Proud of My Cooking

Today I want to share a couple quick easy recipes that I made last week during my Thanksgiving break. Seriously people, these are so yummy, and so easy. Just the way I like things :) I won't lie about this, I'm Proud of My Cooking, and I highly recommend both of these recipes. So grab a pen and paper to make some notes, because you're going to want to give these guys a try...

First up, I made Twice-Baked Cauliflower

Ingredients:
2 heads of cauliflower
8 oz. sour cream
8 oz. cream cheese
8 pieces of bacon
1 handful of fresh shredded Parmesan cheese
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Prep cauliflower to cook, removing all leaves and what-not, and roughly chopping
Bring water to boil, throw cauliflower in, and cook until soft
While cauliflower is boiling, fry bacon in skillet, then place on paper towel to drain/dry/cool
After cauliflower is soft, drain and transfer to large mixing bowl
Using potato masher, mash up all cauliflower
Once it's decently mashed, add in sour cream, cream cheese & Parmesan cheese, and mix thoroughly
Crumble bacon, and add in 3/4 of it to the mix
Spray a casserole dish with non-stick spray, and scoop the mixture into dish, flattening out
Sprinkle all of the cheddar cheese on top, and the remaining bacon crumbles
Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes, or until cheese is completely melty and bubbly
Eat and enjoy!

So technically it's not actually twice-baked, but it is at least twice-cooked. And let me tell you folks - this tastes EXACTLY like loaded, baked mashed potatoes. And this stuff is delicious. We took it for Thanksgiving lunch with my dad's side of the family, and we fooled some of them into thinking it actually was mashed potatoes, rather than cauliflower. Even the pickiest eater of the bunch tried it, and she loved it! I can't wait to make this again, so that I get to eat more of it myself next time, because it was just that good.

And if you're watching your figure, just make the cheeses and sour cream the low fat or fat free versions to make this a little healthier. It's already almost carb-free (with the exception of a minimal amount from the cheeses), so this is a good low-carb option! Seriously, don't be scared of the cauliflower - just try it. And let me know how you like it too :)

And then next was Bacon-wrapped Lil' Smokies

Ingredients:
1 pack of Lil Smokies sausages
The rest of your bacon pack from the first recipe up there ;) but uncooked and cut into thirds
1 stick of butter
1 cup of brown sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Spray a baking dish with non-stick cooking spray
Once your bacon slices are cut into thirds, wrap each smokie in the bacon, and place in baking dish, seam side down
Make as many as you please....
Melt 1 stick of butter, and stir in 1 cup of brown sugar until it's completely mixed
Pour the whole mixture over the top of the bacon-wrapped smokies
Bake for 30 minutes

After doing this it seemed like there was too much of the butter/sugar mixture during the baking process, so after about thirty minutes, I poured off quite a bit of the liquid, then put the dish back in the oven, for about 5-10 minutes, but under the broiler setting this time, just to crisp it up a bit. And these tiny meats turned out delicious!

Apparently a lot of people already make these pretty regularly, because when I brought them to the football-watching party, they were thrilled to see them because they knew how good they would be. I myself had never heard of them, or eaten them, but after trying one, I loved them too! I also heard a tip that if you're making them for a big party, skewer each one with a toothpick, and bake them like that so they're ready to grab-n-go after baking!

And then after putting this last dish together, I ran out of bacon, but still had some smokies left, so I threw the rest of them in a pot with some barbecue sauce and some more brown sugar, and just let them hang out in there until it was time to leave. So simple, and yet so yummy as well.

And here's a picture of me in my apron again, just because it's so darn cute, and I like this picture a lot :) And I was in fact wearing it the whole time I was cooking last week!

So, give both of these recipes a try. For real peeps. Because who doesn't love delicious food, that's made with easy-to-do recipes?! I know I sure do! Honestly, I tend to gravitate towards what looks the easiest or the most doable. Because even though I do love to cook, I still consider myself a "novice" and am still prone to silly mistakes or minor issues. So the easier, the better in my book! I need things that are close to fool-proof, and these recipes definitely fit the bill on that front. Hope you like them as much as I did!