Roasted Cauliflower

OMG. This is so amazing, it never actually makes it to the plate, ever. Al and I look like vultures over a carcass fighting over pieces. I came across this online and thought "Really? Roast cauliflower?" But, I promise, this is the very best way I've ever eaten cauliflower. And is sooooo easy.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees

In a large bowl combine:
1/4 C olive oil
juice 1 lemon
2 cloves garlic, mashed
salt and pepper to taste

Chop 1 head of cauliflower into florets, toss into lemon oil mixture.
Dump all into a large baking dish to make one even layer, drizzle leftover lemon oil mix on top.
Roast 12-15 minutes or so. You want slightly burnt pieces, not too burnt though.

Remove from oven and devour!

I imagine you could roast nearly any veggie this way, but this is hands down our favorite.

A taste of Spring to come... Balsamic Strawberries

There were boxes and boxes of dark red strawberries at Costco today and I just couldn't resist. So we had Balsamic Strawberries for Dessert and I thought I'd share the recipe cause it's kinda interesting.

Balsamic Strawberries with Marscapone

1 lb fresh, hulled strawberries ( I quartered mine but if they'rre small you could serve them whole)
2 Tbs good Balsamic vinegar
black pepper
1 tsp of sugar (only if your strawberries aren't quite sweet enough)
1 c marscapone cheese (can be subbed with cream cheese beaten with a touch of honey & thinned with a 1-2 tsp water)

Wash & strain strawberries. Drizzle vinegar over them. Crack a little black pepper over them, stir and chill for a minimum of 30 minutes, but a couple hours is even better. Serve over a spoonful of cheese.

Lentil-Tomato Stew

I have this cooking now and it smells amazing! I put it together in 5 minutes or so when I first got up. Looks like it will make a lot of yummy, healthy food. (One serving has 16 g. of fiber!) It also happens to be vegan. I'm thinking I'll make cornbread to go with it.

3 c. water

28-oz can low-sodium peeled Italian tomatoes, undrained (I couldn't find these so used 2-14 1/2-oz cans of Italian diced tomatoes.)

6-oz. can low-sodium tomato paste

1/2 c. dry red wine

3/4 tsp. dried basil

3/4 tsp. dried thyme

1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper

1 lb. dried lentils, rinsed and drained with any stones removed

1 large onion, chopped

4 carrots, cut in 1/2" rounds

4 celery ribs, cut into 1/2" slices

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp. salt (I used less)

fresh basil or parsley, chopped, for garnish

1. Combine water, tomatoes with juice, tomato paste, red wine, basil, thyme, and crushed red pepper in slow cooker.

2. (If using whole canned tomatoes) Break-up tomatoes with a wooden spoon and stir to blend them and the paste into the mixture.

3. Add lentils, onion, carrots, celery, and garlic.

4. Cover. Cook on low 10-12 hours or on high 4-5 hours.

5. Stir in the salt. (Oops! I put this in this morning!)

6. Serve in bowls, sprinkled with chopped basil or parsley.

German Pot Roast

We had this Sunday and it quickly became Ava's favorite food! I've never seen her eat like that before! The tender meat and small chunks of potatoes make it very baby-friendly. This is from "Fix-It and Forget It Lightly", which I've been relying on a lot lately. This makes a hearty, satisfying meal that's also pretty healthy. 

Makes 12 servings/Ideal slow-cooker size: 5 quart

2 lbs boneless, lean pork roast (I used a smaller one)

1 tsp. garlic salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

4 large sweet potatoes, peeled and diced

2 medium-sized onions, sliced

1/2 tsp. dried oregano

14 1/2-oz. can low-sodium tomatoes

1. Place pork roast in slow cooker. (I did not trim the fat off mine. It made the meat juicier and more flavorful. Some larger pieces of fat came off during cooking and I discarded them.)

2. Sprinkle with garlic salt and pepper.

3. Add remaining ingredients.

4. Cover. Cook on high 4-5 hours or on low 7-8 hours.

Chickpea Chocolate Chip Cookies

I remembered Jenny making these so I googled them and changed them a little and they're delicious. I put my changes in ()

1 cup firmly packed light or dark brown sugar brown sugar (a little less)
¾ cup trans fat free soft tub margarine spread (used butter)
2 large egg whites (used one egg)
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 (15 oz) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (aka garbanzo beans)
2 cups (12 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate chips
¾ cup chopped walnuts (optional)
¾ cup raisins (optional) (didn't use, gross)
2 cups all purpose flour (used a little more due to butter melting a little)
½ cup old fashioned oats
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 t salt

Preheat oven to 350. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.

In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the sugar and margarine with a wooden spoon or on medium speed until smooth. Beat in the egg whites and vanilla, then the chickpeas and chocolate chips (put chips in after everything else). Add the flour, oats, baking soda and salt, and mix on low speed until a thick dough forms. (In retrospect, I should have mashed the chickpeas with a fork before putting them in the bowl, but it didn't matter that much. It was hard to taste even the intact chickpeas in the cookies.)

Drop the dough by the tablespoonful onto the baking sheet, spacing the cookies about 2 inches apart. Press gently with a fork to flatten. Bake until the cookies are golden brown and just set, 11 to 13 minutes; do not overbake. Transfer to a rack to cool.

Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Sweet potato corn muffins

The whole vegetables in disguise thing. Which I have to do not only for Maxine, but for Jason. Someone tell me why they won't eat a cooked sweet potato, but they'll gobble up like 4 of these muffins. Anyway! I made these with sweet potato puree, and they turned out great. I've had the same bag of dried dulse for this recipe for 4 years, good thing it never goes bad.
squash and corn muffins - FTWF

Cooking Questions

Why is it that every time I try to make enchiladas, they end up a big lumpy formless mess? I seriously want to make my own enchiladas so I'm not tempted to go to places like Chevy's but whenever I follow recipes, the tortillas won't stay together. I always use corn tortillas. Maybe this is the problem. And sometimes I think that maybe I should not bake with the sauce (add it afterwards) but then they'd dry out, right?
Why is it that every time I try to add things to pancake batter (sliced bananas, frozen blueberries, etc.), the pancakes stay wet in the middle? I tend to just top the pancakes after they're cooked, but I really want the stuff embedded within the pancakes.
TIA to any knowledgable people!