Cauliflower Fried Rice

Yeah...another cooking post. Zane made me do it.

For those of you who already knew about this, I am mad at you for not sharing.

For those of you, like me, that had no clue-I am doing you the favor of sharing.

Cauliflower fried rice is delicious. I mean really, really delicious. My son picked up his bowl and started licking up the remaining bits his spoon couldn't capture. My husband said he would never need to eat fried rice again, which is likely an overstatement-and a lie. Addison added ranch dressing to hers-ugh! Seven year olds! I hadn't planned on sharing this recipe, so pardon the not so great photos (and complete lack of progress photos). I only took photos to share with Zane. I paired this with teryaki marinated Coho Salmon. (equal parts teryaki sauce, dijon mustard, minced garlic, dash of black pepper and thyme)

The recipes I loosely followed called for sesame oil and scallions (neither of which I had). This one turned out wonderfully, but I am quite certain it would be equally delicious with those ingredients. I also considered adding some Thai basil, but worried it would clash with my salmon marinade. But anyway-here is how I made it last night.

Cauliflower Fried Rice

4 Servings

Ingredients

1 cup frozen mixed veggies (peas and carrots)
2 shallots-minced
3 garlic cloves-minced
2 tbsp peanut oil (or sesame if you have it)
2 whole eggs (three would have been better)
1 large head cauliflower-cleaned, cut and zapped in food processor until the cauliflower has a rice like texture. You could also use a cheese grater.
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions

1. In a large skillet or wok pan, beat and scramble eggs with a touch of salt and pepper. Remove from pan and set aside.

2. Over Medium heat saute peanut oil, shallots, garlic, and frozen veggies until soft (about 2-3 minutes).  *Definitely don't decide to add more shallots and garlic after 3 minutes bringing your total cook time to 5-6 minutes  (I accounted for this change in the ingredients btw) my peas could have been a bit greener, less browner.

3. Turn heat up to Medium High and add cauliflower and soy sauce. For about 8-10 minutes cover the pan/wok, removing cover often to stir the mixture. When cauliflower has a soft center and crisp outside, add eggs and turn off heat. *Don't keep adding soy sauce as I did, thinking the mixture looks too dry. It will end up being too salty. Stick with the 1/2 cup and add more once plated if necessary.

-add thai basil if you have it. I regret my choice to skip it.

Enjoy!

Ps-don't let your toddler pick up their bowl and lick the bottom, it is bad table manners and likely the beginning of a long road of licking bowls-which might just ruin his first dinner date with a  sweet gal pal. Scratch that, let him lick bowls because he is still small and precious and no where near a damn dinner date! His mom is no where near ready for his first dinner date either. Not. Even. Close.

Pss-take a family golf cart ride, or any ole family ride/walk afterward. It will be really nice and your ranch dressing loving daughter and bad table mannered toddler will squeal with excitement.

Cooking Blog?

I have been pretty obsessed with cooking blogs lately (home improvement/renovation blogs have taken a a major back seat). Since Zach and I both decided we wanted to lose a few pounds live a healthier lifestyle, we have really been watching what we eat. I love to cook, but I usually cook to taste-not to health standards. I don't necessarily cook foods and meals loaded with fat, but I am not a recipe cook and I rarely measure ingredients, for calorie purposes or otherwise. I don't think as I am pouring heavy cream into my dish is this three grams of net carbs or 200 calories worth? That is, until now.

I decided since my blog does have the word kitchen in it, I can technically mix in recipes, right? Sure. Why not?

So, I give you-Mediterranean Chicken (ish). Zach and Addison said I needed a better name, but-neither of them provided anything of sorts.

I found two recipes while browsing for something to do with my chicken thighs, and since I had a mixture of the ingredients in both, I created my own!


Serving Size: 2 (and a toddler)

Ingredients:
4 chicken thighs
1 green pepper- chopped
1/4 cup roasted red peppers - sliced
1/2 cup artichoke hearts - quartered
1 tbsp capers
1/4 cup calamata olives-sliced
3 small garlic cloves-minced
1 small yellow onion-minced
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1 - 1 1/2 cups white wine (you can sub for chicken broth)
1/2 cup heavy cream
small pinch chopped fresh parsley  (optional)
salt and pepper to taste













(I didn't end up using the green olives)


1. Heat a skillet on Med-High. Add butter and olive oil. Salt and Pepper your chicken thighs and Brown thighs on both sides (make sure the skin is nice and crisp-it will soften as the sauce cooks). Remove chicken from skillet. (side note-I ended up removing my skin, so you can totally cook this sans skin if you want to skip the added fat-but your husband will devour his, so-yeah.)

2. Adjust heat to Medium. Add green pepper, garlic, and onion and saute for about 2-5 minutes (they will not be translucent or fully softened quite yet).

3. Add capers, red peppers, artichokes and olives and give the mixture a nice stir. Add salt, pepper, wine and browned chicken thighs back to the pan. With heat remaining on M, cover for approximately 20 minutes. The sauce will come to a low boil at this time-which is fine! 

4. Remove lid and add heavy cream. Do not stir-simply give the pan a couple shakes. Recover on Medium- Low for about 10 minutes (sauce may bubble a bit-but do not let the sauce come to a full boil).

You can serve this over noodles, or you can serve it over cauliflower mashers with Parmesan cheese (like I did to be a good low carb girl). We hardly touched our green beans, so if you were thinking of adding them-skip it.

Enjoy!
















PS-share with your toddler, they will thank you :)