Cauliflower Crust Pizza
After hearing rave reviews about pizza made with a cauliflower crust instead of a dough crust I decided to give it a shot. I looked at a half-dozen recipes, took the best parts from this one and this one, and behold, I give you an absolutely delicious, veggie-packed meal. There are two things to keep in mind if you give this a try:
The toppings must be pre-cooked, don’t put raw meat or raw onion on your pizza. I probably should have grilled up those slices of zucchini a bit; the grilled onions and mushrooms were quite tasty.
After steaming the cauliflower rice (we’ll get to that in a minute), you need to squeeze out any extra moisture, this will give you a much firmer crust. I dumped the bowl of steamy cauliflower into a thin dishtowel, donned some rubber gloves so I didn’t burn my hands, and twisted and squeezed that ball of veggies as much as I could. I got almost a cup of liquid to come out.
Cauliflower Crust Pizza
Preheat oven to 425*
1 head cauliflower
1 cup cheese (I used half Parmesan, half mozzarella)
1 egg, slightly beaten
1-2 teaspoons dry oregano
1/2 teaspoon-ish salt
Rinse the cauliflower and chop into florets. In a food processor, or with a cheese grater, reduce to a mealy, rice-like texture. Microwave the lot of it for about 6-8 minutes (you don’t need to add extra water to this step, there is plenty of moisture in the cauliflower and, remember, we’re trying to reduce the liquid in the veggies, not add to it). Dump all the steamed veggies onto a piece of cheesecloth or a thin dishtowel and twist and squeeze out as much liquid as you can. Wearing rubber dish-washing gloves will protect your skin, the liquid coming out will be scalding.
Put back into a big bowl and fluff with a fork, you should get a mealy texture again. Add the egg, cheese, oregano and salt. Mix well until combined. Dump the mixture onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and spread into a thin layer, patting it flat with your hands or the back of a fork. I made a little ridge around the edge to corral the sauce and veggies.
Bake the crust for 20-25 minutes, until it is crispy on the edges and golden brown.
Add your cheese and toppings and put back in the oven for 4-8 minutes, until the cheese is all melty and delicious.
Cut into pieces and enjoy!
UPDATES:
- For a less sticky crust, you can use only half of the beaten egg and a handful of breadcrumbs, it sticks together quite nicely.
- Do not use aluminum foil in place of parchment paper. The cauliflower sticks to it like crazy and you’ll be picking bits of foil out of your teeth while you eat.
Onion-Au Jus Shredded Beef Sandwiches
This amazing roast beef recipe is from my sister-in-law, L., and I have made it at least a dozen times since tasting it at her house. It is ridiculously easy and has flavor that explodes on your tongue.
Onion-Au Jus Shredded Beef Sandwiches
2-3 pound beef roast, trimmed of fat
1 packet onion soup mix
1 packet Au Jus mix
Cover the roast half-way with water in a slow cooker. Add in the onion soup and Au Jus mix. Cook for 4 hours on high, shred, and cook for two more hours in the sauce.
My favorite way to fix this is into sandwiches. Cut hardy dinner rolls in half, sprinkle with pepperjack or mozzarella cheese and broil until the bread is crispy and the cheese is all melty, about 3 minues. Cover in shredded beef and enjoy.
Spinach Dip
I have tried several different types of spinach dip and this is, hands down, my favorite. It’s nothing super fancy, the recipe is actually on the back of the Knorr vegetable dip packet. I love this dip with fresh bread, or with sliced jicama, or with red bell peppers. I have made this for book club for the last three consecutive meetings and it has been a huge hit.
Spinach Dip
10 oz. fresh spinach, cut into thin slices
16 oz. sour cream
1 cup mayo
8 oz. can of water chestnuts, chopped
3 green onions, chopped
1 package Knorr vegetable dip.
Mix it all up and let it sit overnight. Enjoy!
Bob’s BBQ Bean Stew
This recipe is a summer camp-out favorite invented and distributed by my childhood neighbor, Bob A. I have no idea if he invented it or if found it elsewhere, but it was a staple at our neighborhood parties and dinners in the canyon for years. This is a half-sized recipe, and it will fit in a 5-quart crock pot. The full-size recipe will fill a 9-quart crock pot or slow cooker to the brim and will feed a small army of civilians, or two teenage boys. So, you know, plan accordingly.
Bob’s BBQ Bean Stew
1/2 lb, bacon
1 1/2 lb. stew beef, chopped into 1/2″ cubes
1 1/2 sweet onion, chopped
2 cups tomato sauce
1/4 – 1/3 cups A1 sauce
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon liquid smoke
4 cans beans, drained (I use 1 each of pinto, black, Great Northern, and kidney)
Chop the bacon into small pieces and cook until crispy. Spoon the bacon bits out of the frying pan and drain on a paper towel. Brown the stew meat in the bacon grease, it can still be pink in the middle, you just want the outsides to have a nice, lovely sear. Make sure your stew meat is in tiny pieces, you want to be able to fit a piece of meat, some bacon bits, and a few flavors of beans on any given spoonful. 1/2″ is the size of your thumbnail, not the size of your thumb. (Also, don’t cut your thumb off while you are doing such precise measurements. It’ll ruin the stew.)
Dump everything into a crock pot and simmer on high for 3-4 hours.
Black Bean Veggie Burger
I found this recipe months ago somewhere online and printed it out without including the link. So, make note that this is not my own recipe, but I did make a few additions to make it a bit spicier. I was quite impressed that J-Mo ate two of these “rabbit food” burgers.
Spicy Black Bean Veggie Burger
1/2 cup cooked rice (white or brown)
1 16 oz. can black beans
1/2 green pepper
1/2 yellow onion
3-4 sliced mushrooms
3 cloves garlic
2/3 cup shredded pepperjack
1 egg
1 1/2 tea Emeril’s Essence
1 1/2 tea cumin
1 1/2 tea garlic salt
1 tea green Tabasco
1/2 – 3/4 cup bread crumbs
Rinse and drain the beans, mash to a thick paste. Put onion, green pepper, mushrooms and garlic in food processor (I don’t have a food processor, so I used something that looks a lot like this). Add diced veggies to beans, mix. Put rice and cheese into food processor until chopped super tiny. Add to beans and mix. Whisk egg and spices, add to beans and stir together. Add breadcrumbs as necessary until mixture sticks together enough to form patties. As you make your patties, remember that they won’t shrink like a beef patty will, size accordingly. Cook on a George Foreman 6-8 minutes until slightly crispy and heated through. Makes about 6 patties.
heidikins cooks 