Manchurian Roasted Cauliflower

adapted from Cinnamon Spice

Roasted cauliflower tossed in a spicy, savory tomato sauce.* might be great with some white beans or shredded chicken!

Ingredients
1 big head fresh cauliflower
olive oil
coarse sea or kosher salt and fresh black pepper
1 onion, finely chopped
1 (15 ounce) can petite diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon balsamic or white wine vinegar
3 teaspoons sugar
4 large cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon chile powder
3 scallions, chopped, for garnish




Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. 

Break or cut the cauliflower into florets that are fairly even in size. 

Place on a large baking sheet and drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 teaspoon coarse salt and lots of black pepper. 

Use your hands to massage the oil into the florets then arrange in a single layer. Roast until fork tender.

Meanwhile in a large skillet, throw in a tablespoon or 2 of oil & saute garlic for a minute or two - just until fragrant - not browned. Add the onion over medium-low heat, saute until soft. 

Add the tomatoes, juice included along with both vinegars, the sugar and a couple pinches of salt. 

Bring to a boil, then simmer for 20-25 minutes. You can puree it smooth if you like or lightly smash it with a potato masher leaving it a little chunky.

Turn the heat up to medium, stir in chile powder and season well with salt and pepper to taste.

Add the florets and toss well until they are completely coated. 

Garnish with scallions. Serve immediately.

White Bean and Roasted Garlic Dip & Roasted Garlic Recipe

White Bean and Roasted Garlic Dip

2 15.5 ounce cans white beans, rinsed and drained
2 Tbsp Whole Roasted Garlic (recipe below)
3 Tbsp EVOO
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves for garnish


In a food processor, combine beans, roasted garlic, oil and lemon juice. Process until smooth.
Season with salt and pepper.

This will keep in an air-tight container in the fridge for 3 days.

Transfer to a serving bowl, garnish with parsley leaves and serve for dipping.


Makes 3 cups 
Nutritional information per serving (12x 1/4cup serving):
83 calories
4g fat
4g protein
12g carbs
3.5 g fiber

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Whole Roasted Garlic

1 head garlic
1 Tbsp olive oil


Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Cut off the top third of the garlic head so that the tops of the cloves are exposed.

Place garlic head, unpeeled, in a small ovenproof dish and drizzle with the oil.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.

Uncover and bake until the garlic is soft and golden brown, another 30-40 minutes.

*If you aren't using this right away, allow to cool and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.


Source: Ellie Krieger's "The Food You Crave" Cookbook

White Bean Salad with Roasted Red Pepper, Arugula, and Parsley

Makes about 6 servings

Ingredients:
2 cans white beans (about 2 cups cooked beans)
1 jar (12 oz.) roasted red peppers, chopped (one jar is about 2/3 cup chopped roasted red peppers)
2 cups chopped arugula, about 4 oz. (arugula is also called rocket or rucola)
1/4 cup sliced green onion (scallions)
1/2 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Dressing Ingredients:
2 T balsamic vinegar
2 tsp. Spike Seasoning (optional but highly recommended)
4 T extra-virgin olive oil

Instructions:

Drain beans into colander and rinse well with cold water until no more foam appears, then let beans drain at least 15 minutes. Pat dry with paper towels if they still look wet when you're ready to put the salad together.

Drain red peppers and chop into 1/2 inch pieces. Chop parsley, green onions, and arugula and put into large bowl with the red peppers, then gently mix in beans.

Whisk Spike Seasoning into the balsamic vinegar, then slowly whisk in olive oil. Toss dressing with salad ingredients, season to taste with sea salt and fresh ground black pepper and serve. This will keep in the refrigerator for a day, although the arugula will get pretty wilted after that.

from Kalyn's Kitchen, check out the recipes,

Fast & Easy Chicken Bean Stew

Fast & Easy Chicken Bean Stew

Serves 8 Serving Size 1.25 cups
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour

Baby it’s cold outside! And when it is cold we want something hot and hearty to fill up our bellies and warm us up. Stews are perfect and Winter is the best time to enjoy them. Plus the recipes allow you to use almost whatever is in the fridge.

A cassoulet is typically made with meats such as duck, pork or goose, cooks for hours and is rather high in fat! So in keeping with one of my mini-goals to eat healthier I modified a simple cassoulet recipe I found. Since I changed the type of meat used and the cooking vessel I could not commit a culinary sin and call this a cassoulet. Hence, you have a filling stew that was prepared in less than 30 minutes with only an hour of cook time.

2 skinless boneless chicken breasts, sliced 1/2 inch chunks
1 15 oz can of Red Kidney Beans
1 15 oz can of White Kidney Beans
1 15 oz can of Black Beans 50 less sodium
1 24 oz jar of Pasta Sauce
(I used Safeway Select Spicy Red Bell Pepper Pasta Sauce)
25 Baby Carrots, raw chopped
8 Red Pearl Onions, chopped
1 Red Bell Pepper, chopped
1 Portobello Mushroom cap chopped
1 tsp of fresh Thyme

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix all ingredients in 3 quart baking dish. Cover and bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour or until carrots are tender.

Let rest for 10 minutes. Serve and enjoy!