Meatless Monday: Easy Roasted Cauliflower

March 25, 2013March 25, 2013 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 3 Comments

Disclaimer: this is a non-recipe post. What’s a non-recipe? It’s something that I typically just throw together, without following instructions. Or measuring things. Something that you just do but don’t really think about (or something that didn’t seem blog-worthy at first). But I decided to actually pay attention and write down what I do, so I can share it with you!

B’s been eating a lot of vegetables lately and this is one of the easiest, no-hassle ways to prepare one of his new found edible vegetables, cauliflower. It takes 5 minutes to prepare and then just sits in the oven while you go about your business. Think about all you can do in the 45 minutes it takes for this to cook! Go work out (only if you’re not leaving the building. I wouldn’t recommend having your oven on 375 without anyone around!), prepare more parts of your meal, make some lentils (the take about 30 minutes from the bag and is cheaper than the can) to go with the cauliflower, read a trashy magazine, catch up on your DVR, give yourself a manicure … think about it!

Easy Roasted Cauliflower

Here’s what you need:

1 head of cauliflower
1 – 2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves fresh garlic, minced or diced
Sea salt and black pepper

Here’s what you do:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Chop up cauliflower. Remove the stems and leaves and chop florets into 1/2 inch pieces.
Place chopped cauliflower on a baking sheet covered with Pam. Or spread foil sprayed with Pam on a baking sheet for an easy clean up. Drizzle cauliflower with olive oil.
Add salt and pepper and garlic.
Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until brown and crispy.

A whole head of cauliflower made enough food for B and me for dinner, plus I got leftovers for lunch the next day!

Chop your cauliflower (this is the longest part of the process)

Season with garlic, pepper and salt (or other spices, like rosemary!)

Eat it! I served mine with lentils, fish, Brussels sprouts and sauerkraut

This is a 4HB friendly recipe (without the modifications, below).

Modifications:

This is the basic roasted cauliflower recipe. I’ve also made it where in addition to the above steps, at about 10-15 minutes before it’s completed I’ve added Parmesan cheese or other shredded cheeses (cheddar, gouda, etc.) for a slightly cheesy roasted cauliflower. I’ve also added breadcrumbs for added crunch!

Meatless Monday: Spicy Kale with Yellow Pepper and Onions

March 18, 2013March 25, 2013 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 3 Comments

Hope you all had a great St. Patrick’s Day! I made it outside for a few hours and judging by what I witnessed downtown, most of you were having a good time. While I didn’t enjoy any corned beef this year (still meatfree for Lent!), we did enjoy some green food – including a kale dish like this one.

As B has started eating more slow carbs, one of my challenges has been to find new and not boring bean/veggie/meat (or other protein) combos. B would be perfectly happy eating the same meals day in and day out. Me? Maybe for lunch, but half of the fun in eating is the cooking! And half the fun in cooking is trying new recipes. So, last week for dinner, we were debating on the bean/veggie/meat combo when I suggested cooking up some Kale with Peppers and Onions for our veggie. Not a kale fan, B was skeptical. As I was putting it together, B even made the comment that he expected the ratio of peppers and onions to kale to be a little higher than he was expecting (meaning – “You’re using too much kale!”). Plus, when I had made the Kale with Lentils and Sweet Potato recipe a few weeks ago, he wasn’t sure he liked the texture of the kale, but this was due mostly to the fact that I may have forgotten to remove the stem from many of the kale leaves. Whoops! I was determined to leave a better impression this time, so I included one of B’s favorite ingredients – Cholula sauce!

As we sat down to eat our meals, I ate in silence. I didn’t want to ask … but I was dying to know what B was thinking. After a few bites it was clear. It was a hit. “We should have this again,” B told me. YES!

spicy kale with yellow pepper and onion

Spicy Kale with Peppers and Onions

Here’s what you need:

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 medium yellow pepper, sliced
1 cup chopped yellow onion
2 garlic cloves, chopped (if you like garlic a lot, feel free to make it 3)
1 bunch of kale, stems removed, chopped / torn into small pieces (about 4 cups)
1 – 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
1 – 2 teaspoons Cholula sauce (depending on your taste for heat, use more or less) or your other favorite hot sauce
1/3 cup vegetable broth

Here’s what you do:

Heat the oil in a medium sized pot on medium heat.
Dice the onion, yellow pepper and 2 cloves of garlic. Add to pan and let soften.
Tear kale from stem and chop or tear into bite size pieces. Remember to remove the stem! (This reminder is courtesy of B)
Once onion and pepper are translucent, add the kale and vegetable broth. Feel free to add more garlic at this time too 🙂
Add hot sauce and hot pepper flakes. Turn heat to medium-low, put lid on pot, and let simmer for about 10 minutes.
After about 10 minutes, remove lid and turn heat down. Add more hot sauce if you like and cook until the liquid is absorbed
Enjoy!

I served mine with baked tofu and some black beans for a complete Four-Hour Body friendly recipe.

Saute the pepper, onion and garlic

Chop/tear up the kale. Don’t forget to remove stem!

Add chopped kale to translucent pepper and onion. Add hot sauce, hot pepper flakes, vegetable broth and more garlic if you want.

All done! Check out how much the kale cooks down.

Enjoy! Here’s how I served mine:

SPICY KALE WITH yellow pepper & onion, baked tofu, avocado and black beans

Some questions to ponder:

Have you tried any slow carb diets or the Four-Hour Body? What’s your favorite meal combo?
Are there certain meals you have over and over again and never get tired of them?
What’s your favorite way to cook/eat kale?

Meatless Monday: Eggplant, Potato and Pepper Stew

March 11, 2013April 28, 2013 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 1 Comment

A few weeks ago I finally reactivated my library card! This means trouble – I now have a ton of library books on my night stand, and even more on hold. In between all the best-sellers and fiction books, I also made room for a few cookbooks. The first one, Meat Free Monday, is by Paul McCartney and has a collection of meatless meals – breakfast, lunch and dinner – for a whole year. I tagged a few recipes, including one for a meatless dinner stew.

I really really enjoyed the recipe – the book said it made 4 servings, but B and I had dinner, and I froze 5 cups for leftovers, even a few without potatoes for B, who is starting a low-carb diet this week.

vegetarian eggplant, potato and pepper stew labeled

Eggplant, Potato and Pepper Stew (slightly modified from the Meat Free Monday Cookbook)

Yields 5-8 servings

Here’s what you need:

3 tbs olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
3 garlic cloves, diced
1 red pepper, seeded and cut into large chunks
1 eggplant, cut into large chunks
1 zucchini, chopped into chunks
2 medium Russet potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
1 tbs dried oregano
2 14-oz cans stewed tomatoes
1 1/3 c vegetable broth
14-oz can white beans, drained and rinsed
4 tbs greek olives, chopped
Feta and parsley for topping

Here’s what you do:

Heat half of olive oil in a large pot. Add onion and celery, cook until tender but not colored. Add garlic and saute for another minute.
Add the remaining oil, chopped peppers, zucchini, and eggplant to the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes.
Add potatoes, oregano, canned tomatoes and vegetable broth. Bring to a boil, cover the pan, and reduce the heat to low
Simmer for 25-30 minutes until veggies are tender.
Add beans and olives, cook for another 5 minutes.
Taste the stew! Add salt, pepper or other spices as needed. Serve with crumbled feta and chopped parsley.
Chop the veggies ahead of time … it’s easier

saute the celery, onion and garlic first

Let the stew simmer

closeup of stew