Bacon Cheddar Cauliflower Chowder - LOW CARB!

What is this???

Yeah.....the sight of that got me, too! SOUP!!!  And I love soup!!  With BACON!  And CHEESE!

I found the recipe on Facebook and couldn't resist clicking on the link that took me to the blog of Iowa Girl Eats.... and the recipe for this lush soup.  Meant to be a replacement for Potato Soup, it seems more like a rich, cheesy rice casserole to me.....but in soup form!  Yeah....no?

I did alter the recipe just a tiny bit.....don't I always?  I started by cooking my bacon....I used 5 slices.  Why?  Because!

 

Beautiful, huh?  So, while the bacon was frying, I used my mini food processor to chop up two celery heart stalks (change...recipe calls for one) and three green onions (change...recipe calls for onion powder, but I like the real thang).   

Once the bacon was done, I poured out all but a tablespoon or so of the bacon grease, then threw in the celery and onion to sauté for about 3-4 minutes, then I threw in....CAULIFLOWER RICE! 

Yes...I stalked Trader Joe's for two weeks before I finally asked the secret to finding this stuff on the shelf (fresh) or in the freezer case (organic, frozen).  Yes...I'll tell you the secret, but don't take them ALL!  The fresh is delivered at night and the frozen in the morning, so get there early!  I don't do early, but I did for this stuff (yes, I should just make my own, but...I'm a busy girl!)  Then I threw in the lush, chicken bone broth (yes, I make my own....in the crockpot!) and let it simmer for about 12-15 minutes. 

Next?  Another item I stalk Trader Joe's for.......their pantry friendly, heavy whipping cream!  OMG, how I love this stuff!  It's reasonably priced and it KEEPS ON THE SHELF!  I used two of them.

Then I added about 1.5 cups of cheddar cheese...medium...not from Trader Joe's. 

You could see this coming together so rich, and lush!  I could hardly wait to eat this stuff....so, I did...I poured a ladle of it into a bowl and ate it...standing right there at the stove!  Then I decided to try it garnished.  I used the bacon and cheese as in the recipe, but I added chopped green onions.

Because I love them.  On everything!  And yes,  it tastes just as delicious as it looks!

It does.....  It really does!   Guess what I'm having for lunch today!





Chicken with Red Pepper Sauce

Yesterday was a busy day and when I finally looked up, it was DINNER TIME!  ACK!  And I hadn't given a second thought to what I was going to make!

I had a huge pack of chicken breasts that I needed to separate and put in the freezer and I had some asparagus....grilled chicken and asparagus?  Boring.  Of course, my "go to", Pinterest, was where I went for ideas.....and up came a recipe for chicken with a red pepper sauce!  Yes!

THIS is the recipe that  liked best....mainly because I had most of the ingredients.  But I never really follow a recipe and I make substitutions when I have to!

So, to start with I made cutlets out of the chicken, put salt and pepper on them and cooked them in my AMAZING grill pan (because it was freezing outside and snowing!).

 

 

While those were cooking, I sautéed my onions and garlic.  I used both yellow onion and green onion....because I love green onions, but felt it needed a little more flavor.

 

 

And while those were both cooking, I used my mini food processor to blend the sour cream, cream cheese, white wine and roasted red peppers (there's my substitution....but I had a whole jar of them and I love the roasted flavor...and it's quick!). 

 

 

 

Once the onions and my mixture were done, I added them together and let it cook down a little.

 

 

Meanwhile, I roasted my asparagus that I had tossed in a garlic infused olive oil.  Once everything was done, I poured the sauce over the chicken, plated it all and.....yummmmm!

 

 

More green onions on top.......did I tell you how much I love green onions??

 

In hindsight, I wish I had used the Vitamix to blend the sauce ingredients.....while I loved the red pepper chunks, I just think it would have been a little prettier.....next time!  But this was really a quick and easy way to make a cream red pepper sauce!  I think it would be amazing over pasta, shrimp, and roasted vegetables!  Let me know if you try it!