Miracle Cauliflower - "Cream" soups and Alfredo sauce

My first foray into cooking with cauliflower other than eating it steamed or baked came in the form of a mashed potato substitute. It works... Kind of. The best results I had with it was when I added half mashed potatoes and half cauliflower. But I wasn't fooling anyone. It was still mashed cauliflower. 

Recently I came across this recipe http://www.healthfulpursuit.com/2013/01/grain-free-vegan-cream-of-mushroom-soup/ (this blog looks really great actually, I've pinned a few things to try!) that uses the cauliflower to help with the creaminess of the soup. I was skeptical at first but it really honestly worked (ok, my first batch the mushrooms got a little burnt. Oops) and tasted even better than the canned stuff. I wonder if a) it can be frozen and b) if it would work in place of canned mushroom soup. I'm definitely considering trying it! 

Also in the same blog was a cream of broccoli substitute. I figured if the mushroom soup was this good, the broccoli had to be decent too! I'm going to try it later today! 

http://www.healthfulpursuit.com/2013/10/grain-free-paleo-vegan-cream-of-broccoli-soup/

Secondly, I was trying to come up with an Alfredo sauce using as many power foods as I could. My first attempt using fat free cottage cheese -tasted- promising... Until I tried to warm it up in the pan and it went back to its clumpy form. Not so appetizing. Then someone shared this recipe so I thought I would try it out.http://pinchofyum.com/healthy-fettucine-alfredo  

If you kept it as is, you would need to count points for the cream and butter. I also found this adaptation, and decided to wing it a bit http://pinchofyum.com/creamy-cauliflower-sauce (original:) 

I decided to halve the recipe as I was planning to eat it with just my daughter and myself. 

4 cloves garlic (I used my pampered chef garlic press) 

1 tsp oil 

1.5 - 2 cup skim milk 

3 cups of cauliflower (I used 1/2 of a large cauliflower) 

Pepper 

Parm cheese (count points for this, depending on amount used) 

* see note for seasoning suggestion 

1. Sauté garlic in oil

2. Add milk (I used 2 cups), pepper and cauliflower, cover and reduce heat. 

3. Cook pasta (reserve water to add if needed, but I didn't since I used more milk) 

4. Once cauliflower is cooked, add cauliflower and milk into your blender. Add water if needed for smoothness. 

Note: I ran out of parm so I searched my pantry for an alternative. I got this at costco and haven't used it yet, so I tried adding 2 tsp to the mixture and it was just right! 

Serve pasta and sauce (about 1 cup serving). Enjoy! I'm going to try to freeze portions and see how that works (my "half recipe" still made a ton! 

Weekend - banana pancakes

Every time I see a banana pancake recipe I can't help but hear jack Johnson's "banana pancakes" song in my head. We love having big breakfasts on the weekends with pancakes and scrambled eggs, but since starting simply filling I've been missing out on the pancakes (I could count points of course if I wanted to). My friend passed on a basic banana pancake recipe that had just 1 banana and 2 eggs blended up. I added vanilla and cinnamon and they weren't bad, almost like a French toast taste to them. If you are trying to do no grain, these are going to be a staple breakfast for you!

Enter in my Pinterest addiction, and I found a different recipe on there that sounded a little more on the pancake side than the previous recipe. I followed it  pretty much to a T, so I will link it up below. I did add a splash of vanilla and it was definitely yummy. Also, I blended the oats first so they were flour like then added everything else. Some people argue that uncooked oats are not a power food but since I was going to cook them (and only eat these maybe once a week if that) I decided it was ok. If not, you can count the points for the oatmeal. I had a bit of troubles finding the right temperature to cook them so mine ended up darker than I wanted, but they were still tastey! I served with a bit of fat free frozen cool whip as a treat. 

http://www.ambitiouskitchen.com/2013/04/oatmeal-cottage-cheese-banana-pancakes-high-in-protein-gluten-free/

Hangover Soup - Sans Hangover

This soup is a favorite in these parts. Everyone seems to have their own recipe, but the basic ingredients that seem to be common are tomato, macaroni and ground beef. I read a few recipes to get an idea of what I wanted to have then I winged it. Like usual :) I think the idea of this soup is to really use what you have on hand to fill your tummy. Please note this made A LOT of soup, and can easily be halved. I just had a bunch of meat defrosted and used half in this recipe and plan to put half in chili tomorrow. 

Ingredients: 

2 cups each of carrots and celery chopped

(give or take to your preference. This would also be good with green beans and/or peppers) 

2 onions, minced 

2 large cans (28 oz each) of whole tomatoes

(I blended mine before adding, but they can be roughly chopped if you prefer) 

1 small can (5.5 oz) of tomato paste

16-24 cups of beef broth 

(I only had powdered, but I prefer tetra packs, or even better yet, homemade!)

3-4 tablespoons oregano

2 Tablespoons thyme 

3 Tablespoons parsley 

2-3 bay leaves

Salt and pepper to taste 

Ground beef (I used approximately 2.5 lb) 

2 cups of macaroni (it was pretty much the whole box, so I dumped in the rest, see pic below) 

(Note: I didn't really measure the spices. I just eyeballed them! Go with what tastes good!) 

Instructions: 

1. Brown beef in a pan. Rinse and strain. Set aside. 

2. Add veggies to pan with a bit of oil or Pam. Cook until tender. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, broth and spices and bring to a simmer. For best taste allow the soup to simmer for a bit (I did dishes). 

3. Add uncooked noodles and cooked beef, simmer until noodles are cooked (about 10 minutes) making sure to stir often to make sure noodles don't stick to the bottom. Check taste (may need to add salt). Enjoy! (Zoey sure did!) 

This would be considered simply filling.