Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce

I LOVE alfredo sauce....it is probably my favorite sauce of all time.  Most alfredo sauce is full of fat and calories and therefore, kind of unhealthy.  I came across a recipe on this website: http://pinchofyum.com/creamy-cauliflower-sauce  for a healthy alternative.  This sauce is made with cauliflower....I really dislike cauliflower so I was skeptical, but thought I'd give it a whirl.  I personally don't think this tastes like cauliflower, so if you don't like cauliflower, don't worry!  Now, this doesn't taste EXACTLY like alfredo, but it is still really good.  It has a different texture, too.  

Instructions:

In a skillet, saute' 8 cloves of minced garlic with 2 tablespoons of butter.  Saute' it for 10 minutes or so, do not let it brown.  Remove from heat and set aside.  

In a large pot, bring to boil 6-8 cups of vegetable broth OR water, whatever you prefer. I used vegetable broth.  (well, 5 cups of broth and 2 cups of water because a carton of broth is only about 5 cups, FYI).

Once the broth is boiling, add 6 cups of cauliflower (I used frozen, I don't think it matters).  Cook until the cauliflower is tender. DO NOT DRAIN

With a slotted spoon, remove cauliflower and place in blender.  Add the garlic/butter mix, 1 cup of broth and 1 cup of milk.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Puree this mixture until smooth.  IF it gets to dry, add some olive oil.  (I had to do two batches because my blender isn't very big.  I placed the sauce back into the skillet that I used to saute the garlic with and added some italian seasoning, basil, and a little bit of parmesan cheese to give it a tad more flavor.  If you want, you can add 2 tablespoons of butter into the sauce until it melts to add flavor.

This sauce freezes/thaws well.

The recipe link above has recipes for dishes such as alfredo rice, alfredo pasta, and alfredo pizza.  

Baked Perch....and Fish Tacos

During winter, we eat A LOT of fish tacos.  And I mean, A LOT.  My fiancee loves to ice fish and he can catch 20-30 perch within a couple of hours.  Typically we bread the fish fillets with a flour mixture and deep fry it in oil.  I had to get creative this last time since I am trying to avoid greasy/fatty/fried foods right now.  I googled around and combined a few different ideas to get the following concoction:

Ingredients:
A few fish fillets (white fish....perch, bass, cod, tilapia, etc.)
2 tablespoons bread crumbs (I used panko bread crumbs)
2 tablespoons parmesan
1 teaspoon dill
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
2 tablespoons melted butter


Combine all dry ingredients in a shallow bowl.  Coat the fish in the melted butter and roll the fish around in the dry mix.  Bake for 10-12 minutes at 500 degrees.  Make sure to either spray your baking dish or line with foil to avoid a clean up disaster :-).

For our fish tacos, we keep it simple and just fill the warmed tortillas with coleslaw (either from the deli or making your own).  If you like horseradish, add some horseradish (the kind mixed with mayo) to the tacos for an extra kick.

5 Ingredient Low Fat Spicy Broccoli Cheese Soup

Say What?  A low fat broccoli cheese soup?  This soup is really good if you enjoy eating broccoli cheese soup, but are trying to watch your figure.  This soup only has 5 ingredients and takes about 30 minutes to make.

Ingredients:
16oz frozen broccoli
1 can Rotel (diced tomatoes with chilies)  (I used mild...because I am a wimp...)
14 oz of Chicken Broth
4 cloves garlic, minced
10oz of Velveta (I used reduced fat/2% fat) cubed.

Instructions:
In a large soup pot, combine broccoli, chicken broth, rotel, and garlic.  Simmer for 20-25 minutes or until broccoli is soft but still tender.
Add cubed Velveeta and stir until cheese is melted.  You CAN add more cheese, it will not harm the recipe, just will add more fat content.  I found that 10oz is pretty cheesey...The soup will not be as thick as a typical broccoli cheese soup, but still very tasty.

Enjoy :-)

The Best Apple Pie Recipe

Pies are a staple at many holiday gatherings, and for good reason.  I am usually nominated to make the pies for the gatherings at my future in-laws, but I don't mind...making pies isn't as complicated as one may think.  I use the apple pie recipe out of the old Betty Crocker cookbook, and it is tried and true, even won a prize at the fair once.  I add my own personal touches, such as a funky design in the crust, sprinkling cinnamon or sugar on top, etc.  Here is the recipe I use:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup white sugar

1/4 cup flour

1/2 teas cinnamon (I usually add more, up to 1 teas...)

1/2 teas nutmeg (I add more, up to 1 teas.)

1/8 teas salt

6-8 cups sliced and peeled apples (I use granny smith apples...6 medium granny smiths.  We have an old apple peeler/slicer that makes this task way easier...but make sure you slice your apples super thin)

2 tablespoons butter

Pie crusts for 8-9" pie (I use store bought because I personally have no patience to make homemade...I've tried numerous times :-)    )

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 425*.  Leave your pie crusts out to thaw out/soften while you prepare the filling.  In a large bowl combine all the ingredients except butter and stir until combined and the sugar is evenly distributed. 

 Lay one crust into the pie tin and pour the filling in.  "Dot" the top with butter (see picture).  Lay the second crust over the filling and flute the edges. Sprinkle the top with cinnamon and sugar, or one or the other.  Be sure to cut slits into the top so it can breathe.  Line your edges with 1/2" strips of foil OR this handy metal contraption I have for pie edges (I highly recommend getting one if you make a couple pies a year....they're amazing...). Bake the pie for 35 minutes, remove foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until crust is golden brown and juice is bubbling up through the slits.  Total bake time of 50 minutes or so.

dot with butter

cut slits in crust

amazing pie shield

ENJOY!

DIY Sign Making- Great Inexpensive Gift Idea

We have all seen those signs with clever sayings in the stores, and some of us (ahem, me...) cringe at the price tag.  Well, do you have a piece of wood laying around?  Have a bottle of paint?  Then, here is a simple tutorial for making one of those professional signs.  I made this one for my mom, who found a sign with this funny saying on it at a store, but when she went back to buy it, they had already sold it and she had been struggling to find it.  So, I decided to make her the sign.  I didn't really spend money on this project since I already had the bottle of paint and my piece of wood was from my headboard bench project (see blog post about that).  It was a chunk that we took out of the middle of the footboard.  Anyways, read on if you are interested in making a nifty sign!

Materials:

Piece of wood, whatever size/shape you need.

Paint.  I used acrylic for the dark red color.

Sandpaper (optional)

Pencil

Computer/printer (optional--helps get the letters look professional if you have crappy handwriting)

First, paint your piece of wood if it isn't already painted, or leave it as raw wood if that is what you want.  Clean it from debris.  You will need to type up your saying and print it out, making sure the font is large enough and looks right when you lay it all out.  It might take a few tries to get it right.  My tip: SPELL CHECK!  I made this mistake on a different sign and had to re-do part...woops.  Once you get the size of the font you like, print it out, lay it out on the piece of wood.

Next, flip your words/pieces of paper over and shade with a pencil until the letters are completely covered in lead.  See picture.

Tape your words/letters onto your piece of wood to make it stay in place.  The next step is to outline each letter with your pencil.  You will need to push very hard in order for it to make an imprint/stamp onto the wood.  I usually trace the letters a few times just to be sure.  See picture to see what I mean.

Tracing ---><---Outcome

When you're done with this step, it is time to carefully paint the letters.  Use a flat paint brush, or one that will work best for the size of your sign.  After I painted it, I took a piece of sandpaper to the edges of the sign as well as where the words were, to give it a rustic look.  You can put a finishing clear coat on your sign if you wish.  This makes a great gift.  You can glue pop can tabs to the back so you can hang the sign easily, or they do sell actual picture hooks.  Be sure to use a heavy duty glue if your wood is heavy.  Good luck!

Wedding Planning Journey: Part 1- bargain tips

For those who don't know me, I am a bargain hunter, cheapskate, or thrift store junkie....I am also in the midst of planning a wedding for this May.  Planning a wedding on a budget takes a lot of effort, time, and patience.  When I got engaged last May I was determined to make this wedding be low cost.  My gracious mom is paying for the wedding, but I am not one that would feel comfortable having a $10k wedding...call me crazy.  So far, I have many of the major expenses figured out and taken care of.  Before I began thinking of venues, dress, food, etc. I made a list of what expenses I thought were necessary along with an estimated cost.  Luckily I am getting married in a smallish city so venues, caterers, photography, etc. is not as outrageous as it can be in larger cities. This is kind of what it looked like: 

Venue: Ceremony and reception $500-$1500

Photographer: $1000+

Food/Beverage: $1000

Dress/veil including alteration cost: $1000 (my personal goal was to spend close to $600...)

Cake: $200-$300

DJ: $500

Centerpieces/Tableware: $10 per table

Save the Dates/Invites including stamps for 100: $200

.

.

.

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 You get the idea.  These were estimates...some were close, others were way off.  

We were very fortunate to find a venue where we could have the ceremony and reception in the same place, it is a gorgeous old hotel with a ballroom that has a fireplace and chandelier.  Included in the cost of the venue are 15+ round tables, a handful of rectangle tables, and 140+ chairs.  Tables and chairs included in the cost were a huge cost saver!   Our venue cost is $1,000.

I bought my dress after trying on TONS of dresses...and I am not a dress person.  We were up in the Seattle area.  Our first stop was a wedding dress consignment shop.  My first thoughts were "awesome, I can get a great deal!!".  Wrong, totally wrong.  The least expensive one that I tried on was just under $1,000....and it was used.  Next store please!  We then went to a boutique and tried on tons of dresses until I tried on THE ONE....Problem was, it was in ivory and it was $900...Yes, they could order a white one...but it was still $900!  Remember, my personal goal was $600.  The other issue was that my mom didn't give me a budget for my dress...which was very gracious of her.  We had two other bridal shops to go to, one was David's Bridal, and the other was a local store near my mom's.  I knew that dress was THE ONE but wanted to make sure.  We canceled the David's Bridal appointment because I didn't want to try on 50 more dresses for no reason.  Our experience at Hermosa Bridal in Snohomish, WA was a fabulous experience, I'd recommend them to anyone.  We were able to scour the rows of dresses to find ones we liked, they even had sale dresses :-D.  And then, there it was...on the sale rack....THE ONE.  In white. In my size (it was a sample so it was the only one left) For around $600.  I tried on a few others before THE ONE and then put it on....and it was still THE ONE.  We ended up getting a veil too, which is probably something I wouldn't have spent that much money on, but hey whatever (you CAN make veils). The dress AND veil (which was over $100) rang up to just over $700 after taxes.

That was a long enough dress story so I'll save you some reading.  I would recommend searching Craigslist, Facebook yard sale sites, thrift stores, and physical yard sales for anything you think would be awesome as a centerpiece.  We scored on Black Friday this year at Goodwill.  Goodwill took 50% off everything so we got a bajillion votive candle holders (and some brand new candles) for half off.  We probably got 80 vases/candle holders for $37.  We also hit up Michaels craft store for some pretty things to use for center pieces, dollar tree for glass marbles, and Joann Fabrics.  I sent my mom to meet someone to pick up teal satin table covers from someone on Craigslist, saving a lot of money.  I also made my flower girl basket and ring bearer pillow.  I bought a white basket used for $1 and glued a teal ribbon and a teal flower to it.  I bought some white satin material at Joann's for 75 cents, added teal ribbon and teal tulle and a flower and sewed it up.  I spent less than $5 on the two.  I couldn't bring myself to spend $20 on a tiny pillow or basket.

Save the Dates/Invites:   My amazing friend created a collage of our engagement pictures with our date on it and I simply printed them as prints for about 9 cents a piece.  Each save the date was just over 50cents including postage.  I sent out 110 save the dates.  For my invites, I scored 125 blank invites that you print on for $20 from a Facebook selling site.  I can customize it however I want.  

I will do more blog posts about my wedding planning adventure, and once May gets here, I will post pictures of all of my projects, including my super secret Bridesmaids Gifts.  Happy Planning!