Sunday, August 25, 2013

Sunday Night's Simple Dinner

This evening I put together a quick dinner since hubby and I spent almost all day long outside today, taking advantage of the beautiful...SUNNY, weather.  We got up and took a long walk this morning before breakfast -- it was in the mid-60s, breezy and almost chilly feeling.  We had breakfast after our walk and then headed right back outside to wash both of our cars. I even waxed my car! We just didn't want to come back inside today. It has been a very long and rainy summer, so the sunshine this weekend has been a blessing...I even got a little sunburned! We worked on our cars for about 4 hours...don't ask me how...but we did (it took almost 1 hour to get the brake dust off of my wheels). We didn't even get to the grocery store until after 5:00 this evening...so I made a super fast dinner since youngest son was coming to eat with us. I made chicken (he prefers either salmon or chicken). Hubby grilled some boneless chicken breasts that I brushed with olive oil and seasoned with Montreal Spicy Steak Seasoning...I made my Rich & Thick Parmesan Cauliflower Mash and we had green beans with toasted almonds for our veggie. I also had some Easy Cheddar Black Pepper Biscuits left from earlier in the week. It was quick and simple meal...and probably more than I would have done if youngest son hadn't come for dinner. Hubby and I are tired from being out in the sun working all day long...but I'm not complaining...we had SUN today!  I snapped a quick photo of our simple wheat free dinner for you to see below and included the recipe for the cauliflower mash, too. Enjoy!


Rich and Thick Parmesan Cauliflower Mash

1 medium head of fresh cauliflower, broken into 1-inch florets
1 cup (8 oz) of chicken broth or stock
2 ounces brick style cream cheese (1/4 of an 8-oz brick)
3 to 4 tablespoons heavy cream
3 to 4 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
Sea salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

In a medium saucepan, place cauliflower and chicken broth; bring to a boil and then cover pan; turn heat down to low and simmer until cauliflower is very soft and tender and chicken broth has completely cooked into the cauliflower (about 20 to 30 minutes).  Make sure there is no liquid left at all in the bottom of the pan (remove the cover if necessary and cook until any remaining liquid is gone and the cauliflower is no longer wet looking).  Remove pan from heat and add cream cheese and heavy cream.  Using an immersion blender stick, blend or puree the cauliflower until the cheese and cream are fully incorporated and the mixture is smooth.  Add grated Parmesan cheese and salt and pepper, to taste.  Blend another minute.  Adjust seasoning and add additional cream, if necessary, to thin out a little bit.  The cauliflower mash should be thick and not runny at all.


2 comments:

Unknown said...

I absolutely LOVE your cauliflower mash...actually I LOVE all of your recipes! Thank you, thank you!!! I recently (2 weeks) eliminated wheat from my diet and I am working (HARD) on eliminating sugar as well and your blog is my everyday GO-TO guide.
Keep up the great work, your recipes are our salvation! :)
Thank you!
Zuzana

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Thanks so much, Zuzana! I appreciate your kind words. I think once you have succeeded in eliminating sugar, too, you will find it easier because it increases appetite and makes you "want more". I wish you lots of success and good health. It has been nothing short of miraculous for me personally. Thanks for letting me know you are enjoying my recipes! :-)