Garlic Basil Butter

Good morning! First, I want to apologize for not responding to the post comments as quickly as I normally would have, but my family and I were away for the week on vacation. I do hope you enjoyed last week's recipes and thanks again to Katrin from Running with the Devil(ed) Eggs for coming back to help me with a guest post. 

I don't eat much bread. Really. I don't eat sandwiches so there is really no need. So when I do splurge, I prefer a nice, crusty Italian or Ciabiatta heated up in the oven; then dip it in extra virgin olive oil with a little salt and pepper. Which was what I was planning to do with this particular loaf, until I looked at my fresh basil and it was starting to see better days. I hate to throw anything away that is still viable and knew I wouldn't be making anything with it in the next day or two, so I blended it with some garlic and butter to make this Garlic Basil Butter to top my bread with. 

O. M. G. This was even better than the olive oil, but healthier...I don't think so! Thank goodness I don't splurge like this very often because I could have easily made a really bad habit out of this bread! This butter would also go nicely on some corn on the cob or mixed in with cooked pasta. 
Garlic Basil Butter
Prep Time:  10 minutes              Yield: 8
Cook Time: 10 minutes               Serving: 1
Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 1c. Fresh Basil
• 8 tbsp. Butter, softened
• 2 Garlic Cloves
• 1 Loaf Crusty Italian Bread (I used a Ciabiatta)

Directions

1. Add the basil, butter and garlic to a food processor and blend until smooth. 
2. Cut the loaf of bread in half horizontally; then spread the mixture evenly on both sides. Wrap the loaf of bread in aluminum foil.
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until butter has completely melted and the bread is warm. Cut into 8 slices. 

Nutrition Facts

Calories 184, Carbs 15.3g, Fat 12.6 g, Protein 2.8g, Fiber .8g, Sugar .3 g

*Calculations based on ingredients entered into Calorie Count and may not be 100% accurate. 

Enjoy! 

Sauteed Fresh Spinach and Garlic

I know this is a REALLY simple recipe, but sometimes I just have to think about all of those new cooks out there just starting out. This Sauteed Fresh Spinach and Garlic HAS to be in your recipe repertoire and goes perfectly with just about anything you're serving. I love spinach and generally buy it frozen because once you cook down fresh spinach you really don't get much of a yield. I say this serves 4 as a side dish, but I could eat the entire bowl myself! 

Sauteed Fresh Spinach and Garlic
10 oz. Fresh Spinach
4 Garlic Cloves, thinly sliced
1 tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Kosher Salt, to taste
Fresh Ground Black Pepper, to taste

Directions:
1. Heat oil in a large, nonstick saute pan; then add the garlic and spinach. 
2. Saute until the spinach starts to wilt and garlic has released it's smell. Season with salt and pepper. Serves 4. 

*Nutritional Information per Serving: Calories 51, Fat 3.8g, Protein 2.2g, Fiber 1.6g

*Calculations based on ingredients entered into CalorieCount and may not be 100% accurate.

Enjoy!

To remove the stem from a fresh spinach leaf, fold the leaf in half along the spine, grab the bottom of the stem and tear toward the tip of the leaf. To clean spinach, swish in a bowl of cold water, let sit for a minute, and then lift into a colander to drain. Empty the water and repeat. After doing this, taste a leaf. If you detect even the slightest bit of grit, wash the leaves again.

Roasted Garlic Mashed Cauliflower

For those of you who might have missed my FB update, I tore my calf muscle the other day doing nothing more than walking my dog and twisted funny. Lucky for me, I don't need surgery; but I do need to be off of my feet for the next few days (on crutches) and then go to physical therapy for the next month. I have a few more new posts for next week, but will not be able to fulfill the promise of 12 Days of Holiday Baking being that I can't stand without support so I think cooking/baking is out of the question for a while. I'll try to post when I can! xo 

And now for today's savory recipe...

I made this recipe for Roasted Garlic Mashed Cauliflower last week and posted it on my Facebook page and the CEK fans went wild and couldn't wait for me to post this recipe. I love that it's so simple to prepare and if you're in a time crunch, I'm sure you could use frozen cauliflower instead of fresh. 

Roasting garlic is SO easy, but it does take some time. If you are in a rush, consider roasting it the night before, then just heat it up so the pulp extracts easier. You can use roasted garlic in so many dishes, but my hubby's favorite is to just smear it on top of a nice, juicy steak. We really liked this recipe and my youngest, who REFUSES to eat cauliflower in any form, ate THIS and LOVED it! Tricky mom that I am told her it was garlic potatoes and she fell for it. ;)

Roasted Garlic Mashed Cauliflower
1 Head Fresh Cauliflower, steamed until soft
2 tbsp. Butter
3-4 tbsp. Milk
1 Head Roasted Garlic
Kosher Salt, to taste
Fresh Ground Black Pepper, to taste

Directions:
1. Add your cooked cauliflower to a bowl and add the butter, milk and garlic pulp. (Depending on the size of the cauliflower, you may need to adjust how much milk you add)
2. Using your electric mixer, mash the cauliflower until it is a creamy consistency. Serves 4. 

Roasted Garlic
1 Head Garlic
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Sea Salt


Directions:
1. Remove the excess papery skin from the garlic. 
2. Cut off the top of the head of garlic exposing the garlic bulbs. 
3. Drizzle on a little oil and sprinkle with salt. 
4. Wrap the garlic head in aluminum foil and bake at 425 degrees for 30 minutes. 
5. Remove from the oven and squeeze out the garlic bulbs, it will be spreadable like butter. 

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size  1 serving (170.1 g)

Amount Per Serving

Calories  80 Calories from Fat  31

% Daily Value*

Total Fat  3.4g 5%

Saturated Fat  2.0g 10%

Cholesterol  9mg 3%

Sodium  72mg 3%

Total Carbohydrates  10.9g 4%

Dietary Fiber  3.8g 15%

Sugars  4.2g

Protein  3.9g

Vitamin A 2% • Vitamin C 115% Calcium 6% • Iron 4%

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

Speaking of my youngest daughter, today is her 11th Birthday, man does time fly. Happy Birthday Baby Girl...I love you! She loves to help me in the kitchen and if you're new to CEK, she also wrote her own blog post a few months back, and is still one of my more popular posts today! So in honor of her birthday, I'll share her recipe again for Homemade Gnocchi with Sausage Bolognese with you in case you missed it. She was VERY proud of it (as was I) and talks about her 5 minutes of blogging fame often. Love this little apple that didn't fall far from the tree! <3