Cauliflower Pizza

If you want great pizza...this is it!  Check out this older post about how to make the Cauliflower Crust for the pizza.  This post is just a quick look into what I put on top of my pizza. My family came to visit for the holiday's and this is something they requested for me to cook.  A little disclaimer, my Dad is not a fan of "weird pizza".  By that I mean he likes plain pizza sauce and original toppings, not things like BBQ chicken.  With that said, HE LOVED MY PIZZA!  I made two pizzas and just wanted to share what the toppings were so you can get your minds going about what kind you would like to make!

Chicken Alfredo Pizza:

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Alfredo Sauce
Mozzarella Cheese
Chicken, I used a rotisserie chicken
Onion
Tomato
Basil
Oregano

Add all ingredients to the pizza crust and cook for about 20 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Supreme Pizza:

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Original Pizza Sauce
Mozzarella Cheese
Green Peppers
Onion
Tomato
Pepperoni
Ground Italian Sausage

Add all ingredients to the pizza crust and cook for about 20 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Super Easy Cheese Dip Recipe!

I'M BACK!  The last part of the semester got super crazy and let me be honest, I wasn't cooking much at all.  The fact that I had finished all the blog posts needed for my class was great because I wasn't stressing over getting more done.  BUT, due to popular demand I am back with some great recipes again!  You will have to bare with me for awhile to get back on track completely but here is a great recipe for all those playoff and Super Bowl parties you will be hosting and attending!  I made this Beer Cheese Dip for my family during the Lion vs. Packers game and it was a HIT!  Give this one a try and I promise you will no be disappointed!  This recipe also cost about half of what a normal cheese ball would cost you in the grocery store and makes about three times as much!



Ingredients:

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16 Ounces Cream Cheese, softened
1/3 Cup Beer, any kind but the darker the better.  I used an IPA.
1 Packet Dry Ranch Seasoning
2 Cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Directions:

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1. Combine cream cheese, beer, and ranch seasoning in medium mixing bowl.
2. Whip ingredients together with a hand mixer until smooth for a couple of minutes.
3. Add shredded cheese and mix for additional 20 seconds.
4. ENJOY!

FAST and EASY Thanksgiving Pie!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  I know it has been busy which is why I know some of you probably forgot about making your pies for tonight's feast...am I right?  Well I am here for you no worries!  Here is a super fast and super easy pie recipe so you can ensure you aren't missing out on the best part of Thanksgiving dinner.  This is the pie I am bringing to my families house so I promise you will love it.  And probably love it a little more when you realize how easy it is to whip up!  Oh and did I mention that this is a no-bake pie?  It is...so you won't have to worry about making sure you have room your oven for even more food!


Ingredients:

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1 Short Cake Pie Crust
2 Cups Sweetened Condensed Milk
3/4 Cup Lemon Juice

Yes...that is all you need!  Amazing right?

Directions:

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1. Pour sweetened condensed milk into a mixing bowl with the lemon juice.  Stir or whisk it together.

2. Pour into the pie crust and refrigerate for a couple of hours.

3. Add whipped cream for garnish if you would like!

4. Enjoy!

The BEST Cauliflower Crust Pizza!

I'm not going to lie, I was really skeptical about trying this recipe and so was my sister.  BUT!  Let me tell you...it was AMAZING!  Although it took a little bit longer than other recipes that I post, it was definitely worth it.  Yes, it took some time, but it was so easy and delicious.  That makes it worth doing right?  I really hope you give this one a try...it is such a great and healthy way to make pizza!  I promise you won't be disappointed.

Pizza Crust Ingredients:

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This recipe makes approximately a 10-12 inch pizza.

1 Small to Medium Sized Head of Cauliflower - should yield 2 to 3 cups once processed
1/4 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Dried Basil
1/2 Teaspoon Dried Oregano
1/2 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
1/4 Cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese
1/4 Cup Mozzarella Cheese
1 Egg

Pizza Crust Directions:

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Preheat the oven to 450 Degrees and place a large piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet.  Spray the paper with nonstick cooking oil.

1. Cut off the florets of the cauliflower, you do not need much of the stem.

2. Pulse in your food processor for about 30 seconds, until you get powdery snow like cauliflower.  This should leave you with about 2 to 3 cups of cauliflower "snow".

3. Place the cauliflower in a microwave safe bowl and cover.  Microwave for 4 minutes.

4. Dump cooked cauliflower onto a clean tea towel and allow to cool before attempting the next step!


5. Once the cauliflower has cooled enough to handle, wrap it up in the dish towel and wring the heck out of it!  You want to squeeze out as much water as possible.  This will ensure you get a chewy pizza like crust instead of a crumbly mess.  I got 1/4 cup of water out of this cauliflower.

6. Dump all the cauliflower into a medium size mixing bow. and add all other ingredients.  Your hands will work best to mix everything together!

7. Once everything is mixed together, use your hands to form the dough into a crust on oiled parchment paper.  Pat it down thoroughly, you want it nice and tightly formed together.  Don't make it too thick or too thin either.

8.  Bake in oven for 10 to 15 minutes.

Pizza Toppings:

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Pizza Sauce
Mozzarella Cheese
Feta Cheese
Fresh Basil
Onion
Tomato
Red, Yellow, and Orange Peppers
Cucumber




Add all these ingredients to the pizza crust.  Cook for an additional 15-20 minutes, or until the cheese is completely melted.  Let the pizza cool for about 5 minutes before cutting and serving, this will allow it to stay together better.  Enjoy!

21 Day Fix and Healthy Eating!

So this post is going to be a little different than most of my other ones.  I am going to have my friend Shannon Hargrave share with you her passion of helping others and her success with the 21 Day Fix program. She is an online Health and Fitness Coach who offers free support, motivation, and advice to those looking to make a change in their lives.  Her blog is www.shannonhargrave.com and she is an inspiring person and has a passion for helping people out so check her out!

The 21 Day Fix is the newest, most anticipated program in the fitness world that game out last February.  Autumn Calabrese designed this 21-day fitness program that is simple to follow with rapid weight loss.  The unique nutrition plan uses specifically portioned food storage containers that eliminate the guesswork from portion control - no weighing, measuring, or counting calories, carbs, or points.  If it fits in the container, you can eat it!

When you buy the 21 Day Fix Kit, you get 7 color coded, portion controlled containers, workout program that includes 7 different workouts, a nutrition plan (including a restaurant guide), and a Shakeology Shaker Cup.  Shannon also offers FREE Challenge Groups on Facebook along with her support and Coaching.

This program gives you a lot of different options and recipes.  You can check out Shannon's blog for different ideas and options for 21 Day Fix approved foods.  During a closed interview, Autumn talked about the reason why people are not seeing results with their clean eating and workout routine. The number one reason is because of portions!  Just because you eat clean and work out, doesn't mean you will have the results you are looking for, typically because you are overeating.  This program was designed to help others realize the correct amount of food they should be eating per meal!  Everyone can do the 21 Day Fix and get great results! 

This program is pretty easy to follow.  Check out this picture with the basic ideas of what the 21 Day Fix meals should be.  It is simple!  Also check out the YouTube video...it is Shannon's debut for her own cooking show! Chef Shannon shows us how easy it is to make a 21 Day Fix Taco Salad!  The recipe for this post is in the video...so check it out!

I have participated in some of Shannon's groups and they are so great!  Here is an easy guide that she has shared with us for portion sizes.  Not everyone has the 21 Day Fix containers so this is a great tool to look at and figure out your correct portion sizes.

Check out Shannon's blog!  She has so much information on healthy eating and posts a lot of recipes as well! If you are interested in learning to eat more healthy and looking for an accountability group...she is your girl. Contact her and she will be more than willing to help you out!  

And again her blog is www.shannonhargrave.com

Awesome and Easy Game Day Snack!

Football season is the best season.  What better way to celebrate this than awesome and easy snacks for game day?  This is a a recipe for a easy munchie...Pretzels and CheezIts. Who doesn't love those? Anyways, this just gives a little spin on them to make them tastier and I promise it is super easy to make!  Give it a try, you will not be disappointed!

Ingredients:

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1 Box CheezIts (13.7 oz)
1 Large Bag Pretzels
1 Cup Vegetable Oil
2 Packages Ranch Dressing Mix
1 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
4 Teaspoons Dill Weed

Directions:

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1. Preheat oven to 250 Degrees.
2. Combine 1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil, 1 Package Ranch Dressing Mix, 1/2 Teaspoon Garlic Powder, and 2 Teaspoons Dill Weed in a large mixing bowl.
3. Add CheezIts and mix thoroughly.
4. Do the same thing but with the Pretzels.
5. Put on baking pans and cook for 30 minutes, mixing every 10 minutes.
6. ENJOY!

Spaghetti Squash Carbonara: Try it Tuesday!

So the other day my sister and I made spaghetti with spaghetti squash.  I sent her to the grocery store and she didn't quite understand what size squash to buy for the 2 of us.  She bought a 6 pound squash!  Needless to say we had A LOT left over...so I froze it!  It was so nice because all I had to do was take it out of the freezer and heat it up in the microwave.  The only weird thing about it was that it was that it had a lot of liquid in the pan after heating it up.  All I did was put it in a colander and drain all the liquid.  Anyways, this recipe was super easy and quite tasty!  It is fun trying new things so I hope you try this one!

Ingredients:

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1 Large Spaghetti Squash (about 2 pounds), cooked and shredded
4 Slices of Bacon, cut into small pieces
2 Teaspoons of Garlic, minced
1/4 Cup Chicken Broth
2 Egg Yolks and 1 Full Egg
1 Cup Parmesan Cheese, freshly grated
Salt and Pepper

Directions:

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1. Cook Spaghetti Squash and shred it.
2. In a large sauce pan, cook pieces of bacon until browned.  Add in the garlic for about 1 minute at the end.
3. Add broth and cook in the pan until most of the liquid is evaporated.
4. In a medium size bowl, combine egg yolks, full egg, cheese, salt, and pepper.  Whisk together.
5. Add egg and cheese mixture to bacon and cook for a few minutes, but do not let the eggs cook all the way through.
6. Add squash and enjoy!




My Thoughts:
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Traditional Pasta Carbonara is a family favorite by far!  This recipe does not really taste like it at all. But, that could have to do with the fact that you don't use all the fatty ingredients in this recipe that you do for the traditional dish.  Although it doesn't taste the same, this dish is very good!  I highly recommend it to others and will probably make it again!