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Cauliflower Garlic Mash

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Do you ever crave rich creamy mashed potatoes? I sure do!  But I will tell you that I don’t crave the way I feel after I eat the creamy mashed potatoes….oh yeah, that would be full and bloated.  You are about to be blown away with this cauliflower garlic mash, it really tastes like the real deal but you won’t feel like taking a long nap after.

Can I tell you a secret if you promise not to tell my kids?  I make this for them all of the time and they have no idea that it’s cauliflower.  I even served it to my step-dad who is the biggest meat and potatoes guy you will ever meet and he had seconds…yep, seconds! So if you are feeling guilty about not getting enough veggies down your kids throats…the struggle is real in our house too.  Try these as a little test and see what your kiddos think. We won’t tell if you don’t tell!


5.0 from 1 reviews
Cauliflower Garlic Mash
 
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Serves: 6-8 as a side
Ingredients
  • 1 head cauliflower - approx 6 C florets
  • ½ C 0% Greek yogurt
  • ¼ C chicken broth
  • 1 clove garlic, chopped - use 2 cloves if you like a lot of garlic
  • ½ C grated parmesan cheese or 4 cheese italian blend (Trader Joe's has a great one)
  • kosher salt and cracked pepper to taste
  • 2 Tbsp chopped chives
Instructions
  1. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and add cauliflower florets. Cook until fork tender - approx 8 minutes. Drain in a colander.
  2. Using a food processor add cooked cauliflower, greek yogurt, chicken broth and garlic. Process until smooth. Add cheese and process again. Season with S&P to taste. Garnish with chopped chives, serve immediately. Can also make up to one day ahead and slowly reheat on the stovetop.

Roasted Vegetable Salad with Creamy Horseradish Dressing

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Happy October and holy YUM, I seriously cannot even deal with how much I love this salad.  I happen to know that Courtney is on the same page with this one too.  Between the two of us we throw together a lot of salads on a weekly basis and this roasted vegetable salad is our current obsession.  There is some major flavor going on in this bowl.  The roasted veggies – brussels sprouts, butternut squash and cauliflower are a meal in itself.  The salad really comes alive once you throw in the sweet dried cherries and toasted pecans and top it off with the manchego cheese, well forget about it…you will be in love!  The creamy (healthy) horseradish dressing has a bite to it but brings everything together in the most addictive and satisfying way. RUN, don’t walk to the store to gather up these ingredients so you can have this on your table tonight!

vegssalad

5.0 from 2 reviews
Roasted Vegetable Salad with Creamy Horseradish Dressing
 
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Serves: 4 as a main dish
Ingredients
For the salad:
  • 2 C butternut squash, peeled and seeded cut into ½ inch cubes
  • 2 C brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
  • ½ cauliflower head, cut into small florets
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • kosher salt
  • 4 C arugula
  • ⅓ C machego cheese, cut into chunks
  • ½ C toasted pecans
  • ⅓ C dried cherries
For the Creamy Horseradish Dressing:
  • 1 Tbsp prepared horseradish cream
  • ¼ C white wine vinegar
  • 1 clove garlic, chopped
  • 1 Tbsp dijon mustard
  • 1 Tbsp honey
  • ⅓ C good quality olive oil
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
Instructions
For the Salad:
  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line two roasting pans with parchment paper. Toss butternut squash, brussels sprouts and cauliflower florets in olive oil. Arrange on sheet pans so the vegetables are spread out evenly. Sprinkle with kosher salt. Roast in oven for 30 minutes or until vegetables turn a golden brown around the edges. Remove from oven and let cool.
  2. In a large bowl add arugula, roasted vegetables, manchego , dried cherries and toasted pecans.
For the Creamy Horseradish Dressing:
  1. Using a blender or immersion blender, add all ingredients except for oil and blend. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil.
  2. Drizzle dressing over the salad and toss to coat. You may have additional dressing leftover. Store remaining dressing in airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Cauliflower Pizza

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Tonight was pizza night in our house.  Psyche!!  Well, it was like pizza night but not.  We called it pizza night but it was really cauliflower pizza bites and not the ooey, gooey, kind with dough and pepperoni and tons of calories and stuff.  As I’m writing this, I’m laughing to myself at all the cauliflower jokes that seem to be circulating these days because cauliflower has literally become the substitute for so many things.  There is a good reason for it though.  People are trying to cut down on carbs so far be it from us to stop this.  We are just here to help.  We are not saying that there is not a place and a time for the warm, bubbly, ooey, gooey, pizza but it wasn’t here in our house tonight.

These little cauliflower florets are bite sized and delicious when cooked up with a little sauce, cheese and fresh basil.  Check out how easy this recipe is to make, and don’t turn your nose up until you try it!  Thank you.

Start by mixing some olive oil and freshly pressed garlic in a bowl.  Then lay the cauliflower on a parchment lined sheet pan and toss the florets with the oil mixture to make sure they are all nicely coated then sprinkle with some kosher salt.

Roast in the oven for 30 minutes then remove the pan, top each cauliflower floret with a spoonful of marinara and top with a pinch of the cheese blend.

Then switch the oven to broil and pop the pan back into the oven until the cheese is nice and bubbly.  Keep a watchful eye on these guys to make sure that they don’t burn.  You will be so mad if you do all this work and then forget that they are under the broiler.  Just stay put.  They don’t take long at all.  You just need like 3-5 minutes.  Once the cheese is golden and bubbly, you can remove the pan from the oven and sprinkle with the fresh basil.  Transfer to a serving platter and enjoy.  It’s like pizza but super good for you!

 

 

Cauliflower Pizza
 
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Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 1 head cauliflower, broken into large florets
  • 3 Tbsp good quality olive oil
  • 1 clove garlic, pressed
  • kosher salt
  • ½ C marinara sauce
  • ½ C 4 Italian cheese blend (we like the Trader Joe’s quattro formagio)
  • 2 Tbsp fresh basil, julienne-cut
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. In a small bowl whisk olive oil and pressed garlic.
  3. Line a large rimmed sheetpan with parchment paper. Spread cauliflower florets our on sheetpan. Drizzle florets with olive oil/garlic, gently toss to coat. Season with kosher salt.
  4. Roast cauliflower in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and turn the oven up to broil. Place a spoonfull of marinara sauce over each floret and top with a pinch of cheese.
  5. Return cauliflower to the oven to broil. Watch carefully as not to burn. Remove from oven when the cheese is bubbly and turns golden brown, about 3-5 minutes. Transfer to a serving dish, top with fresh basil and serve immediately.

Cauliflower Alfredo Over Zoodles

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Bring on the cauliflower Alfredo over zoodles! We happen to love Alfredo but it is not exactly something that you can eat on a regular basis without feeling very guilty. There happens to be just a few calories in the “real” stuff.  That is why we decided to try Alfredo that’s made with cauliflower instead!  This stuff is fantastic and we are quite excited about it.  Cauliflower is all the rage these days and it’s just so great how you can substitute it in a variety of ways.  We know we love cauliflower rice so we were sure this recipe was going to work out. All of our kids love Alfredo so we did a secret test to see if they’d be into this recipe and guess what??  They were!! They actually really liked it.  We did however, feed it to them over pasta instead of zoodles.  I mean, we didn’t want to push our luck right?  We however, loved it over the zoodles!

Check out how easy peasy this stuff is to make! Just start by cutting the cauliflower into florets.

Boil the florets until they are soft and cooked through, then drain them and transfer to the food processor.  Add the chicken broth and pulse until smooth.  Add in the cream, garlic and cheese (you’re welcome) and pulse until combined. The smell is so amazing!  Season with salt and pepper to your liking.

Now you can get going on the zoodles.

Heat up the olive oil in a large skillet and saute the zoodles for about 3-5 minutes until they begin to break down.  Add the cauliflower Alfredo to the skillet and stir to combine.  Serve with additional Alfredo sauce over the top of the zoodles and season with a sprinkle of cheese.  We know you are going to love this.

 

Cauliflower Alfredo Over Zoodles
 
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Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
  • 6 C water
  • 1½ C chicken broth
  • ¼ C heavy cream
  • 1-2 cloves garlic - begin with one clove, add an additional clove if needed
  • **1/2 C + more for serving grated quattro formaggio cheese blend
  • Kosher salt and cracked pepper to taste
  • 2 tsp good quality olive oil
  • **3 medium zucchinis, spiralized
  • ¼ C flat leaf parsley, chopped
**Quattro formaggio is an italian cheese blend, we love Trader Joe’s quattro formagio. If you can't find quattro formagio you can substitute grated parmesan.
** If you don’t have a spiralizer you can purchase spiralized zucchini noodles in the produce section of most grocery stores
Instructions
  1. Add water to a large pot and bring to a boil. Add cauliflower florets, boil for approx 6 minutes until cauliflower is cooked through. Drain in a collander, add cauliflower to a food processor or high powered blender.
  2. Add chicken broth and pulse until smooth. Add cream, garlic and cheese and pulse until incorporated. Season with S&P to taste.
  3. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add zoodles and sautee for 3-5 minutes until the zoodles begin to break down. Add 1 C of cauliflower alfredo to the skillet, stir and remove from heat after 1 minute.
  4. Serve with additional cauliflower sauce over the top, garnish with a sprinkle of cheese and chopped parsley.

Caramelized Cauliflower, Fig and Crispy Goat Cheese Salad

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Dying over the fresh figs right now and eating as many as humanly possible before they are out of season. Growing up in an Italian family it was mandatory to like 3 things….pasta, red wine and figs.  Am I wrong? And you weren’t really a true Italian unless you had a fig tree in your yard.

We created this salad because well, it was the perfect excuse to combine two of our favorite things…fresh figs and fried goat cheese.  I mean really, is there a better combination than that?  No, the answer is NO….there’s not! Fried goat cheese really needs no explanation, make it, eat it and you will see what we’re talking about.  It’s pretty much one of the best things you’ve ever had in your life. Like, ever.

Not that it was really possible to make this salad even better, but…we did.  We added perfectly caramelized roasted cauliflower.  Oh yes we did! Topped it all off with some toasted pine nuts and drizzled our favorite maple balsamic vinaigrette over the top.  Boom! What are you waiting for?? Hurry up and get to the store so you too can have this on your table tonight!


Caramelized Cauliflower, Fig and Crispy Goat Cheese Salad
 
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Serves: 2
Ingredients
  • ½ head cauliflower, cut into florets
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • Approx 3 large hadfuls of mixed greens or spring mix
  • 4 ripe figs, sliced
  • 1 Tbsp toasted pine nuts
  • 2 - ½ inch slices of goat cheese
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • ¼ C flour
  • ¼ C panko breadcrumbs
  • 1 Tbsp butter
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • S & P to taste
For the Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette:
  • 1 tsp dijon mustard
  • ¼ C good quality olive oil
  • 1 Tbsp pure maple syrup
  • 2 tsp white balsamic vinegar
  • salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a rimmed cookie sheet with parchment paper. Toss cauliflower florets in 1 Tbsp of olive oil and sprinkle with about ½ tsp kosher salt. Roast for 20-25 minutes until cauliflower turns golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
  2. Cut goat cheese into slices about ½ inch thick. Freeze sliced goat cheese for about 10-15 minutes- this will make it easier to work with.
  3. Spread flour on a small plate, spread panko on another small plate and add egg to a low bowl. Dredge goat cheese slices in flour on both sides, coat in egg and finally dredge in panko on both sides. Set aside.
  4. Heat a small skillet over medium-high heat. Melt butter and 1 tsp of olive oil until bubbly. Add the goat cheese, cooking approx 2 minutes per side until golden brown.
  5. While the goat cheese is cooking divide the mixed greens equally on 2 plates. Divide the sliced figs, cauliflower and pine nuts and top with toasted goat cheese. Drizzle with maple balsamic vinaigrette.
For the Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette:
  1. In a small bowl, combine all ingredients and whisk until blended.

Roasted Cauliflower with Turmeric, Dates & Pine Nuts

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If you’re a cauliflower fan it’s your lucky day!! This dish puts a different spin on your typical roasted cauliflower, we definitely kicked it up a notch by combining together some unexpected flavors like the star of the show, turmeric.

Stych Photography

Turmeric has some MAJOR health benefits.  It is derived from a root, but when you purchase it at the store you buy it in powdered form…although you can occasionally find it in root form at certain specialty stores.  Anywho…..lets talk about the major health benefits like the studies which show the anti-inflammatory properties, it also helps to reduce the risk of cancer.  The list goes on, turmeric is also found to tame heartburn and an upset stomach and even joint pain.  There are more benefits of turmeric but I think we’ve already bragged enough about this powerhouse ingredient…let’s get back to how to make this bomb dish!

Stych Photography

It’s really quit simple…add your spices to a bowl (turmeric, cumin, nutmeg, cinnamon) throw in the cauliflower and drizzle with olive oil.  Mix it all up and throw everything on a parchment lined baking pan.  Roast for 30 minutes, flipping cauliflower at the halfway point.  During the last few minutes while the cauliflower is roasting, add butter and garlic to a small saucepan and cook until melted.  Chop dates into small pieces and set aside.  Remove cauliflower from the oven and transfer to a serving bowl.  Drizzle butter/garlic over cauliflower and sprinkle with toasted pine nuts and chopped dates.  There you have it cauliflower lovers, simple and ah-mazing side dish that you can have on your table tonight!!

Stych Photography

 

 

Roasted Cauliflower with Turmeric, Dates & Pine Nuts
 
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Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 1 head cauliflower, cleaned and chopped into florets
  • 2 Tbsp good quality olive oil
  • 1 Tbsp turmeric powder
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp nutmeg
  • ½ tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 2 Tbsp pine nuts, toasted
  • 4 Tbsp butter
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 6 large medjool dates
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a medium bowl add olive oil, turmeric powder, cumin, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt and mix. Add cauliflower and toss to coat.
  2. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread cauliflower out evenly on baking sheet. Bake 30 minutes, turning halfway through cooking.
  3. While cauliflower is cooking chop dates into small pieces. Add butter and garlic to a sautee pan until melted.
  4. Remove cauliflower from oven and transfer to a serving dish. Drizzle butter over top, sprinkle with toasted pine nuts and chopped dates.

Cauliflower Gratin with Gruyere

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Still looking for a last minute Thanksgiving side to put on your table?  We have the perfect solution for you. Serve up this cauliflower gratin with gruyere cheese…yes, there will be a gruyere party going on in your mouth.  Who can resist that? Clearly not us!

Start by roasting up the cauliflower so it’s nice and golden brown and ready to be mixed with one of our all time favorite cheeses.  I love this cheese and always have but for some reason my mouth just won’t let me say it right.  Courtney and I had some laughs as she tried to coach me on how to pronounce it, but I really think there is no hope for me on that. At least I can still eat it, which is the only thing I really care about when it comes to gruyere.

caul2

While the cauliflower is getting all roasty and toasty in the oven you can focus on whipping up the  cheese sauce.  We have cut out a lot of fat by using fat free milk and only a small amount of butter. So you can look at this dish the same way that I look at buying clothes when they are on sale.  I don’t really spend money on clothes, I actually save money because the clothes are on sale.  Same thing with this dish, you are actually saving fat and calories because you aren’t using full fat milk and tons of butter and cheese.  How do you like my concept??  Haha, I think it’s a good one, so basically it’s guilt free!

caul1

When the cauliflower comes out of the oven, transfer it to a casserole dish.  Pour the cheese sauce over the cauliflower and sprinkle some panko bread crumbs on top and pop it back in the oven.  When it comes out of the oven you will have this ooey goey, gruyere filled cauliflower heaven.

caul3

Thanksgiving side dish done, your guests will love this!

caul4

Cauliflower Gratin with Gruyere
 
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Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
  • 1 head cauliflower - chopped into florets
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 large shallot, minced
  • 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
  • 2 Tbsp flour
  • 1½ tsp kosher salt
  • ½ tsp course ground pepper
  • ½ tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
  • 1¼ C nonfat milk
  • 1 C grated gruyere cheese
  • 3 Tbsp panko breadcrumbs
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a roasting pan with parchment paper. Spread cauliflower florets evenly on pan, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with ½ tsp salt. Roast for 25 minutes until golden brown.
  2. While cauliflower is roasting heat a large sautee pan over medium heat and add butter. Once butter is melted add shallots and sautee for 1 minute. Add flour and mix, it will create a thick paste. Slowly add the milk ¼ cup at a time, whisking to incorporate. Once all of the milk is added add remaining salt and pepper and red pepper flakes if you want a little kick to the dish. Continue to whisk over medium heat until it thickens, do not let the milk boil. Add gyurere cheese and stir until melted, remove from heat.
  3. Remove cauliflower from oven and turn the oven down to 375 degrees. Use a 8X8 casserole dish or similar size, add roasted cauliflower and pour cheese sauce over the top. Sprinkle breadcrumbs evenly across the top. Bake for 20 minutes until it begins to bubble around the sides. Turn the oven to broil, remove when the cheese and panko topping turns golden brown. Remove from oven and serve immediately.

Zoodle Salad with Purple Cauliflower, Kale and Avocado

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This purple cauliflower was almost too pretty to cut, but too bad…we cut her up anyways! Lucky for us because this zoodle bowl was epic, and thanks to the purple cauliflower it was extra gorgeous.  We used our standby (standby because it’s so awesome we love to put it on everything) lemon vinaigrette and our favorite spiralized zoodles.  If you are new to veggie noodles or zucchini noodles check out the Spiralizer How To video under our video section, we will show you everything you need to know about spiralizing veggies.  We kept this salad uncomplicated, but there was absolutely nothing else it needed.  Crispy kale, perfectly ripe avocado, caramelized roasted purple cauliflower tossed with sautéed zoodles and our insanely good lemon vinaigrette.

purplecauliflower

Obviously purple cauliflower isn’t a must, the taste is the same as regular white cauliflower.  The purple will just make everything prettier, so if you see the purple grab it so you can have a pretty bite just like this!

purplezoodle

Cold Zoodle Salad with Purple Cailiflower, Kale and Avocado with Lemon Vinagrette
 
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Serves: 4
Ingredients
For the Salad:
  • 2 medium zuchinnis, spiralized into "zoodles".
  • 1 purple cauliflower, cut into florets - can substitute white caulflower or brocolli
  • 2 C packed lacinato kale (dino kale) or other kale variety, can also substitute for spinach
  • 1 avocado cut into ½ inch pieces
  • 2 Tbsp + 1 tsp good quality olive oil
  • S & P
For the Lemon Vinaigrette:
  • 1 shallot chopped
  • 2 Tbsp honey
  • 1 Tbsp dijon mustard
  • juice of 1 large lemon
  • ¼ C olive oil
  • kosher salt to taste
Good Thyme Tip - If you want a creamier texture to the vinagrette, add 1 Tbsp of 0% plain Greek yogurt.
Instructions
For the Salad:
  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a roasting pan with parchment paper. Place cauliflower florets on roasting pan, drizzle with 2 Tbsp olive oil and toss to coat. Spread florets evenly on roasting pan and roast for 20-25 minutes or until the florets begin to turn golden brown.
  2. While the cauliflower is roasting heat a large skillet over medium-high heat with 1 tsp olive oil. Add spiralized zoodles and kale and sautee for 3-5 minutes until zoodles become tender and kale begins to break down and wilt. Remove from heat and place in a bowl to cool.
For Lemon Vinaigrette:
  1. Add first 4 ingredients of the vinagrette to a blender, or use an immersion hand blender. Slowly pour in the olive oil while continuing to blend. Season with salt to taste.
  2. Remove cauliflower from oven and let cool. Add cauliflower to bowl with the zoodles and kale. Toss with desired amount of lemon vinagrette and season with S & P to taste. Dish into bowls and top evenly with chopped avocado.
  3. Store excess lemon vinagrette in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Good Thyme Tip - This salad allows for a lot of substitutions. Feel free to add any of your favorite roasted vegetables or protien such as grilled chicken. Get creative and make it your own!