Lily watching tv with her brothers... She's quite the lady...

Cauliflower Pizza Crust

I came across an interesting recipe for cauliflower pizza crust, and who couldn't use a little help steering away form those carbs??? Am I right? (I'm a carboholic)  Anyway, I thought I would share my experiment with the recipe...

You start by grating 2 cups of cauliflower (approx. 1/2 a head, but this only yields one 9" crust, so I used the whole thing, and next time will use even more)

 Next, find an adorable 3 year old to join you and make truck noises to keep you company :)
(this step is crucial ;)

 As you gaze into his eyes, his magic powers erase all the stress and frustration you experienced today during his numerous tantrums...

 When you snap out of it, have an adorable 6 year old help you stir... they love to show you their muscles and how strong they are :)  And let them crack the eggs, but into a separate bowl, just in case the shell breaks...

 This is what a single batch looked like...

 Into the oven for 15 minutes...

 Then, have another child join you, because the more the merrier... (and yes, we sit on counter here... shame on me)

 Whatever you do, don't gaze into her eyes... it's dangerous...

 We topped batch number one off with some Bertolli Olive Oil and Garlic pasta sauce and some white cheddar cheese...

 3 year old's smile of approval!

 Batch number two was Hawaiian style, sort of... pineapple and salami (didn't have canadian bacon like it called for)

 "Dirlie" likes it!!!

So... below I will post the original recipe with my slight adjustments.  Overall, we enjoyed it.  But don't expect it to have the same consistency as a traditional pizza crust.  It does get crispy but the center stays a little more moist, not soggy, but definitely not bread-like.  Justin and I agree that we would like to try it with spinach, mushrooms and maybe some asiago?  There's a lot to play with here.  The sky's the limit.  As far as eating healthy goes, this will definitely not leave you unsatisfied, but one recipe does not yield very much so you will have to make the adjustments necessary to feed your family.  Enjoy!

2 cups shredded cauliflower
1 egg
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
1/2 tsp. onion salt (I used 1/4 tsp. onion powder and 1/4 tsp. salt)

1. Preheat oven to 450.  Spray cookie sheet.
2. Shred cauliflower and microwave for 8 minutes in large bowl.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients and pat into shape on cookie sheet.  Bake 15 minutes. (I did my 2nd batch on the convection setting and used parchment paper.  I think it helped)
4. Turn oven to broil.  Put on toppings and broil 3-4 minutes.

Found these two passed out yesterday afternoon :) Makes my heart beat all crazy...

Luke: "Mama, I ride like this to Nana's?  I hold on.  It-a be awesome"  :)

Sorry bud.  It's hard to say no to you... but I don't think so...

I can't take my eyes off this one :)

He brings rocks inside... to wash them.  Yup.

I haven't tried these http://www.soveryblessed.com/2012/02/buffalo-chicken-quinoa-bites.html yet, but I'm excited to! We enjoy this recipe of quinoa patties...

http://eatingwelllivingthin.wordpress.com/2010/11/01/love-my-quinoa-burger/ I am excited to feed my family, as much as possible, from our garden. I will certainly have to supplement, but growing our own food makes me feel so good.

A great day at the park...

I painted the side porch! It was terribly stained from red dirt, paint splatters from my random projects, etc. It was desperate for a cleaning. I tried scrubbing it with Comet, but it didn't do anything! Then I contemplated painting it, and came upon this diagonal checkerboard design (which I would have LOVED to do to my kitchen...) Over the course of several days, the big boys and I snapped chalk lines and measured. The concrete soaked up the paint like crazy so it dried within minutes. The kids watched for a few minutes and then took off to play in the garden...

I think it turned out great! I love it!

My herb garden... (needs mulch)
The metal tags are from Gigi :) I love them...

Isaiah lost ANOTHER tooth! Rakin' in the dough these days :) Especially this time... I didn't check to make sure I had cash... I didn't. At 3 o'clock in the morning I shook Justin "DO YOU HAVE A DOLLAR!!!" I'm pretty sure I nearly gave him a heart attack. Neither of us had any cash. I eventually found two 5's my Mom had sent for the kids. These were Luke and Lily's, they would never know ;) So, due to my terrible lack of preparation, Isaiah raked in $5 for his tiny little tooth! LESSON LEARNED.
Lily loves trying on everyone else's shoes. She found my flip-flops and when we all looked to say "awe" she threw her hands up like this ;)