Yep it's low carb mashed"potatoes"

Just steam it until it gets soft, then run it through a potato ricer or use a masher on it. Season as you would with potatoes.

Speaking of cauliflower, have you tried "cauliflower rice"? It's delicious. I make a fried cauliflower rice, just the same as making fried rice with leftover white rice. I buy it in the frozen section in a bag, Green Giant brand I think. Then, in the same section I pick up a microwaveable bag of mixed asian style veggies. I generally start with the cauliflower and veg thawed but it isn't necessary. Add a bit of oil to the skillet, add the "rice", the mixed veggies and the cooked meat (or not) of your choice. Add soy sauce, bit of water, garlic and ginger to your liking. Stir fry it all together until heated through. Sometimes I'll add bean sprouts or water chestnuts or bamboo shoots or extra baby corn or even celery. It's all a matter of your favorite flavors.

Google has plenty of recipes. You can even do-it-yourself using a head of cauliflower and a box grater or food processor and microwave.

Try it, it's a nice, filling lo-carb choice as a main or side dish. (I served it to my Mom and she said, "Where's the cauliflower ?")

Perry

Yep, I had some cilantro lime cauliflower rice with dinner even. It's really good and way lower calorie than rice or potato.

I've made both mashed cauliflower and cauliflower rice. Tristan hates cauliflower so I thought it would be interesting to see how he reacted to both. The mashed cauliflower was a flop. No one knew it was mashed cauliflower but Tristan, Tyler and my dad all three said the potatoes weren't as good as usual and none of them ate much of it. The cauliflower rice was a success. They had no idea it was cauliflower.

The texture definitely isn't quite the same.

Cauliflower chowder is sooo good. I make it just for myself in the winter.

Now that I would love to see your recipe for.  I do love a good chowder.

Quote from: Colleen_definitely on August 15, 2018, 08:46:09 AM
Now that I would love to see your recipe for.  I do love a good chowder.

1 head cauliflower
5-6 strips of bacon
2 carrots diced
2 stalks of celery diced.
2 cloves garlic minced
1 large onion diced
4 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup flour
2 tbsp butter
1 cup cream

Cook the bacon in a large stock pot. Remove the bacon after its cooked and cook the carrots, celery, onion and garlic in the bacon grease until soft. Add the chopped cauliflower and chicken stock and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat to medium. In a sauce pan melt the butter and whisk in the flower. Cook 1-2 minutes until the flower is cooked. Whisk in the cream making sure to whisk out all the lumps. Turn the heat to low and bring the cream to a good simmer and whisk until it thickens. Once the cream is thickened add it to the vegetables and chicken stock. Simmer 15-20 minutes. I add half a stick of butter while it's simmering but you don't have to. Garnish with crumbled bacon.

You don't have to do this but when I make this I scoop out some of the cooked cauliflower with a slotted spoon and then blend it in the blender with a little of the chicken broth. Then I add it back into the chowder. It makes the chowder even thicker and creamier. If you want a lighter chowder you can replace the cream with half n half or even milk. I take the cup of cream out of the refrigerator about a half hour before I start making the chowder. If you let it warm up it doesn't take so long for it to heat up when you add it to the flour and butter.

That sounds fantastic, thanks Julia.

Quick mixed veg dish, 1/2 in cube some carrots, suede, pots, add cauliflower florets peas, beans (says 1lb it total in recipe but tend to put in more use what ever you have) . 2 tblsp of cooking oil, when hot add 2 tsp of cumin seeds and when they cackle add veg,1tsp chilli powder(or to taste) 2 tsp ground coriander, 1/2 tsp turmeric, salt  and stir fry for 3 mins. add juice of one lemon (I add a dash of water as well) and cover ,simmer for 10 mins or till carrots soft . tuck in.You can fry an chopped onion instead of cumin seeds and add tomatoes instead of lemon, also add more water for a sauce. 

Thanks for the cauliflower recipes and comments. 

Hi everyone.  I have some tips to improve prepackaged foods. I don't use prepackaged items very often as I usually make things from scratch. But I have used them at times and managed to make them taste better. And also I know some people don't have the time to make everything from scratch or don't know how.

First off there is ramen. Those little packages of ramen soup. Ok, I am totally not a fan of ramen and the only reason I even buy it is because Tyler likes it a lot. I've always found ramen to be flavorless noodles floating around in chicken broth. But one day I wanted something fast for lunch and we had 2 cases of ramen so I thought there had to be a way to make ramen edible. First of all I broke the noodles before I even opened the package. Pulverized would be more accurate. One thing I always hated about ramen was the long noodles. Ramen calls for 2 cups of water. I cut that to 1 & 3/4 cups of water. Then I put the seasoning packet in the water BEFORE I added the ramen. By cooking the ramen IN the broth they absorb it and pick up the flavor. Since I told Tyler about this trick it's the only way he makes ramen now. On the rare occasion I eat ramen I drain most of the water off the noodles and add a slice of butter making chicken noodles which considering it started out as ramen isn't bad. Tyler also came up with some ramen ideas of his own. When I had pneumonia he often made me ramen for lunch. He put a chopped up boiled egg in it which wasnt bad. He also put some canned hot dog chili in it which also wasn't bad. He also made his version of ramen Mack n cheese. He mixed some Tostitos cheese dip in the ramen. When he gave me that I thought it would be totally nasty and was wondering how I was going to manage to eat it. I couldn't believe that it was actually good but it was.

Another thing is Mac n cheese from a box. Tristan loves Mac n cheese. I usually make it from scratch but I keep a couple of boxes of velveeta Mack n shells for him for when I don't have time to actually make him some. The velveeta brand isn't too bad. One day I was shopping and they had Mac n cheese on sale for 29cents each. It was the kind with the cheese powder. I bought a couple of boxes just to see if I could make it eatable. I have unpleasant memories of that stuff. My dad made it for Tyler and I a lot growing up. He would often put tuna in it. Ewww! But even when he made it plain he never seemed to be able to fully blend in the cheese powder and I always ended up getting a lump of cheese sauce. It was like getting a mouthful of super concentrated cheese. Nasty! But I did manage to make it better. I increased the butter to half a stick. I used butter, not margarine. I softened half a stick of butter and threw it in the hot drained macaroni. Instead of 1/4 cup of milk I used 1/2 cup of half n half. I warmed the half n half in the microwave just until it was warm. Then I whisked the cheese powder into it until it was smooth and then added it to the hot macaroni. There were no lumps in the sauce. I think that cheese powder clumps when you use cold milk. This Mac n cheese wasn't fantastic or anything but it is wasn't nasty.

Instant mashed potatoes are criminal at our house and I don't ever buy them. This is another thing my dad made us a lot growing up. I don't know if it was the brand or if my dad just didn't make them right but they always had a grainy texture and were pretty flavorless. I came across a box of instant potatoes in the pantry. My mom had to have bought them at some point because no one else would have. I started to toss them but then wondered if I could make them better.  The box directions called for milk, water and butter. I used all half n half and increased the butter. Then I whisked them with a whisk and they came out ok. They weren't as good as mine but they were decent and didn't have a weird texture.

Another thing my dad made us a lot was hamburger helper. My brother always loved their beef stroganoff and still does so I buy it sometimes. I replace the milk with half n half and add a big tablespoon of sour cream and it tastes much better.

If you use a prepackaged side dish like knorr ones that have cream sauce if you replace the milk with heavy cream they are way better.

I do buy instant pudding because it's pretty good and quick to make. Tristan went to make a box of chocolate pudding one time and we didnt have any milk so he made it with heavy cream which we did have. It came out like mousse. I couldn't believe how good it was.

Yes I do use a lot of cream and half n half in my cooking. I always keep cream on hand because it's so good in all kinds of stuff and I also use it for whipped cream. I always have half n half on hand because my dad uses it in his coffee but it's also good to cook with.

I've been using Ramen like that when I want something quick.  You have to pulverize it or its impossible to eat!  I only use half the spice package since it adds a lot of sodium.  I generally will add some frozen veggies to it too.  I drain all the fluid off and add a bit of EVOO so its just a light pasta side.

This is a great thread Julia.
Judi

Quote from: ChrissyRyan on August 03, 2018, 07:23:38 PM
If anyone would like to comment about air fryers here that might be helpful as I am thinking of purchasing one when a reasonably priced good one goes on sale.

Thanks!

Chrissy

Quote from: Julia1996 on August 03, 2018, 07:35:12 PM
I would like to hear about those also.

We have one. I've used it a few times, mostly on frozen foods.  Not sure how it would work with battered stuff.  It can also be used to bake frozen foods quicker.

Fries turned out pretty good. No grease and still crispy. Haven't used it enough to tell you any more than that really.

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

Quote from: TonyaW on August 16, 2018, 09:54:59 PM
We have one. I've used it a few times, mostly on frozen foods.  Not sure how it would work with battered stuff.  It can also be used to bake frozen foods quicker.

Fries turned out pretty good. No grease and still crispy. Haven't used it enough to tell you any more than that really.

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

Thanks Tonya.

Chrissy

Today I thought I would share a recipie for chicken and dumplings. A lot of people think dumplings are hard or very time consuming. Some are, the German dumplings my dad likes are kind of tedious but the ones I use for chicken and dumplings are very quick and easy. I make chicken and dumplings after I've made a roast chicken. Knowing that I'm going to make chicken and dumplings out of the chicken carcass I set aside some of the meat. About a cup of dark and white meat combined. If you prefer only white meat you can use just white meat. When I roast a chicken all the meat is usually eaten that night so I make the chicken and dumplings out of the carcass the next day. Save all the bones and the skin if it's not eaten.

Put the carcass in a stock pot and fill it halfway with water making sure the carcass is completely covered. Make sure to include any of the congealed chicken grease. Break the leg bones in half. If you don't have any strong guys around to break them for you you can chop them in half with a cleaver or large, heavy knife. You don't have to break them but I do because the large bones have marrow in them. When you cook the bones the marrow gives the broth a better flavor. Bring it to a boil and then turn it down to medium and let it simmer for 2-3 hours. After it's cooked use tongs or a slotted spoon to pick out all the bones and skin you can. Then strain the broth and put it back on the stove on medium heat. Don't throw away the solids in the strainer.

For the soup you will need:

2 carrots, peeled and diced.
2 stalks of celery, peeled and thinly sliced.
A large onion, diced.
1 tsp of sage.
1 tsp of thyme.
1 tsp of oregano.
1 tbsp of dried parsley.
1 cup of shredded chicken that you saved.
Add everything to the broth and let it simmer.

I pick the usable chicken meat out of the solids from straining the broth. There is usually another cup of meat from the boiled carcass. I add that to the broth. It's important to taste your broth before you add the dumplings. It should have a good chicken flavor. If it's a little bland add some granulated chicken broth a half teaspoon at a time until you get a good flavor. When you cook these dumplings you need to cook them in broth with a strong flavor. If the broth is too weak the dumplings will be tasteless.

For the dumplings you will need:

2 cups of flour.
1 Tbsp of baking powder.
1 1/2 tsp of salt.
2 tbsp of vegetable oil.
1 cup of milk or water.

Whisk the dry ingredients together and then add the oil and milk. I use milk because it makes the dumplings richer but you can also use water. I find it much easier to mix this with my hands. Trying to stir it together is tedious. Once mixed it should be similar to biscuit dough. Pinch off a small piece of dough and roll it into a ball with your palms and drop it into the simmering broth. Once you have all the dumplings in the pot put a lid on it and let it simmer for 20 minutes without lifting the lid.

If you don't want to make this with a chicken carcass you can just use store bought chicken broth and shredded chicken breast.

I have ONE cookie recipe that I've been using and tweaking for the last 3-4 years; I do cook a lot but it's mostly haphazard "Let's try doing this and see what happens!" stuff and a few basic dishes I like, so this may be my only real contribution to the thread.

2 2/3 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda OR 2 tsp baking powder
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp salt

stir dry ingredients together, then add:

2 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs
1 cup butter

mix, and add 8 oz chocolate chips if desired

bake at 350 degrees for around 10 minutes



I think the recipe may do better with a little more flour; I also tend to use heaping cups of both types of sugar because I have a sweet tooth and I've occasionally replaced the vanilla extract and chocolate chips with hazelnut extract and nuts for a nuttier cookie.

Note: I only have 2 small baking pans for cookies, and the recipe's for making a huge batch all at once, so I usually put the extra in a muffin pan instead of waiting, and they turn out well that way, too, except the top caves in a bit so it ends up concave instead of round like a normal muffin.

Does anyone have any tricks on how to make biscuits (USA style) that fluff up more?

Mine have always been flat.  I don't over mix them since they're still flaky, but they never seem to fluff up at all.  I'm using just baking powder and some buttermilk powder as well.  I've played with more baking powder but it just makes my biscuits have that weird baking powder flavor with little to no more rise.

What kinds of fat and flour are you using for the biscuits?

I've tried all purpose and bread flour, for fats I've tried crisco, butter, various oils and even lard.

All purpose and lard seem to get the best rise but it's still far from fluffy.  I've tried new baking powder too.