Healthyful Veggieful Threesome

There are three different health and weight friendly free pizza crusts that I have heard raved about. I've tried one and I liked it, the kids liked it and miracle of miracles, my husband liked it as well (that would be the Cauliflower Crust)!  The other two I have heard about is the No Dough Cream Cheese Crust and the Spinach Crust.  I am thrilled with how the Cauliflower Crust came out, intrigued by the Spinach Crust and mouth drooling over the cream cheese one so I'm going to combine all three and see how it comes out.

Here's the break down of what I'm going to do.  I'll do it and then come back and share any changes and what the end results are.  I have a gallon size freezer bag of already riced cauliflower from my last experiment so I'll use it.  I'm going to guess it to be around 4 cups.  Remember I'm feeding 6 people so, my proportions are going to be fairly large.

• About 4 cups of riced/processed cauliflower
• 1 large bag of spinach
• 1 block of cream cheese, softened
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups of cheese blend (parmesan, romano, mozzorella, ect.)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Oregano, garlic and other herbs and spices to taste

Line my large pizza pan with parchment paper (because yes, these crusts do stick horribly) and pre-heat oven to 425*.

Puree spinach and mix with cauliflower.  Cream together the softened cream cheese and eggs and then fold in cheeses.  Add salt, pepper, herbs, spices and garlic all to your liking and then fold into the spinach cauliflower mix until well combined.  

Press firmly into pizza pan and bake 15-20 minutes until edges are golden brown.  You will want this crust to be pretty dry.  Otherwise, you will be eating a very soggy textured pizza.

Top with pizza sauce (or alfredo sauce or what ever you want) and toppings of your choice.  We're pepperoni fans around here so I'll be using turkey pepperoni, loads of cheese on top and getting some mushrooms used up that need to get out of the refrigerator.  I'll probably cook those in a skillet first caramelized with some onion.  I like lots of garlic too.

Here goes!  I'm looking forward to this one!

Berrylicious Breakfast

I was very happy to still be picking blueberries off of my bushes yesterday.  I like blueberries but I LOVE them now that I grow them.  Something about free and homegrown just makes a huge difference in how things taste.  Apparently, my little ones agree.  I turned around from the kitchen sink this morning to see this.

Blueberry Coconut Oatmeal with scrambled eggs from our backyard hens was quite the hit this morning.  If you couldn't tell by this face LOL!

No Place Like the Kitchen

My husband and I have put our house on the market and it has been quite a stressful adventure in some ways and very uneventful in others.  I don't want to leave unless we are going to be moving to a better house, more land and less money; our house was just too much money but we didn't know any better back then.  Life is full of living and learning moments.  I just want this next move to be our forever home.  This kitchen above is a dream kitchen for me.  We have found a house where the kitchen, while smaller than this, is laid out pretty much the same way.  The dreaming has already started for me and planning on how to achieve those dreams.  Not all dreams will come true but if the kitchen is where I will be spending most of my life, it needs to be one of those dreams that does come true.  I need storage space and lots of living room.  I want to have lots of love, laughter and life fill my home and need the room to wrap it all up in.  I am excited to see what comes.  As we've ventured around looking at other homes for sale, I am encouraged to know that many of my dreams really are not that far out of our reach.  I hope to one day be showing you all a picture of my dream kitchen made reality!

Too Good to Be True!

One of our favorite things to eat for breakfast here is banana bread.  But, it too used to be one of those things that was more of a dessert really; not a wholesome, get-you-through-the-morning sort of meal.  I came across an eggless recipe that inspired me to create my own and healthy banana bread.  The original recipe was a cross of two or three different recipes and has since, been perfected as far as I can take it I think.

This recipe is enough for two loaves.  Each loaf feeds my family one breakfast!  My kids have been known to eat a whole loaf and even some of the other.  I have to actually limit them on some meals.

• 4 C of flour. This has been the area I have played with the most. For this last batch, I did 1/2 coconut flour, 1 and 1/2 C oat flour, 1 C whole wheat flour and 1 C bread flour. It is nice and heavy but not a brick.
• 2-3 Tbsp molasses depending on how rich you like things.
• 1 stick of melted butter
• 5 very ripe bananas (so ripe you have to put them in the fridge/freezer so they don't rot is best)
• 1 C applesauce (I use the all natural, no sugar added)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 tsp baking soda and baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 heaping tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 (ish) tsp of allspice (a dash of clove is nice too)
• Nuts/Seeds of your choice or a combination of different ones. This time, I had pepitas and walnuts so they both got used. I'd suggest rinsing off any salt that might be on them.
• Water. Because of the coconut flour, the batter may become too pasty. You will need to add either more applesauce or water to bring it to the right consistency. It is a thick batter; not one that pours, but you don't want it a solid.
• Extras: golden raisins are really good in this but so are apple chunks or other dried fruit of your choosing. You can also substitute the banana with mashed sweet potato and either way, shredded zucchini is a really easy veggie to sneak in here that tastes great.
• Sometimes, I add chocolate chips and a few Tsp. of cocoa powder and omit the spices unless you like spices with chocolate. I personally don't.

Heat oven to 325*. Lightly grease and flour loaf pans (sometimes I do a mixture of sugar and cinnamon for a yummy exterior). Cream together bananas/sweet potatoes, butter and other ingredients (except flours and nuts/seeds). Once everything is well combined add flour and mix until just combined and then fold in nuts/seeds. Distribute evenly between pans and smooth out and bake for an hour. Test with pick. If not clean when removed, leave in for another 10 minutes or so. Watch it carefully because you don't want it to be too dry. Take out and cool. Slice and enjoy!