Today's creation is
Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Delicious and savory/sweet, this creamy 
concoction is a golden moment waiting to happen!

Savory Quiche

Here's another recipe utilizing the cauliflower crust idea. I had a great recipe that I got from Pampered Chef years ago - always been a favorite with my family and have made it for brunches and other gatherings - it always gets rave reviews. So here it is with the cauliflower crust instead of the rice crust it was originally made with!

Here's how to prepare the cauliflower rice:

Using a cheese grater (box or other, regular size, not fine) or food processor, grate raw cauliflower florets into a large bowl. Don't try to rice the stems without a food processor, you'll beat up your fingertips and knuckles.
Measure three cups of the riced cauliflower into a microwave safe bowl. Don't add water, it's not needed. Cover and steam in the microwave for 5 minutes. For best results, spread into a large shallow bowl or cookie sheet to cool and remove moisture.

Now your cauliflower rice is ready to use.

Savory Quiche

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Crust:
3 cups cooked, riced cauliflower, cooled to room temperature
1 egg
1 cup lowfat swiss cheese, shredded

Mix cauliflower rice with egg and cheese. Spray into bottom of a 10" pie plate - I use the stoneware Deep Dish Baker from Pampered Chef - it's about 11" round. If you have a quiche dish that would work too, or a 9 X 9 pan. Press evenly into the bottom of the pan and up the sides a bit. Bake for about 12 minutes or until crust is firm to the touch.

Lower oven temperature to 400.

Filling:

1 cup egg substitute, or any combination of whole eggs and egg whites
6 oz. container plain greek yogurt, any fat content is fine
1 cup shredded lowfat swiss cheese (if you can find it, if not just use regular swiss)
1 cup finely chopped broccoli
1/2 cup cooked diced ham, cooked crumbled turkey or pork bacon
1/4 cup sliced green onions ( the tops)
1 tsp. worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp. black pepper

Mix yogurt with eggs and whisk until smooth. Add remaining ingredients and pour into baked crust. Return to oven and bake about 15 minutes - but watch it: depending on your oven temperature, yours could cook up faster or slower - when the egg mixture in the center is firm to the touch, it's done.

Remove from oven and allow to set for five minutes.

6 - 8 servings

I have had people tell me this is the best quiche they've ever had in their lives. The most recent statement of that opinion was by someone who ate it with the cauliflower crust this past weekend! Will post a picture next time, as this time it was gone before I thought to snap a picture. Great reheated as leftovers too!

Cheese "Pizza"

Do you eat pizza? I don't really, or at least I didn't until I ran across this recipe from the National Low-Carb Examiner. (http://www.examiner.com/low-carb-in-national/cauliflower-pizza-crust-worth-its-wow-gold) I had all the ingredients and made it at home the first time I discovered it. I made it tonight and served it to the children - everyone loved it except my youngest, who cried all through dinner. Oh well, she has never liked my homemade pizza. She'd rather have Domino's or frozen pizza. Maybe she'll like it when she gets older.

Follow the link to their recipe if you like, but here's how I made it:

 1 lb. low moisture part skim mozzarella cheese, shredded (4 cups)
2 cups riced cauliflower
2 eggs
8 ounce can no salt added tomato sauce
6 oz. can organic tomato paste (look for low sodium content)
Italian seasoning (Pampered Chef's is A-MAZING!)
2 garlic cloves

garlic salt, onion powder, black pepper

 Mix the tomato paste and tomato sauce with pressed garlic cloves, tsp. garlic salt, tsp. onion powder, 1/2 tsp. black pepper. Whisk until smooth. Combine the cauliflower rice, two cups of the cheese, the eggs, and the Italian seasoning in a medium bowl and mix well. Spread on to parchment lined pan or well oiled pan or baking stone. Bake in a 450 oven for 12-15 minutes - check at 12 minutes. Remove pizza crust from oven, turn oven to HI broiler, top crust with sauce and remaining cheese. Broil 3-5 minutes or until cheese is melted and starting to brown.

Remove cooked pizza from oven and allow to cool and set for at least five minutes before cutting and serving.

  As noted above, I did put parchment paper on my baking stone, under the crust, as it is fairly new and not well-seasoned yet. I'm working on seasoning that stone so that  in the future I can get a crisper crust. This crust was VERY soft, but delicious and tasted just like pizza. Low carb, obviously, and gluten free for those who need that option. I did not cook my riced cauliflower before making this, and that may be the reason that the crust was too soft - I'll try cooking it next time. I cooked some riced cauliflower last weekend for another recipe, and noticed that after cooking it's a bit drier, so I'm sure that is a step I need to do.

The nutrition information for 1/4 of this pizza, which was made on a Pampered Chef Bar Pan ( 15.5 inches X 10 inches) is as follows:

 430 Calories
18 g. carbs
23 g. fat
39 g. protein
166 mg. cholesterol
747 mg. sodium
7 g. sugars
3 g. fiber

http://www.examiner.com/low-carb-in-national/cauliflower-pizza-crust-worth-its-wow-gold

Delicious Asparagus Frittata

Asparagus Frittata

serves four


Ingredients:


6 large eggs
6 egg whites
1 cup diced and steamed fresh asparagus
1 cup chopped onion
3 sl. turkey bacon, cooked and diced



Preheat oven broiler to low. Whisk eggs and egg whites together in medium bowl. Spray large non-stick skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat. Add onions and saute'  until they begin to brown. Add cooked turkey bacon, saute' an additional two to three minutes. Spray pan again and add eggs. Sprinkle diced asparagus on top. Cover pan and cook over medium heat for five minutes. Remove lid and transfer pan to oven (make sure your frying pan is oven-safe!) and cook under low broiler heat five minutes. Increase broiler to high, checking occasionally for top of dish to be set. Once set, remove from oven. Transfer frittata to serving plate and cut into four wedges.

Very Veggie Chili

This recipe can be made with or without meat and is delicious both ways!

1.5 lbs 96% lean ground beef (subsitute ground turkey breast if you like that)
1 lb. bag baby carrots, finely chopped
1 lb. fresh broccoli, finely chopped
one large yellow onion, finely chopped
6 cups crushed tomatoes
3 cans lower sodium red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
3 cans lower sodium chicken broth
one can tomato paste (6 oz)
chili powder, cumin, oregano, black pepper, garlic powder, salt

In a stockpot, brown the beef and onions together until the meat is cooked through. Add the carrots, the broccoli, and the chicken broth. Stir the vegetables into the cooked meat and onions and simmer this mixture on low for about half an hour. Add the remaining ingredients, stir, and simmer another 15 minutes.

This dish can also be made in a crock pot by cooking the meat and onions first, and then dumping everything into your crock pot and cooking it on low for four to six hours. You'll need a rather large crock pot, as this recipe makes a bunch.  Make up a big batch and give away half, or freeze it. It freezes and reheats very well!

Recommended measurements for seasonings: 6 T. Chili powder, 6 T. cumin, 1 T. oregano, 2 t. black pepper, 2 t. garlic powder, 1 t. salt. Feel free to adjust the seasonings, and if you like your chili spicy, may I recommend the addition of a small amount of cayenne pepper.

As I said, this dish is great without meat as well. Reduce the chicken broth and beans by one can each if you omit the meat in this dish. The finely chopped vegetables virtually disappear into the tomato sauce and meat, and completely take on the flavor of the seasonings. This is excellent served with some whole-grain tortillas and plain greek yogurt as a condiment. Sprinkle on a little cheese if you like. Yummmmm. :)