Cauliflower Fried Rice

In addition to the cauliflower cheesy bake I just posted, this is another fabulous meal that can be a side dish or a main dish. If making for Valentine's Day, this could always be a side dish alongside something more fancier, like ribs or steak.

This meal is packed with flavor. You can either pulse the florets or buy cauliflower already pulsed up at stores like Walmart. It is found in the produce section next to the bagged veggies at the end. They run out fast so get yours early in the morning.

Cauliflower Fried Rice

source: Familyfreshmeals.com

Here is what you need:

– 3 cups of grated raw cauliflower (use a food processor or buy already to go)

– 1/2 cup frozen peas

– 1/2 cup carrots, thinly sliced or cubed small

Your choice of ham, beef, tofu, or chicken.

– 3-4 garlic cloves, minced

– 1/2 cup onion, diced

– 1/2 TBSP olive oil

– 3 eggs  scrambled

– 3 TBSP soy sauce

1 T. sesame oil

salt/pepper to taste

What You'll Do:

 1. In a large pan, saute garlic and onions in olive oil on a medium/high heat, until onions become soft and transparent. (about 2-3 minutes)

2. Next add in peas, and carrots and cook until carrots begin to soften and peas are heated through, about 3-4 minutes

3. Next stir in scrambled eggs , cauliflower and  sesame oil, and soy sauce. Cook stirring frequently for about 5-7 more minutes. 

Top with chopped green scallions.

Cheesy Cauliflower Bake

I normally only post on Sunday's now, but wanted to make an exception to give my readers some Valentine meal inspiration. If you are like us and like to dine in, that is.

 It is our tradition to make a nice dinner at home, make chocolate covered strawberries, and a movie on netflix.

So anyway, today I ventured out to Target. I don't make it there a whole lot, but when I do, count on me to spend literally hours in the store.  I am addicted to that place.

For the longest time, I have wanted a cake stand. I have seen many out there, all priced well.  But, buying one has been the hardest part. I hate spending money on wants like that.

I decided today was the day I would finally buy a cake stand. This is the one I bought. So elegant.

I decided it could be versatile. I would use it on holidays as well a parties When not in use, I would decorate with it, or use it to elevate my kitchen stuff.  Or I might just buy another. ;)

To make your own cleaner, take 2 T. Organic vinager, 6-12 drops of essential oils of your choice, and distilled water. Shake and use. Smells so good. Works so good.

I love a spotless clean kitchen, but who doesn't? 

Poor Sunny. She threw up all night. 

 So onto the food. Served as a side dish with cordon bleu or steak or ribs, this is what we're having on Sunday.
It is so good! As mentioned before,, I have a dairy intolerance, so I usually do substitutions like using goat cheese, or I take enzymes.

Rodney always tries to take me out to eat, but I hate spending money. I would much rather cook something I love.

This Valentine's Day, be sure to give extra love. Remember to love yourself and be proud of yourself.  We are all here to build each other up and comfort each other through hard times.

If you are looking for a wonderful sidedish for your at home Valentine's Day meal, I highly recommend this cheesy cauliflower bake casserole. Even kids will love it.

Ingredients:

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 slices center cut bacon (I use Wegmans brand)
• 2 lbs cauliflower florets (or  one large head of cauliflower.  it had almost exactly 2 lbs of florets once cut up)
• 6 oz 1/3 less fat cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup fat free sour cream
• 4 oz shredded 50% reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese, divided (I used Cabot brand)
• 4 oz shredded 50% reduced fat pepper jack cheese, divided (I used Cabot brand)
• 3 scallions, chopped – greens only
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• Pinch of black pepper
• Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes, to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350. Lightly mist a 2 QT baking dish (I used a 7×11) with cooking spray and set aside.
2. Cook the bacon slices until crisp according to package directions and allow them to cool/dry on paper towels. Crumble them into bite sized pieces and set aside.
3. Steam cauliflower florets until tender.
4. While the cauliflower steams, combine the softened cream cheese and sour cream with a hand mixer. Add 3 oz of the shredded cheddar and 3 oz of the shredded pepper jack, the bacon pieces from step 2, the chopped scallions, garlic, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Stir until well combined.
5. When the cauliflower is finished steaming, drain if necessary and add the hot cauliflower to the cream cheese mixture. Stir until well coated. If you’d like at this step you can partially mash some of the cauliflower (I did a little bit, but kept many florets whole for texture).
6. Transfer the cauliflower mixture to your reserved baking dish and top with the remaining 1 oz each of shredded cheddar and pepper jack cheeses. Bake for 30 minutes. If your cheese on top isn’t golden, turn on your broiler for 1-2 minutes until golden and bubbly.

Source: Emilybites.com

5 Positives This Month

For years, we have had the goal of living a life debt free. It tooks years of saving,  hardcore budgeting, but we finally did it!

Anyone can do it. It's not easy to say the least.

 In several conference talks, the prophet said certain debts are acceptable, such as school, home and car.

BUT.....

1. We are now 100% out of debt, excluding a home loan. We have no car loans, no credit card debt, no student loan debt, zero bills at all!  Just one home loan. We both feel so free.

It hasn't always been easy for me to manage money, but after reading up on how to save for your future, I have turned a bit frugal.  This is a good thing. I like it.

Another positive is:

2. Being a stay at home mom. I feel so grateful for this opportunity.  I didn't always feel this way. I yearned to go back to teaching when Sunny was 18 months, but after considering a huge portion of my paycheck would cover the high cost of daycare, we decided it was better I stay at home.  I realize this is something not all mother's have the privilege of doing, and I am beyond grateful.

3. A hard working husband. Rodney is so quick minded.  I still haven't found something he can't do or fix. His memory is unbelievable.  He can remember the smallest of details which is a huge bonus and why he flies through his schooling.

                       
His brilliant mind can do just about anything.  He is saving us a lot of money because he knows a lot about construction and building, and is tackling this job of building a shed like a pro.

When we moved into our home last April,  we striped our home of everything, except for bathtub, toilet and closets.  The cost of hiring a crew was thousands.  Doing it ourselves saved big time. I obviously had to learn a lot, but it made it so much more personal doing it on our own.  My only regret is doing crown molding in our living room. I was fixated on the idea of it for a long time. It was an extra expense and not really necessary when I think of it.

4. Lemons: I finally got rid of all my winter decor and put out the spring.  Decorating with fake lemons does add a degree of brightness to our home. I found this stuff at dollar store, Michaels,  a thrift store in town, and DI. The idea for this came from lemon decor ideas I just googled one day.

This one above is not my own creation, but one of the ideas I googled. I decided to recreate a similiar look. Source: unknown.

                  This is what I came up with in my                   kitchen.
                       

         This is a refreshing site. It makes me feel like I'm in a tropical resort. Maybe a cute lemonade display would be fun too.

5.  My good friend had her baby boy on Friday. After several impromptu afternoon walks during the week to speed that labor along, we realized, this baby boy had a mind of his own. He was 5 days late, but he's finally here.  And look at how adorable she is rockin' that baby bump.

We are finally getting around to checking off more goals for our house. Getting grass and trees planted will be accomplished this month. Sunny will finally have a backyard to play in.

Speaking of Sunny, she is still having red hot flare ups in her cheeks and has been saying she has tummy aches. I think it's about time she goes in for allergy tests.