thentherestwo.com Main Dishes, Recipes, side Dishes

Yummiest and Easiest Cauliflower Mac-n-Cheese (gluten free)

Ok, I happen to be a person who actually likes cauliflower. But all my life, I have LOVED macaroni and cheese. I could’ve solely lived on it actually. (Well anything with cheese.) 🧀🧀

But I’m also now trying to avoid gluten in dealing with this Sjogren’s and Lyme Disease. Sooooo I thought this might be a good combo and away I went with experimentation. 👩‍🍳

My husband is the official taste tester around here and if he says a recipe I come up with is delicious, like this cauliflower mac-n-cheese, then I publish it!👌🏼😁

And we BOTH really loved this, so we hope you do too!

Ingredients:

1 Head of cauliflower

1 Block of softened cream cheese

2 Cups sharp cheddar cheese

1/2 Cup parmesan cheese (opt)

1 Pint of heavy whipping cream

2 T. Plain Greek yogurt (optional) or sour cream

5 Strips of thick bacon (diced) or 1-2 (3 oz. pkgs) of “real” bacon bits

Panko bread crumbs

Seasonings: Black pepper, garlic powder, salt, smoked paprika, sriracha hot chili sauce. (To taste… but let me tell you, the more seasonings the better, in my opinion.😁 I’m kind of the seasoning queen, ha. )

Directions:

Chop up the cauliflower. Then boil till it is slightly tender. Drain the water. Mix all the above ingredients except the cauliflower and melt together on stovetop lastly add in the cooked bacon or bits. (But also save back some cheese and bacon bits for toppings.) Place everything in a baking dish and cover with bread crumbs, more shredded cheese, bacon bits and finish with sriracha hot chili sauce.

Finally, broil till everything is lightly browned and crispy on top. 😋

I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. 🥄🥄

This is not a sponsored post, but I did find everything at ALDIS…Love ALDIS!

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thentherestwo.com Family, LIFE, Main Dishes

Garlic Buttered Shrimp and Asparagus

When I was younger, you couldn’t get me to eat ANY kind of seafood. None. Nada.

The thought of going to Red Lobster after church…just yuck.

I think it had something to do with the fact my dad used to take me fishing with him out on Balboa Bay in California. We used to be out for hours trying to catch fish…many a time we caught seagulls. 🎣 They’d sweep down and pick up our bait as the line was spinning out into the sky. Oh, the memories. But during those long hours of baiting, and smelling stinky fish all while drinking V8 out in the heat of the day, 🤢 well, it just seared it in my brain. “NO, YOU WIll NOT LIKE SEAFOOD!” 🐟🐠🦑🦐🦀

And I didn’t for many many years.

Then, somewhere between high school and college I was asked pleaded with (more than once) to try fried shrimp, and I actually “tolerated” it. (I think because it was fried, so I barely tasted anything seafoodish.) I later graduated on to trying grilled shrimp and scampi.

It was a big leap for me. 😂 I guess anything with garlic and butter on it has resonated with me.

So, here I am. Now sharing my own shrimp dish. Unreal.

But this turned out better than I would’ve thought as I’ve literally only made shrimp twice in my life. It met the hub’s satisfaction, so it’s going on the blog. 🙂

You will need:

1 lb peeled and deveined shrimp (Yes, I actually did this myself..I know!😱)

Olive oil to coat your pan

5 cloves of crushed Garlic (or jarred minced garlic can be used.)

1 stick of butter

Salt

*Red pepper flakes

*Smoked paprika

1 & 1/2 Lemons

*Parsley

*Asparagus cooked

*optional items

Instructions:

In a hot skillet, add olive oil just to smoking temperature. Next, add in the shrimp, constantly tossing till slightly pink (roughly a minute) and then add in your garlic and red pepper flakes (small amt) turning everything for about another minute being careful not to burn seasonings. Add butter to your liking. (If your butter is salted no need to add salt.) Add paprika, and finish with chopped parsley and lemon juice. You just want to toss your shrimp till they turn a darker pink and curl slightly. I then added steamed asparagus mixing it all together and added a bit more of the seasonings also more lemon juice. (This is all to taste.)

It assure you it will be delicious! 👌🏼

Just ask my hubby and this shrimp 🦐 eatin’ gal now. 😉

What is your favorite seafood and where would you like to be eating it about now? We just got a snowstorm, so I vote Hawaii!

Items to buy:

I love my pan: https://amzn.to/2DkT2Ar

Peeled & Deveined shrimp: https://amzn.to/2MoNqbC

WOK: https://amzn.to/2Cv7l3W

thentherestwo.com Main Dishes, Recipes, Salads & Dressings

Chicken Salad Recipe

We recently bought some organic chicken breasts on sale and cooked them on the grill. They were so large, we had a lot of chicken left over, and I thought hmmm…what else can I make out of this chicken? 🤔 I remembered I used to make chicken salad often and hadn’t made it in a long time.

We just had a snowstorm overnight and since my hubby was preparing to watch the Colts playoff game, he asked if I’d make him some sandwiches.

Every time I’ve made chicken salad, it has turned out differently adding or omitting different ingredients.

But, I did my best to try and keep track of all the ingredients as I used them today. (You know me, I rarely follow a recipe, never measure anything, and just throw stuff together. 🤪)

Ingredients:

3 large, diced chicken breasts

Red grapes halved

1 diced boiled egg

4 diced celery stalks

3 diced green onion stalks

Mayonnaise as needed (I used low fat.)

Seasonings: onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and fennel. (But you could use just about anything you want.)

Instructions:

I previously seasoned the chicken and grilled it. You could also boil your chicken, use canned chicken, or make things really fast and simple and go buy a rotisserie chicken.

Next, I cut the chicken up smaller to make it easier to add to the food processor. And, I added a little mayo to help it break down easier.

Food Processor: https://amzn.to/2TVcnh9

After the chicken was the consistency I wanted, I added it to the bowl of diced celery, green onions, and egg and added about a cup more mayo till it was even creamier.

I then added the seasonings to taste and that was it!

You could even add walnuts, cranberries, or apples to your chicken salad. Initially, I thought about using sweet pickle relish until my husband requested grapes. There’s really 1 million ways you could make it. Ok not a million, but you get it.

My hubby loved it and wanted his chicken salad on Hawaiian bread. He’s presently waiting for the Colts to play in this snow. (They’re one game away from the AFC Championship game.) 🤞🏼

As for me, I went gluten free, so mine was on top of greens. 👌🏼 Once again, my chicken salad was a different recipe, but oh so good!!

thentherestwo.com Main Dishes

Ham and Beans with Moist Cornbread

ham bone for ham and beans

Ham & Beans with Moist Cornbread

Never know what to do with that ham bone after Easter?

Well, wrap it in foil, put it in a freezer, Ziploc bag and store it away in the freezer till it’s chilly outside and you get a hankerin’ for some bean soup! 🙂

Preparing the Beans

I recommend soaking any DRY beans, whether they be pinto, white (or whatever) overnight to diminish the cooking time the next day.

First, wash the dry beans (careful to look for those pesky little rocks) and then make sure your beans are covered with water and place them in the fridge to soak overnight.

Adding to the Beans

The next day rinse the beans and add your salt and pepper, any other seasonings you prefer and 1 small onion. And make sure you have a big enough pot to add that bone you’ve been saving. it will add more flavor to your soup.

Later add items that won’t need to cook as long. Add some diced (cooked) ham and any other veggies you might like to add.

In the end, I like to mash a few beans to add a thicker broth to the soup.

Then make my fav cornbread recipe!…so moist & very quick!♥

(I’m not sure where I got it, perhaps off a Jiffy box; I would give credit if I knew who to give it to. 🙂 )

NOTE: I don’t use the skillet for baking, but just use a regular loaf pan. I just watch it for doneness.

Jiffy Corn Bread with Creamed Corn Recipe 🌽

2 boxes of Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix

2 eggs

2/3 cup milk

14oz can of creamed corn

2 tablespoons butter

Put a #8 – or 12″ cast iron pan in the oven at 375F for about 15 minutes

Mix together the 2 boxes of Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix with the eggs, milk, creamed corn.

Pull the cast iron pan out of the oven, drop in the butter and swirl it around, make sure it gets up on the walls of the cast iron pan.

Pour the batter into the cast iron pan, and bake for 30 minutes.

Check for doneness, the edges of the crust should be starting to brown.

Let it cool for a few minutes, run a spatula up under the pan to loosen the corn bread.

Flip onto a plate.

I’ve also made it into muffins.

ENJOY!!