Hey guys! I must admit to being a bad blogger! I have been super busy and I know most of you have seen me stick a TV dinner into my week or some sort of healthy packaged meal but lately with some tummy issues I have been unable to do that! Which equals more time in the kitchen! I have been whipping up EASY eats from soups to turkey taco meat (which freezes really well btw!) so that when I come in the door I can whip up a fast meal for myself that does not include a box!
So…enough about my tummy issues! lol I was told that my last post about the colonoscopy/endoscopy was a little TMI! Alrighty then! Let’s talk FOOD shall we!
This week when I went grocery shopping I saw artichokes- 2 for $3. I had to grab them and make them just the way mama taught me! I did a blog post a few years ago with step by step instructions, however something happened to the pictures on the post! Each of them are blank! Oh well!
Garlic Stuffed Artichokes
Ingredients
- two large artichokes
- Fresh chopped Garlic- lots of it! I used about 12 large cloves!
- Dried parsley- just enough to sprinkle on top of each artichoke
- salt/pepper
- olive oil
Ok so you take your CHOKE- & with a sharp knife cut the stem off (make a flat surface so the artichoke stands up nicely) and take the top off too. Then with some kitchen shears snip all of the sharp tips off of the leaves.
Then spread out the leaves with your hands and stuff each leaf with garlic. Lots of garlic! Sprinkle with Salt, pepper, & parsley.
Add the artichokes to a large stockpot and add water to the pot so that it comes up 1/4 of the way on the artichokes. Drizzle tops of the artichokes with olive oil, cover and bring to a boil. Once water boils, lower heat and set timer for 30 min.
Check water level after 30 min and take a sharp knife and test out the artichoke. You do this by sticking the knife directly in the center of the artichoke- straight down to the heart. If it is soft your choke is ready! Usually an additional 15 min is needed for a total of 45 min cooking time. * I always check it at 30 min to make sure there is enough water in my pot still.
This is my favorite part…. DIGGING IN!
The garlic flavors this so well! This is how I grew up eating them so I cringe when I see/hear of people dipping the leaves in mayo! NASTY! If you give this recipe a try I swear you won’t miss the mayo! 
Wanna come over?
Special thanks to my Mom for passing this recipe on to me. XOXO
Ok so that’s the CHOKE part of the post title…now on to the STICKS!
Cauliflower “bread” sticks! Yeah I did try out the cauliflower pizza crust years ago but I think my problem with it was I tried to add less cheese to it and it was very mushy! I gave into the cheese today and must say these came out really good!
You can cut this recipe in half! I just had 2 small heads of cauliflower that needed to be used.
CAULIFLOWER “BREAD” STICKS
Makes 12 large sticks-2PP each!
*additional PP for dipping sauce of your choice!
Ingredients
- 2 heads (5 cups) raw cauliflower (chopped up in a food processor)
- 9 ounces low fat mozzarella cheese
- 1 C egg beaters
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- Additional cheese for topping-parmesan & mozzarella
Add all chopped up cauliflower to a large bowl. Mix in cheese, spices, egg beaters.
cover a large cookie sheet with parchment paper-sprayed with PAM & add cauliflower mixture. I used my best tools ( my hands) to press & mold the mixture onto the cookie sheet. Bake for 30 minutes at 375 degrees.
Get a second cookie sheet ready with parchment paper(sprayed with PAM) and after 30 min take out semi cooked cauliflower mixture. Set the sprayed parchment paper on top of the HOT mix & cookie sheet and place the COOL cookie sheet upside down on top of the mix- YOU ARE GOING TO FLIP OVER THE CAULIFLOWER.
Be careful! The original pan will be HOT- You gotta use oven mitts!
Once you flip it- remove the parchment that was the bottom from the NOW top. Did I lose anyone? lol
Place cookie sheet back in the oven, raise temperature to 450 degrees- and cook for another 10-15 minutes.
Take the cookie sheet out & cut the mixture into strips using a pizza cutter. I made 12 strips from this mix. Then I topped the strips with a sprinkle of mozzarella & Parmesan and added them back into the oven- under the broiler for a few minutes. Just enough time for the cheese to melt.
Serve these with warmed up pizza sauce or pasta sauce for a great snack or meal idea!
I must admit now I want to try the pizza crust again! I was happy with the way these turned out! Last time I ended up with a plate of mush. lol Just goes to show you a second try is sometimes worth a try!
Off to eat my artichoke! Have a great night everyone!
BYE!
I love that youre a bad blogger because youre off LIVING!
ReplyDeletexo
busted! lol yes I admit...I chose LIFE over blogging for sure! :)
DeleteThe cauliflower pizza crust has never interested me until now. Tracey, these look wonderful! I might have to give them a try!
ReplyDeleteNo such thing as a bad blogger, just one that gets sidetracked by real life...and we all have that happen to us now and again!
ya gotta try it Renee! I know my mistake before was I reduced the amount of cheese which made it very soggy!
DeleteI do get sidetracked by life....and I like it! lol :)
Not a fan of artichokes, but I am all over those cauliflower sticks!!!
ReplyDeleteI want those cauliflower sticks! They look AMAZING!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI too tried the pizza crust and it was soggy as all get out. I think I will re try this for sure. Looks really yummy..
ReplyDeleteMmmmmmmmmm...I must try those sticks.
ReplyDeleteLove that artichoke recipe and I always team mine less the garlic but would love to try your version.
ReplyDeleteHope you tummy troubles get better. :)