The cauliflower rice is flavored with a touch of saffron (optional), turmeric, mushroom powder, thyme, olive oil, salt, pepper. Additions are peas and tomatoes, which add more texture and color.

The one ingredient though that I think brings this home is the sliced toasted almonds. It brings a crunch and a flavor that makes each bite just right. I also think golden raisins would be a great addition, but I didn’t have them on hand.

First of all use frozen cauliflower rice. Costco sell a version with 4 individual bags, that you can either microwave or dry fry. I’ll explain what dry fry is because that’s how I made this recipe.

How to Cook Frozen Cauliflower

My favorite method is to plop the frozen cauliflower in hot cast iron frying pan with just a touch of fat (either oil or butter). This method gives you a chance to season the cauliflower, and make it less mushy. Any water due to the freezing evaporates, which results in a great texture.

Ingredients for Mediterranean Cauliflower Rice

• Frozen Cauliflower Rice
• Olive oil
• Tumeric
• Salt, Pepper
• Peas
• Tomatoes (fresh or sun-dried)
• Sliced toasted almonds

Variations

• Replace peas with golden raisins. You could even use both.
• Replace almonds with toasted pine nuts.
• Replace grape tomatoes with sun-dried tomatoes.
• Add a pinch, just a pinch, of saffron if you have it.

Mediterranean Rice Pairs with These Recipes

• Roast Chicken
• Za’atar Spiced Lamb Chops
• Grilled Lamb Loin Chops
• Lamb Meatballs
• Garlic Roasted Chicken Thighs

More Recipes with Cauliflower Rice

• Keto Shrimp Creole Cauliflower Rice
• Chicken with Cauliflower Rice
• Shrimp and Cheesy Cauliflower Grits
• Cauliflower Rice Risotto
• Keto Cajun Shrimp

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Mediterranean Cauliflower Rice

Mediterranean Cauliflower Rice with Shallots, Peas, Turmeric perfect for low carb dinners.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Mediterranean

Keyword cauliflower rice

Ingredients

• 16 ounces frozen rice
• 2 tablespoon olive oil more if needed
• 1 tablespoon turmeric
• 1 cup frozen peas see notes
• 1 cup grape tomatoes or 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes
• 6 sprigs fresh thyme or fresh parsley
• 1/2 cup toasted sliced almonds
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper more if needed

Instructions

• Heat a large frying pan. Add frozen cauliflower directly to pan without any fat, at first. Heat the cauliflower through and stir frequently.
• Once the cauliflower is heated through, add the oil, stir through, add turmeric, salt, pepper.
• Slice grape tomatoes. If using sun-dried, add a little of the oil in the jar for more flavor and chop the sun-dried tomatoes into small pieces.
• Add frozen peas and continue cooking until peas are cooked through. You may add more olive oil.
• Toast almonds in toaster oven for one minute or toast in a frying pan. Keep in mind, almond slices burn easily. Add to rice.
• Add fresh herbs and more salt and pepper if needed.

Notes

Instead of peas, replace with golden raisins 

The post Mediterranean Cauliflower Rice appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

This shrimp avocado salad recipe is a go to in our house. Sometimes we eat it with big corn chips. Sometimes we use this as an in between meal when we know we’re going to a big fat food event. I make this at least twice a month.

While this shrimp avocado salad  recipe may seem like light fare, it’s filling because of all that good fat from the avocado.

In the summer we cut corn right off the cob and into the salad for an even better bite.

You can make the shrimp avocado salad recipe  your own in so many ways, by adding corn, beans, olives, or even making lettuce wraps or tacos.

One of the secrets as to why this is so good is how I cook the shrimp. I use this recipe. You could stop right here and enjoy this simple, yet nuanced shrimp appetizer adapted from Marcella Hazan.
The key to making anything taste good is a combination of fat, acid and salt.

The avocado provides plenty of fat, so be sure to add in plenty of acid and taste for salt. Also,if the shrimp can sit in olive oil and lemon for a while and soak in the citrus, the taste will be all the better.

We don’t like to refrigerate tomatoes, so if you want to make this ahead, just do the shrimp, onion and cilantro part. Add in your tomatoes and avocado right before serving. Never ever refrigerate tomatoes. It turns them mealy and deems them tasteless.

I used grape tomatoes because it’s not tomato season yet and these taste best at this time of year. In the summer, I’ll replace with fresh summer heirloom tomatoes and perhaps add some fresh sweet corn right off the cob.

You can extend the bulk of the salad by tossing it with a handfuls of romaine lettuce. You can add a crumbly cheese like a ricotta salata or feta.

However, you choose to adapt this shrimp avocado salad recipe, make it your own!

Click Here for More Shrimp Recipes from Spinach Tiger

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Shrimp Avocado Salad

Shrimp avocado salad is a perfect low carb entree, appetizer and can be used as a party dip, by slicing shrimp in smaller pieces.

Course Salad

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes minutes

Total Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 2

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• Cook Shrimp
• 1 pound raw cooked shrimp
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 teaspoon champagne or red wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon celery salt or 1 piece celery
• Make Salad
• 3 tablespoons red onion finely diced
• 2 small avocado
• 3-4 radishes optional
• 1 pint grape tomatoes or 2 tomatoes chopped
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• juice of one lime
• 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
• sea salt
• black pepper

Instructions

• Cook Shrimp
• Put water in large sauce pan.
• Add vinegar and celery (or celery salt)
• Once water boils, add shrimp.
• Once water boils again, turn off stove. Shrimp should be pink and cooked.
• Drain. Take shrimp out of shell, which should occur easily.
• Drizzle with olive oil and squeeze lemon on shrimp. Refrigerate.
• Peel and slice avocado into bite sized pieces.
• Slice grape tomatoes lengthwise and again cross wise into bite sized pieces.
• Clean and slice radishes thinly. This will give a bite to salad and is an option.
• Juice the lime.
• Once shrimp are cold, assemble with ingredients, including cilantro.
• Toss with remaining olive oil, lime juice and vinegar. Most vinegars will work, but red wine vinegar or a white champagne vinegar works best.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Taste to see if more vinegar or salt is needed.

The post Shrimp Avocado Salad Recipe appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

Welcome to the third dish in the Big Fat Healthy Chicken Pasta Series.

I wanted to bring families some very easy, healthy pasta dishes (including a gluten free option) to put into your rotation that take no longer than twenty minutes to make. All you have to promise me is that you’ll gather your family and sit down at a table and eat together.

This dish is a balance of protein, good fat, healthy organic spinach and grape tomatoes. 

I promise you here is an extra benefit to you, your family, your health if you can gather together and just appreciate the art of family dining.

Instead of those boxed cheesy shells, make this more nutritious meal.

This is my take on simple Italian using pasta shells, which is everyone’s childhood favorite. I used a gluten free version, which is surprisingly good from Ancient Harvest.

This is a great recipe for the busy family that reheats well and is so easy, it’s hard to call this a recipe.

When Making Boneless Breasts of Chicken with Pasta there are three Main Ways to Cook Them

All of the recipes I’m using for this series incorporate boneless chicken breasts. There are few ways you can do this and you can interchange the method. You’re goal is to have a tender piece of chicken.

• Oven Baked as I did in this recipe.
• Marinated and Grilled as I did here.
• Pan Fried in olive oil and/or butter as I did here.

You will end up with tender chicken, using any of these methods, a tricky thing to accomplish with boneless breasts. At any time, feel free to substitute with boneless, skinless thighs. You can also use chicken tenders.

Baking Chicken and Cherry Tomatoes in a Sheet Pan

You can also bake them in the oven at the exact same time, same pan as the cherry tomatoes. You will want to check them at ten minutes and use an instant read meat thermometer. The safe internal temperature for cooked chicken is 165° Fahrenheit (75° Celsius). Please remove the chicken as soon as it hits that temperature.

I pan roasted cherry tomatoes which means no prep is necessary outside of a smattering of olive oil. They will burst open themselves, and taste really good.

I used Gluten Free Pasta Shells for this Chicken Pasta Dish

Today, I chose baby shells.  I used this brand of gluten free pasta. It’s made with corn and quinoa and has enough body to fool you. Feel free to substitute your own favorite. If you’re not eating gluten free, orzo works great in this recipe.

You can cook the pasta while you’re making the chicken, while the tomatoes are in oven, making this a twenty minute dish, start to finish.

Toss in raw baby spinach and kale with the hot pasta. I used fresh basil for flavor, but you could skip this or add in some fresh thyme, oregano, or parsley.

You could also add in some chili pepper flakes to add some heat and fresh herbs such as basil.

This is clean eating, and less is best. If you feel like the dish doesn’t have enough pizazz, add in a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, a squeeze of lemon or a drizzle of good balsamic vinegar. Don’t forget salt, as pasta or any starchy addition needs salt to taste good. I use this healthy himalayan sea salt in just about everything.

I’ve made this dairy free, but you can toss with favorite for this kind of cheese. Pecorino Romano is sharp, salty and can give a lift to any dish.  You can go caprese style and add in slices of room temperature fresh mozzarella with fresh basil.

More Chicken Recipes from Spinach Tiger

More Italian Recipes from Spinach Tiger

More Healthy Chicken Pasta Dishes from Spinach Tiger

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Chicken with Gluten Free Pasta Shells, Roasted Tomatoes, Spinach

Healthy, clean eating gluten free pasta shells with chicken breast, roasted tomatoes and chicken.

Course Entree

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 2 chicken breasts or 4 chicken tenders
• 8 ounces gluten free pasta shells I used this
• 1 pint grape tomatoes
• 3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves chopped garlic
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 4 cups organic baby spinach or super spinach
• fresh basil optional
• fresh mozzarella optional

Instructions

• Prepare chicken breasts. If the chicken breasts are thick, slice through lengthwise.
• Make a marinade of olive oil and balsamic vinegar, using 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar, chopped garlic.
• Allow chicken breasts to sit out for one hour with marinade brushed on them. You don't have to do this. You could just proceed with putting chicken in oven, but this does add extra tenderness to white meat chicken.
• Preheat oven to 350. Put water on to cook pasta.
• Put chicken breasts on one side of sheet pan, grape tomatoes on other side. Toss tomatoes with a small amount of olive oil.
• Bake in oven at 350 for approximately 20 minutes, checking at 10 for internal temperature of chicken, which should be at 165 degrees F to be safe. Turn chicken breasts over. Tomatoes will burst open on their own.
• Cook pasta according to directions.
• Drain pasta. Toss with olive oil. Immediately add greens while pasta is hot.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Cut chicken breast across about an inch each and add to pasta.
• Add in basil or parsley.
• If you feel the pasta needs more zing, drizzle some very good balsamic vinegar or a squeeze of lime to add in some acid and don't forget to salt.

Spinach Tiger gets paid a commission with affiliated links which appear in this post, which helps to sustain this site.

The post Pasta Shells, Chicken, Roasted Tomatoes appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

I love Sunday mornings when my husband and I can both sit at the table and enjoy rare free time with each other. We are busy people coming and going with his crazy work travel schedule and my blogger events/projects, of which I had four in four days last week.

If we find each other on a Sunday morning, it’s like peace, love, joy. Part of that joy is the cappuccino and brunch!

If I happen to have a well stocked refrigerator, it’s all the more joy, because it makes me feel like a chef, and gives me added inspiration to create food and share it with him and with you.

One of the blogging events included a Saturday food demo as part of a blogger weekend at Williams Sonoma called Bites and Blogs. The upscale Green Hills Mall in Nashville launched the pilot program for this, as seven bloggers were chosen to conduct various demos over the weekend, all unique and crowd pleasing, ranging from apple pie to french pastry to paella. If you want to know how to prepare for a cooking demo, I’m going to write that up and post that soon.

I chose to do a farmhouse salad and these strawberry and cream biscuits with basil.  Making biscuits in front of people at the best kitchen store in the world would have terrified me five years ago.  But when the upscale southern ladies described my biscuits as “divine” I breathed a sigh of relief and relished their southern speak. “These are davaahn.”

The best part of this past weekend was that a beautiful blogger, Callie Aldridge of Luv Cooks, offered to come and help me. She drove up from Birmingham Alabama, spent the night and devoted herself to getting up early, and making sure we had 60 biscuits and homemade buttermilk dressing ready to go. I just can’t thank her enough for bringing all of her energy and love for life right into the food experience.  (She’s hoping to move to Nashville, which excites me to no end).

Stars are people who desire to help others shine brighter with good intention, and she is just such a star!

The Spicy Shrimp and Bacon Quiche

My inspiration came from the ingredients I had left over. I used the smoked bacon, purchased from Porter Road Butcher  for the salad and that smokiness did this quiche well.  I was looking for the legendary Benton’s Bacon and discovered Porter Road makes their own great version.

I love to envision a dish in my head, try to virtually taste it and then see if it’s everything I fantasized about.

Do you ever do that? Do you ever dream up a dish in your head and get excited to get cooking? And, then get more excited because the person you made it for loves it in that “close your eyes” with each bite way?

This moment of joy is why I cook! I want to bring that sensual pleasure to others and I blog because I want you to bring it to your family too!

I was inspired to make the pistou, which pulled this together,  because I have a lot of basil in my garden, and I needed extra color.

Pistou is a Provencal condiment, made with basil and olive oil, often layered on top of a summer vegetable soup. (Another thing I want to jump into the kitchen and make for you right now).  It’s like a pesto without the cheese and pine nuts.

Spoon the pistou randomly in right before baking.

I only used 8 eggs because I wanted to add lots of shrimp. You can use more eggs, but add in a little more cream if you do that. Cream is God’s gift to the cooking kitchen, and I’m never without it.

Crust Options: Tart, Gluten Free, or Tortilla Crusted

I didn’t want to take the time to make this tart crust or this gluten free tart crust. Instead I did this quickly using used these raw flour tortillas from Tortilla Land the same way I did with this individual quiche. (You could also use corn tortillas for that gluten free option), or no crust at all for a crustless quiche (or frittata). I have used cooked tortillas in the past, and that’s certainly an option.

The End Result

Doug said it all, “I was disappointed to see you were making quiche, but I love every bite of this. The mix of flavors and ingredients is perfect, and I can’t stop eating it.”  Now I knew he didn’t like quiche, but I also knew he was going to feel very loved once he tried it.

I hope you feel the love today. I could just cook for myself, but I pull all of this together for you, my readers, because I care about helping you enjoy a rich life of pleasurable cooking and eating with your loved ones.

Please follow me on instagram, where you can be the first to see the food we make, eat and fuss over.

So tell me do you make quiche or do you do anything special on Sunday mornings?

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Spicy Shrimp Quiche with Smoked Bacon, Pistou and Gluten Free Option

Spicy Shrimp and bacon quiche with Pistou, and a gluten free option

Course Brunch

Cuisine American

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour

Servings 4

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 4 slices smoked bacon such as Benton's bacon
• 1 tart crust or tortillas
• 8 eggs
• 1/3 cup cream
• 12 large shrimp
• 1 tablespoon Butt rub or your favorite rub like Slap Ya Mama
• 1/3 cup pistou
• 4 grape tomatoes
• 1/3 cup medium sharp white cheddar cheese
• salt pepper to season

Pistou

• 2 handfulls basil
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 clove garlic

Instructions

• Cut bacon into one inch pieces. Fry on medium heat until crispy. Remove with slotted spoon, drain on paper towel.
• Sprinkle shrimp with butt rub. You could also make a rub with paprika, cayenne to your liking. Or use a spicy rub of your choice.
• Fry shrimp in bacon grease about a minute on each side. Drain on paper towels.
• Prepare quiche pan with either this tart crust(see below for gluten free option) or tortillas.
• I cut the tortillas and overlapped to fit the quiche pan. Spray with non-stick spray first or grease pan with butter and flour to prevent sticking.
• Beat eggs and incorporate cream and salt and pepper.
• Add cheese to egg mixture.
• Place quiche pan onto a baking sheet. Wrap bottom and sides tightly with foil.
• Place tart crust onto pan. Or place tortillas in pan. You may need to cut and overlap a little, which is fine.
• Pour egg mixture into pan.
• Add shrimp, bacon, tomatoes.
• Spoon pistou into the egg mixture, randomly.

Pistou

• handfuls of fresh basil with stems removed
• /3 cup olive oil
• garlic clove, minced
• salt, pepper
• Using either mortar and pestle or mini food process, mix into a basil paste to the consistency of a pesto you will be able to spoon into the quiche mixture.
• Bake at 400 degrees F for 25-30 minutes.
• !Gluten Free Option can be found here.

Notes

This makes two to four serving sizes.

The post Spicy Shrimp Quiche with Smoked Bacon, Pistou and Gluten Free Option appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

What makes a Bloody Mary best? They need to taste like food and jump a little. I got this recipe from a very sharp bartender who knew how to balance the briny,  salty, spicy elements with just enough citrus  to pull it all together.

Bloody Mary’s are most often enjoyed in the day time, maybe even the early morning.   Some years ago, Jason, the bartender at the lobby bar at the Sir Francis Drake Hotel helped  me to pass some rainy day time, while I was waiting for Mr. ST to return from his conference. We both just happen to have events that took us from Nashville to San Francisco on the exact same weekend, and I sat at the lobby bar waiting for him on a Sunday afternoon. I was intrigued that he wasn’t using a Bloody Mary mix. I watched him muddle together the tomato and jalapeno, add in real tomato juice, and horseradish, Tabasco and lemon, and I knew I had to have one. He was nice enough to make me second one, slowly showing me his step by step method. Then he wrote it all down for me.

Somehow I’ve managed to hold onto that paper for the past three years, and I’m finally sharing it today.

I don’t can food, and I rarely make anything pickled, but in recent years I’m discovering that pickling is a hot new trend and you don’t have to can the old fashioned way if you are going to eat the pickled food in the next few weeks.

I tend to like pickles a lot, especially if they are spicy, so I threw a good dash of cayenne pepper in the mix. I think this garnish is especially nice for a Bloody Mary and not everyone likes the typical celery.

The asparagus in this recipe makes a great appetizer, as well as a drink garnish. I used an interesting pickling spice that has cinnamon, mustard seed, dill seed and tumeric among other things, but any pickling spice will do.

The result is a very flavorful Bloody Mary. I was so excited to make this, I went and bought a muddler, which is used to muddle the  jalapenos and tomatoes.

Tell me, have you ever asked a bartender or a server for a  special recipe? Do you feel awkward doing that?

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Sir Francis Drake Hotel Bar Bloody Mary by Jason

Lucky enough to snatch the recipe for the best Bloody Mary from San Franciso's Sir Francis Drake Hotel Lobby Bar, starting with a key ingredient, olive juice.

Course Cocktails

Cuisine American

Servings 1

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 3-4 grape tomatoes
• 3-4 slices jalapeno
• 1/2 teaspoon horseradish
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2-3 dashes of Tabasco sauce
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 2 oz. vodka
• 2 oz. tomato juice
• FOR GARNISH
• 1 olive
• 1 grape tomato
• squeeze lime
• celery stick
• pickled asparagus optional

Pickled Asparagus

• 10 asparagus spears or as many as fit into the jar
• 2 pint mason jar
• 2 cups apple cider vinegar
• 2 cups water
• 2 tablespoons pickling spice
• 1 teaspoon dill seed or fresh dill
• 2 teaspoons pepper corns
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 cloves garlic

Instructions

• Muddle the grape tomatoes and jalapeno and add ice.
• Add horseradish, pepper, salt, Tabasco sauce, lemon juice, vodka, tomato juice.
• Shake.
• Pour in pint glass, garnish as desired with garnishes

Pickled Asparagus

• Trim woody bottoms of asparagus and make sure it will fit into the height of the jar.
• Blanch asparagus in boiling water for one minute.
• Remove to ice bath
• Bring vinegar and water, pickling spice to a boil. Boil for two minutes
• Put asparagus into jar and pour pickling liquid over asparagus.Add remaining ingredients. Give a good shake.
• Cool. Put on lid tightly and refrigerate for a few days before serving.
• Pickled asparagus will keep in refrigerator for a few weeks.

The post Best Bloody Mary with Pickled Asparagus, Recipe from a Bartender appeared first on Spinach Tiger.