Heather Schrader

Holiday-Spiced Butterscotch Sauce

December 6, 2017December 5, 2017by Heather Schrader1 Comment

During the holidays, if there’s time to watch TV, I prefer to watch holiday baking shows and competitions. OK, truth be told: baking shows are my guilty pleasure all year round. It just seems more acceptable to watch them during the holiday season when baked goods abound.

The other day, I watched someone create a spicy caramel sauce. Salted caramel I’ve seen, but habanero spiced caramel sauce? It got me thinking about what else you could do to jazz up dessert sauce. I started looking through my pantry. With the holidays upon us, I knew I wanted to do a holiday spice blend; but we didn’t have regular coconut sugar on hand. Instead, we had brown coconut sugar.

Butterscotch and caramel sauce are essentially cream, butter and sugar; but butterscotch uses brown sugar. Since that’s what we had on hand, that’s what I tried to create. Brent, his parents (who were visiting), and I all agreed—it’s delicious. We hope you will think so, too!

Continue reading “Holiday-Spiced Butterscotch Sauce”

Roasted Ranch Cauliflower

November 29, 2017November 28, 2017by Heather Schrader1 Comment

We have been on a cauliflower “kick” lately. Truth be told, I didn’t actually realize it until I sat down to write this post, but this is the third cauliflower-featuring recipe in a row. Whoops! I hope you’re finding it as versatile and delicious as we are. I promise the next recipe will be completely different.

This recipe takes a childhood favorite of mine—ranch dressing (I wouldn’t eat vegetables without either ranch dressing or melted cheese!)—and dresses it up a bit, while removing the dairy. The flavors are subtle, but work perfectly with the sweet roast-y goodness of the cauliflower. Serve it as a side with any chicken, pork, beef or even game meat, and enjoy!

Continue reading “Roasted Ranch Cauliflower”

Simple Cauliflower Curry Soup

November 22, 2017November 21, 2017by Heather SchraderLeave a comment

Cauliflower is an extremely versatile vegetable, which is one of the reasons I love it so much. We’ve roasted it, steamed it, and pan sautéed it. We’ve served as a substitute for rice, orzo, and potatoes in recipes like Lobster Cauliflower Risotto and Sour Cream and Chive Cauliflower Mash.

Lately, we’ve been experimenting with using cauliflower as a thickening/cream-like agent. (If you missed last week’s Bacon and Cauliflower Creamed Spinach, go check it out.) We get really excited when we’re able to “sneak more vegetables in” like this. Plus, the spicy curry flavors of this particular soup are perfect for warming up on these ever colder late-fall days. Better yet, there’s nearly no work involved in making this recipe! We hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we did!

Continue reading “Simple Cauliflower Curry Soup”

Bacon and Cauliflower Creamed Spinach

November 15, 2017November 15, 2017by Heather Schrader3 Comments

The past five months have flown by with a newborn, and it has hit us that next week we will be flying out to Wisconsin to celebrate Thanksgiving with family. Turkey Day is the first of many opportunities to over-indulge (in food and drink) with friends and family on a regular basis through the end of the year. There’s nothing wrong with making a conscious choice to treat yourself. However, we’ve learned that going off the rails has its consequences and is less and less appealing each holiday season.

As a result, we are always trying to create more options for our holiday tables, and this time we think we’ve really struck gold. This creamed cauliflower, spinach, and bacon medley has the heartiness of mashed potatoes, plenty of spinach, and bacon for days. It’s a great option for anyone looking to stay low-carb during the holiday feast, but it won’t leave anyone else feeling deprived. We hope it makes its way to your table as well, no matter the season.

Continue reading “Bacon and Cauliflower Creamed Spinach”

Orange Spiced Pumpkin Pudding

November 8, 2017November 7, 2017by Heather SchraderLeave a comment

Here it is—the obligatory pumpkin recipe for this fall. I realize that you might want to roll your eyes. Whatever your feelings are towards the pumpkin spice EVERYTHING craze that takes over popular culture (food, candles, lotions, etc.) the minute September starts, I hope you’ll consider giving this recipe a try.

The orange zest lends a fresh twist on the standard pumpkin spice blend. Plus, this particular “pudding” is egg-free and nut-free in addition to being dairy-free and gluten-free. It can also be free of added sugars if you chose not to add the maple syrup or any other sweetener as a drizzle. One morning, I added chopped pecans for a mid-morning snack. Another day, I added Enjoy Life Dark Chocolate Morsels for an afternoon treat. Tell us how you decide to dress it up in the comments!

Continue reading “Orange Spiced Pumpkin Pudding”