Roasted Cauliflower Gratin

Cheese can make any vegetable taste good. I have always loved cauliflower and when I went to Whole Foods for lunch with my mom and my sister, I got this amazing cauliflower gratin. It was covered in cheese, all gooey and delicious. After eating this cauliflower, I decided to make it at home. Instead of just steaming cauliflower and then baking it in the sauce, I decided to roast it. Roasting the cauliflower gives it an extra kick of flavor. I hope you enjoy this recipe!

Ingredients:

Sauce:
1 cups Milk
2 cups Cheddar Cheese
4 tablespoons Butter
1/4 cup Flour
1 teaspoons Salt
1/2 teaspoon Pepper

Roasted Cauliflower:
1 Head Cauliflower
1 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Pepper
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

Pre heat the oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit.  First cut the cauliflower into pieces and place on a baking tray covered in non stick aluminum foil. 

Then coat the cauliflower in olive oil and the top with salt and pepper and place in the over for about 20 minutes or until tender.

Before the Oven

After

Meanwhile melt 4 tablespoons of butter in a large (4-quart) pot and add the flour. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes, stirring with a whisk. In the microwave heat up the milk for about a minute and a half or until the milk is hot. While whisking the rue slowly add the milk and continue to still until the rue dissolved in the milk and the sauce is thick. Add the cheddar cheese, salt, and pepper to the sauce and mix until the cheese is dissolved. 

Then butter a ramekin and place the cauliflower inside. Pour the cheese sauce on top of the cauliflower and mix until the cauliflower in evenly coated. Sprinkle some cheddar cheese on top, and place in oven for 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbling. 

Take out of the oven and enjoy!

Very Berry Smoothie

There are so many smoothie shops in my town, but they are so expensive. It costs five dollars for a smoothie at Robeks when you can make one yourself for half the price. The best part about making smoothies yourself is that you know what ingredients are in it. Also, if you know what fruit you would like in your smoothie you can make a drink that tastes better and is more nutritious than a smoothie from Jamba juice or Robeks. What I love about this recipe is that it can be make for breakfast or it can be a healthy midday snack. I hope you enjoy my recipe for a Very Berry Smoothie.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups orange juice
1 Banana
1/2 cup frozen strawberries
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1/4 cup greek yogurt
1 1/2 teaspoons agave nectar

First put the orange juice, banana strawberries, blueberries, greek yogurt, and agave nectar into the blender.

Then blend until completely incorporated.

Pour into a cup and enjoy!

Buttermilk Biscuits

Last year my family and I went on a road trip through The South over Spring break. It was an amazing trip filled with college tours, driving, and tons of food! While in Tennessee my mom mentioned that there was this amazing restaurant near by and that we should go check it out. When we got there we had to wait about an hour to sit down but it was worth it. When you sat down at our table they brought out a basket of biscuits that were so buttery and delicious, that I was inspired to try to make my own recipe. I hope you enjoy these buttery biscuits!

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoons baking soda
6 tablespoons butter (cold, cubed)
2/3 cup butter milk

First preheat the oven to 425 degrees fahrenheit. Then sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda together over a big bowl.

Over the dry ingredients add the butter to the dry ingredients and mix together until the mixture resembles crumbs, Next add the buttermilk to the mixture and mix with a fork until the mixture looks like dough.

Roll out the dough until it is about 1 inch thick, cut using a 2 inch cookie cutter.

Then, place the biscuits onto a baking sheet lined with non stick aluminum foil and cook for 12-15 minutes, or until the biscuits are tall and golden brown.

Let the biscuits cool for 5 minutes then enjoy!

Banana Muffins

In my house there are always bananas lying around, some are green, some are ripe, and some are over ripe. When you see brown overripe bananas you automatically want to throw them out but why not do something with them? That is why on the weekends for breakfast I make banana bread. I decided to do something different with this recipe and make banana muffins instead. This is because no one eats a whole banana bread, but 1 or 2 banana muffins equals about 1 portion or banana bread. I hope you enjoy my recipe for banana muffins.

Ingredients: 

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 overripe bananas

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, melted

2 eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

First pre heat the oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit. Then in a bowl using a fork mash the bananas until it has a bit of a texture. To the bananas add the sugar, vanilla extract, melted butter, and eggs then mix together using an hand held electric mixer. Next add the flour, baking soda, salt to the mixture and mix together using the hand held mixer.

Add the mixture to the cupcake liners using a ice cream scoop. 

Put the muffins into the oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown and when a toothpick goes into the center of the muffin in comes out clean.

Let the muffins cool for about 10-15 minutes then enjoy!

Salmon Pasta

During the Summer my family and I go to Deauville to visit our family friends. when we are there we go to the market, shop, and eat amazing food! The dish that I love to have in Deauville is the salmon pasta with crème fraîche. This is something that the french typically make for their children. This is because the crème fraîche makes the pasta creamy, and the salmon adds flavor to the dish that can't be obtained through other fish. I hope you enjoy this French dish that is sure to be a crowd favorite. 

Ingredients:

1 pound linguini pasta

3 tablespoons crème fraîche

3/4 pound salmon

2 lemons

1/8 cup olive oil

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper 

First pre heat the oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit. next place the salmon onto a baking tray lined with non stick aluminum foil. Cut the lemons into circles and place on top of the salmon. Then drizzle with olive oil over the salmon and then sprinkle salt and pepper on top. Cook for 15 minutes or until the salmon is fully cooked. 

Non cooked salmon

Finished salmon

Cook the linguini until fully cooked, then mix with the crème fraîche until the pasta is completely coated. Place a piece of salmon on top of the pasta to serve. (I usually mix the salmon into the pasta)

Enjoy!