Chicken Fried Cauliflower??

Today will blog about my re-creation of the Facebook Recipe for Cauliflower Fried Rice. When I first watched the video I was intrigued. I have been finding that more and more I can substitute cauliflower for other ingredients with stellar results. But, my track record with Facebook recipes has been hit or miss. Let me tell you all, with some careful tweaking this recipe is a HIT as far as Omar and I are concerned.

How did I change it? First off let me tell you all that sesame oil is VERY strong. 1 TBS is a alot. Use 1 TBSP of vegetable oil, and a dash of sesame. Trust me, you will thank me later.

Then I substituted chicken for the beef. Just a matter of preference.

I added a bit of butter – don’t freak out, it was like 2 TBSP in 6 servings, as opposed to a whole stick I use when I make my clone of Benihana’s Fried Rice. Just kicked the flavor up a bit.

Here is my recipe:

INGREDIENTS

• 2 Chicken breasts thinly sliced
• 1 head cauliflower, chopped into florets
• 1 C finely chopped onions
• 3/4 cup frozen peas
• 1 C carrots finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 Tbs veg oil
• 2 Tbs butter
• ¼- ½ C soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp green onions, chopped

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Chop head of cauliflower into florets and place in food processor. Pulse until it starts to resemble rice; set aside.
2. Heat a large wok (or skillet) over medium heat and drizzle in oil (about 1/8 t sesame and 1 T veg) cook chicken until no longer pink. Remove from pan & set aside.
3. Add rest of oil, add onion, garlic and carrots and saute until tender, about 5 minutes.
4. Stir in cauliflower “rice” and pour the soy sauce over top (to taste), mixing well. Cook for an additional 5 or so minutes, until cauliflower is soft and tender. Add butter & incorporate it in (optional)
5. Slide veggie mixture to outside side of the wok and add in the beaten eggs, scrambling until cooked through and then incorporate with the veggies.
6. Add chicken back in and add peas. Stir until peas heated through.
7. Top with green onions, serve and enjoy!

Now let me say, this was awesome.  So few calories or fat, no guilt, and tasted great! If I did not tell you it was cauliflower, you would know the fried rice was a bit different, you just couldn’t put your finger  on it.

Trick your kids into thinking they are eating rice – they will never know.

Try this and let me know what YOU think.

Click here for the original video.

Joe Kools Not So Cool

It was my Dad’s birthday and my brother and I were taking my Dad out to dinner. Looking for somewhere close to home and we could get a beer we decided on Joe Kools. My original suggestion was Big Beaver Tavern and I was sadly surprised to find they closed. Not sure what happened to that restaurant.

Now Omar and I go to Joe Kools occasionally, but I honestly don’t know why. Although they have a large and eclectic beer selection, the food is usually mediocre and you are always bombarded with fruit flies. Never matters what season, or where you are sitting, you always have fruit flies buzzing around.

This night was no different. It took forever to get our waitress to even take our drink order. Once she finally came with our drinks, my nephews Root Beer, which came without ice, had a fruit fly floating in it. Pretty typical for Joe Kools. I drank about an inch of my beer before I saw the lovely red lip stick on the glass, which would have been ok if I was wearing lipstick. Gross. First rule of bar-keeping – check your glasses before you fill them. I don’t want other peoples lip prints on my glass.

It was almost impossible to get our waitress to bring us new drinks. I asked of they could spring for some ice for the Root Beer, but again came back sans ice. Guess their must be a terrible ice shortage that evening.

Our food was incredible. Incredible at just how underwhelming it was. I ordered a Avocado turkey wrap which I substituted with grilled chicken. It was supposed to come on white lawish bread, but they substituted wheat, which was dry and crumbly and made my sandwich completely fall apart. I could barely eat it, and it was somewhat inedible, so I just ate some of the insides.

My dads buffalo chicken wrap was pretty much the same, although he complained far less than I did. My brother said his tacos were ok, and my nephews chicken tender meal, well what can you say about a kids meal, it was deep fried mediocrity.

I really don’t know why we go back. Maybe it is about convenience. I am not sure how many fruit flies I have actually consumed in those visits, probably a lot. I think I will think twice about returning.

Facebook Cinnamon Roll French Toast Review

Jamie requested I try that recipe going around Facebook, you know the one. Cinnamon Roll French Toast.

You can find the video here.

You combine Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls and egg mixture for what appears to be a gooey cinnamon roll casserole.

Here is the recipe:
2 tubes refrigerated cinnamon rolls with icing
4 Tbsp. butter, melted
6 eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup maple syrup

Pour the butter on the bottom of a 9×13 glass baking dish. Cut each cinnamon roll into 8 pieces, and spread evenly over the butter. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, cinnamon, and vanilla, and pour over the cinnamon rolls. Pour 1 cup of maple syrup over the mixture. Bake at 375°F/190°C for 25 min. Top with the icing from the cinnamon rolls.

Now I followed the directions and made this casserole for Christmas morning. I figured what a better time to have a “pop in the oven” breakfast handy.

Let me tell you, you cannot make this recipe ahead of time like other breakfast strata recipes, as the dough is gooey and uncooked and cannot absorb the egg mixture like bread can. We made it the night before for ease of cooking in the morning, but all it does is have chunks of dough floating in an egg sea. Looks really gross.

We baked it according to direction, but what you are left with is basically gooey not fully cooked cinnamon rolls atop a layer of baked egg. The maple syrup you add does not cook in anywhere and makes an undercurrent of liquid that just is not appealing.

Our determination is that you need to make the cinnamon rolls separate, and make a frittata if you want, but do not combine the two. This is a big fail for us and I recommend you do not make this.