Stir Fried Cauliflower Rice

I have been intrigued with this recipe for a while now. It's all over Pinterest. I guess it's the Paleo version of stir fried rice. Instead of using rice for the stir fry, you use grated cauliflower. And since I love fried rice, I decided to give it a try. It's great because it's all vegetables and you cut down on carbs. And goodness knows, I'm always looking for ways to cut calories!!

When I asked my husband how he liked the "stir fry"? He said it was good. He didn't even realize that it wasn't rice. I said it's cauliflower and he said he knew there was some cauliflower in it (because there were little bits of it) , but I told him there was no rice in it what so ever, he really couldn't believe it! And my sister really loved it! So I guess this is a keeper.

The trick to grating the cauliflower in the food processor is not to over crowd it, otherwise it takes a while to grate and then you have mushy cauliflower, which you do NOT want. Just do small batches at time. It really does resemble rice when it is grated properly.

Unfortunately, this the only photo I have...I forgot to take pictures along the way. Sorry.

Stir Fried Cauliflower

I head of cauliflower
2 tablespoons oil
3-4 green onions, diced
1 inch of ginger, finely chopped
2=3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 red pepper, sliced
1 small bunch of kale, thinly sliced
Soy or tamari sauce, to taste
2 teaspoons sesame oil

Coarsely chop the cauliflower into florets. In small batches, pulse the cauliflower in a food processor until it resembles rice. Set aside.
Heat a large pan or wok with oil over medium-high heat and add the green onions, ginger and garlic. Sauté until soft. Turn up heat. Add the red pepper and kale, stirring frequently for 1 minute. Add the cauliflower and soy sauce and continue stirring frequently until the cauliflower is hot and a little crispy. Drizzle with the sesame oil and serve.

m xo

Just Another Quinoa Stir Fry

So, here's the thing. The beginning of the week I wanted to cook some quinoa for the broccoli muffins that I made, and as I  measured out the dry quinoa that the recipe called for, I noticed that there really wouldn't be much left in the bag, so I decided to cook the whole thing…well, boy, did it make a lot of quinoa!! And thank goodness we love quinoa because we have been eating it in different forms ALL week.

Tonight I made a broccoli stir fry. I love stir fries because you can basically throw in whatever odds and ends you have in the refrigerator. And this week was perfect because we are going away and I need to "clean" the refrigerator. I hate to throw anything away. I happen to have steamed broccoli and carrots. Again, I'm not giving you exact amounts here because it depends on what you have and how many people you are feeding.

Broccoli Quinoa Stir Fry

Oil
2-3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 red onion, chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
Fresh ginger, minced
1-2 hot, red chili, minced
1-2 cups cooked quinoa
Broccoli, steamed
Carrots, sliced
2-3 tablespoons soy sauce
Sesame oil

Heat wok or pan over high heat. Add the eggs and cook until set but still moist. Remove from pan and set aside. Heat more oil in the wok and when hot and add the onion, garlic, ginger and chili's, if using. Cook for 2 minutes. Add the broccoli, carrots, quinoa and scrambled eggs and stir fry until everything is combined and warmed through. Drizzle on some soy sauce and and a few drops of sesame oil. Serve.

m xo

 

Quinoa Stir Fried "Rice" with Baby Kale

I made this stir fry using quinoa instead of rice. I like that it has more protein than rice therefore more satisfying. I made my quinoa the day of but if you have any leftover, definitely use it! I made my stir fry a little spicy too. Adjust to your liking.
I used baby kale but if you can't find it or don't like kale, feel free to use baby spinach.
I find a bowl of this stir fry to be very comforting.

Quinoa Stir Fry with Baby Kale

2 cups cooked quinoa
2 eggs, beaten
4 generous handfuls of baby kale
1 red onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 small red hot chilies, chopped
1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated
1 carrot, peeled and cut into matchsticks
2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
sesame oil

Heat a wok or nonstick pan with 1 tablespoon of sesame oil. Pour in eggs and cook until it sets up. You can scramble or leave it as an omelet, it doesn't matter because it's going to break up when you incorporate it back into the stir fry. Transfer to a plate.
Heat another tablespoon of sesame oil and drop in kale and cook until wilted. Remove from the pan.
Place the pan over high heat with another tablespoon of sesame oil. When hot, add the onions, garlic, chilies, ginger and carrots. Stir constantly for 30 seconds. Stir in quinoa, cooked eggs, kale, soy sauce and hoisin. Cook for another 30 seconds. Ready to serve. I like to sprinkle on a few sesame seeds to finish.

m xo