food for foodies – My World (and recipes too)

Yesterday, I started over on my keto program. I had been doing it in earnest all the way through Lent and then poof, I fell off the wagon. I could blame it on the fact that I am a potato chip addict and every time I visit my mother she insists on putting out bowl after bowl of junk food. Every Thursday she puts out a bowl of chips, a bowl of Cheetos, a bowl of Doritos, etc. Then she chides me until I humor her and eat some. (Anyone else have a person like this around?) In her defense, she’s in her mid-eighties and she’s hard-wired like this. Plus, I should have better will power.

I like to start my projects on Mondays, so yesterday was the day to re-invest in the keto lifestyle. Sunday night I planned out my weekly menu and last night was the night to try the cauliflower casserole! Honestly, I wasn’t expecting it to turn out as delicious as it did! Charlie and I both got up this morning talking about how great it was and how neither of us felt hungry for breakfast.

The instructions and the ingredients are very basic, so here you will see only the last steps. This is what it looked like all mixed together prior to adding the cheese and bacon toppings. I could have just baked it like this and it would have been great.

Add the remainder of the cheese on top:

Then add the last of the bacon. Don’t skip this step. The extra bacon makes the house smell divine and it adds a little bit more of a smokey flavor to the dish.

Here it is freshly out of the oven. I didn’t wait for it to get really brown.

Dreamy Creamy Cauliflower Casserole (serves 8)
Ingredients:
1 head fresh cauliflower
8 oz. cheddar cheese, freshly grated, divided
8 oz. Monterey Jack cheese, freshly grated, divided
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
¾ cup full fat cream
2 bunches green onion, chopped
6 pieces of bacon, cooked
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut the cauliflower into bite-sized florets. Place in a microwave safe bowl with a half cup of water and cover. Microwave on high 4-5 minutes until cauliflower is steamed through. (I took mine out at about 4 minutes because I wanted it to still have a bite to it. Keep in mind, it is still going to be baked.) Drain into a colander.

Cook the bacon (I used the microwave for mine), chop it up and set it aside.

In a separate bowl, combine 8 oz. softened cream cheese with 6 oz. each of the cheddar and Jack cheeses, salt and pepper, and garlic. Add the cream a little bit at a time until the mixture is combined. Add the bacon (reserve 1 ½ Tablespoons for the top) and green onion; then add it all to the cauliflower. Stir gently to combine. Pour into a baking dish.

Smooth the surface with a spatula. Sprinkle the remaining cheese and bacon over the top.

Bake uncovered for 25 minutes or until brown and bubbly.

PS- If you don’t feel like grating your own cheese, you may substitute with pre-shredded. Keep in mind that pre-shredded cheese never has the same flavor as freshly grated.

Nutrition information:

1 serving is 1/8th of the casserole.

Calories: 379, Fat: 27g, Net carbs: 8, Total carbs: 10, Protein: 23g,Fiber: 2g

Here is another cauliflower recipe that I adore.

Seriously, does anyone else out there have a person who is constantly trying to sabotage your eating plan? How do you handle it?

This is such a simple recipe, I’m almost embarrassed to talk about it. Besides this, all one has to do is google, “Basic Quiche Recipe” to find something similar. I am sharing this here because if you are like me, you’re a fan of the following three things:

Easy recipes
Re-purposing leftovers.
Healthy & Delicious grab & go food

I started making these every other Sunday because Charlie, my husband, is a body-builder and a sugar addict. Before and after the gym, he needs healthy snacks to feed his body. These are packed full of protein and vitamins and the bonus for me is that he loves them. Typically I make a dozen regular sized muffins and six extra large ones. Out of the dozen, I usually take four or five to my father. I’m trying to get him OFF those horrible, processed protein milkshakes and onto something better for him.

The basic recipe for a dozen cups is simply six eggs and a half a cup of heavy cream whisked together and poured over anything your heart desires! The possibilities are endless. Seriously. The photo below is from four weeks ago. These were filled with leftover rotisserie chicken that I shredded, broccoli, bacon, red bell pepper & onion, plus one can (drained) of Mexican style diced tomatoes and some cheddar cheese. I seasoned them with cilantro lime seasoning, some fresh cilantro, salt, pepper and a little bit of cumin. They came out smokey with just a hint of spice and they received rave reviews.

As you can see in the photo above, I am very generous when I fill the cups. This last time, I added even more filling than you see. In order not to make a huge mess, I always pour my egg/cream mixture into a measuring cup or other vessel with a spout. If your vegetable/meat/cheese combo seems too dense, just poke the backside of a knife around a bit and pour in little batches. Once the cups are full, wrap the pan on the counter gently to be sure the mixture gets to the bottom. Often, I use a fork to poke around to make sure I’ve gotten the egg evenly incorporated. I do not mix the eggs and cream with the veggies and then pour because it would come out in plops. I don’t like plops. Plops are messy. However, I do like to say the word, “PLOP”. Say it with me…

Plop! (you’re smiling, I can see it.”)

When they come out of the oven, I let them sit in the pan for about five minutes; then I cover them with a cooling rack and flip it upside down so the quiche fall out. They’re upside down at that point, so I turn them over and let them cool to room temperature. These were the Mexi-style ones I made weeks ago.

Below are the muffins I made this past Sunday. These were filled with freshly sauteed onions & red peppers and freshly fried bacon crumbles. (We like onions & peppers, so I usually have to make them fresh for my quiches because we never have left-overs of them.) I always have broccoli on hand, so I also added chopped cooked broccoli, cheddar cheese & chives. Per usual, once the cups were filled, I added more cheese, bacon and chives to the tops. (I like pretty food!)

Crustless Quiche Cups

Ingredients: (Makes 12 regular-sized cups)

For the Egg Mixture:
6 eggs scrambled
½ c. cream
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
Optional: Dash of hot sauce

For the filling:
2 ½ cups cooked chopped broccoli florets
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 medium onion, diced
5 strips of bacon, fried (reserve the bacon fat)
1 tablespoon butter (USE REAL BUTTER)
2 cups shredded cheese (whatever you like, I used cheddar)
1 bunch chives, chopped (you can use the dry variety if you need to)
½ teaspoon Lawry’s Seasoned salt
½ teaspoon fresh cracked pepper.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Whisk together all of the ingredients for the egg mixture. Set aside while you work on the filling.

Fry the bacon until crisp, then remove it to a paper towel. Do not drain the skillet.

Sauté the onion and red bell pepper in the bacon grease. IF you are scared of bacon fat, you can clean out the pan and use 2 Tablespoons of olive oil or butter instead. I added 1 Tablespoon of butter to my bacon fat because I’m craaaaaazy about butter! Once the onions and peppers are just barely translucent, turn off the heat and set the pan aside to cool.

Once cooled, crumble the bacon (reserve 1/4th of it for topping) and add it to the pan along with the cheddar cheese (reserve a little for topping), broccoli, chives (reserve a little for topping), and seasonings. Combine gently using a spatula.

Spoon the mixture evenly into prepared non-stick muffin tins. (I spray mine even though they are non-stick.)

Pour the egg/cream mixture evenly into each cup.

Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until a knife comes out clean.

Note: Ovens vary, so start checking at 20 minutes.

Once they have cooled, I put them in pairs inside sandwich-sized zip-locked bags. From here they go into the refrigerator. If I am going to freeze them, I wrap each one in plastic wrap and then put them all in a large zip lock bag or container.

When we serve these, we usually heat them in the microwave about 30 -40 seconds, then top with hot sauce or sour cream, salsa, and/or fresh herbs.