too. What they don't know..., right?) And 2. The recipe is entirely adaptable. You can use just about any combination of meat and veggies your family loves best as long as they are in pretty similar ratios to the recipe posted below. Experiment and see what you come up with!

Ingredients:

1 pound meat, ground or shredded (you can even use pre-cooked leftovers)

a good drizzle of olive or coconut oil

2 generous sprinkles of Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning

6 cups of your favorite combination of vegetables for the filling, chopped (I usually use 2-3 cups onions, 1-1/2-2 cups carrots, 1/2-1 cup mushrooms, and 1 cup or so of petite peas)

2 teaspoons chopped fresh herbs, or 1 teaspoon dried (My favorites are basil, rosemary and thyme, but I've used oregano and Italian seasoning too. You may want to vary it depending it on what kind of meat you use.)

1-1/2 tablespoons coconut flour (You could certainly use regular flour here if you prefer. I just like the health benefits of coconut flour.)

1 cup low-sodium broth (Beef adds the richest flavor, but really any kind will work.)

1 teaspoon salt

freshly ground black pepper to taste

2 large potatoes* (see note below)

1 medium head cauliflower, chopped into florets

2/3 cup 1% milk

2 tablespoons butter

Instructions:

1. Brown meat with a sprinkle of salt and black pepper in nonstick pan until just cooked through. Drain and set aside. (Obviously skip this step if you're using pre-cooked leftovers, but make sure they're ground or chopped into pretty small pieces.)

2. Heat the oil in the same pan over medium heat. Add onions, carrots and any other firm or dense veggies you've chosen, and cook until softened, about 7-10 minutes. Increase heat slightly and add mushrooms and herbs. Cook an additional 7-10 minutes, stirring regularly, until liquid from mushrooms has evaporated.

3. Return meat to pan and add flour. Incorporate well, and then add broth, 1/2 tsp salt and a dash of pepper. Simmer until slightly thickened, being sure to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan as you stir.

4. Add peas if you're using them (or any other tender veggies like spinach, etc.) Season with Tony Chachere's to taste.

5. Pour mixture into 9x12 baking dish.

6. Preheat oven to 350.

7. Peel and coarsely chop potatoes. Steam for 10 minutes. Add cauliflower and steam an additional 15 minutes or until potatoes and cauliflower are easily pierced with a fork.

8. Mash potatoes and cauliflower together until smooth.

9. Heat milk, butter, remaining half teaspoon of salt and a dash of pepper and stir into cauliflower mixture. Season with Tony Chachere's to taste.

10. Spread cauliflower mixture over meat mixture and bake 20-30 minutes or until heated through and slightly browned on top.

*Special note about potatoes: Adding a couple potatoes to the cauliflower adds just enough potato flavor and texture for even the pickiest of eaters, but if your family enjoys cauliflower, you can delete the potatoes completely, and the resulting dish is every bit as delicious and even more healthy.

Since there are plenty veggies incorporated right into this dish, it can easily stand alone as a complete meal on a busy family night, but just adding a simple green salad on the side makes it perfectly company-worthy. Also: this is a fantastic meal to prepare ahead and freeze or refrigerate until needed. Just bake it a little longer if it's going into the oven cold or frozen. It's also really fun to make in individual foil containers to keep on hand for families on the go who might need to eat at different times throughout the day or to bring over and stock the freezer of a new Mom who almost definitely won't have time to make this for herself but just might need to pop one into the oven at 2am right after she's nursed a hungry baby and is now starving herself. The possibilities are endless! Enjoy!