good things, cupcake friday

last night we had cauliflower crust pizza.

i can't help but take a picture of it.

we love it, each and every time. what can i say.

this sweet face before school today.
all he wanted to do was sleep in.
i promised him that he could do it this weekend,
which we all know won't happen.

a last minute coffee date with a neighbor today.

cupcake friday.

dark chocolate cupcakes filled with peanut butter.

i don't think life gets much better than that.

pretty much this is all i've heard since i picked boyd up from school today...

what if everything looked like a butt?

that bus looks like a butt.

pretzels look like butts.

what if pretzels tasted like butts.

mom, you're a butt head.

{he got into trouble for that one}.

butt farts, 

butt butt butt, 

butt 
butt 
butt 
butt 
butt.

and then when i was getting him out of the tub tonight, i made the mistake of saying,
stop farting around.

i LOVE having a little boy.

i truly do.

good night.

love,

nicolle

tuesday

i know the blues can come and go, and i probably shouldn't have written about them yesterday, because today was much better, but it is what it is. so, thanks for listening.

in boyd's defense, we were headed to swim, but we stopped at a bookstore/coffee shop first, and he insisted that he had to keep his life jacket on. so i let him, of course.

then i ordered a skinny mocha frappe and i don't think the man really knew what i wanted, and i forgot to tell him no topping. and after all that, i am pretty sure i got a frozen hot chocolate. so we had a few sips, but i wasn't up for all of that sugar, so that was kind of a waste. but, the cup was cute. and so were the coffee beans on top.

and boyd was even cuter.

then we swam for 5 hours, and it was a good day.

tonight i made one of our favorites, and you probably know what it is before i even tell you, but i have to say, it's the best cauliflower crust pizza that i have made to date. i don't know why. maybe the fact that often i use cheddar because that is what we have, but mozzarella is a must for the crust and the topping.
anyway, here it is. it was so very good.

boyd likes to get himself out of the tub now, dry off, and all that stuff. i'm trying to get him to put his own jammies on too. sometimes he will and sometimes he wants me to do it. tonight he kept asking me to do it, and i kept telling him to do it. he finally said, 

yeah but don't you want to be like a mommy?

and of course that kind of melted me, so i did it for him.

love,

nicolle

cauliflower crust pizza

here i go again.
i've talked about this pizza, many times.

we kind of got burned out on this pizza, so i stopped making it for a while. 

i made it tonight, and it was just as good as ever.

i have tweaked the recipe many times, so here is how i make it now, and have made it this way the past several times. and it always turns out just right.

cauliflower crust pizza

16 oz bag of frozen cauliflower {walmart, great value brand, i get 3 crusts from this},

partially defrosted on counter, rough chop until the size of rice, pat out moisture with a paper towel.
get the moisture out. this gives you a drier crust. you can also put the cauliflower in a cheesecloth and wring out the moisture. just get out as much as you can.
{you do not cook it first}.

measure out 1 cup of the cauliflower, not packed, just lightly placed into your measuring cup.

mix it in a bowl with 1 egg and 1 cup of finely shredded mozzarella cheese, and season with dried oregano, dried italian seasoning, dried basil, whatever you like. i add a generous amount of seasoning. 

mix very well.
{if not mixed well, you will have a strong egg taste in the crust}.

pat out your crust onto a piece of parchment paper, on a pizza tray.
i have tried foil, lots of spray, a pizza stone, and it all stuck. parchment paper is a must.
you don't want the crust too thin, maybe 6 or 7 inches in diameter, packed tightly.

cook at 450 for 15-17 minutes, until it starts to brown.
i like a nice golden brown all over the top. 
take it out of the oven, and loosen it underneath, with a spatula.
then put your sauce and toppings on, and place it back in the oven just to melt the cheese and heat through.
{i add no salt added canned tomato sauce, more dried seasoning, mozzarella, bacon and pepperoni}.

it's a great substitute for pizza dough, and it has a really hearty taste.
it can be held and eaten just like a regular piece of pizza.
i've heard people complain that it doesn't taste like bread at all, and of course it doesn't, but it's a wonderful no carb alternative to regular pizza. it works as leftovers, it holds up well, and it tastes delicious. 
enjoy.

note: i don't use pizza sauce. i use a small can of no salt added tomato sauce, and season it with the same seasonings that i do my crust.

earlier today, i took boyd to the speedway to watch the nascar trucks practice.
this weekend the summer races are here in texas.
it's not a big camping out weekend, but it's still a good one.
the indy cars are also here, they go fast, we love them.
it was a cool and cloudy day today.
boyd wanted to run up and down the bleachers,
he kept asking why the race cars were going so slow {it was the racetrack maintenance crew before the trucks came out}, twenty times he wanted to know where jeff gordon was {he is not here this weekend},
then he got annoyed with the gnats and the noise and with me,
and it started to sprinkle on us.
we stayed for most of the practice, i laughed at him a lot, it was fun.

we left there and went to the indoor trampoline park.
he sure does love it, but it's so expensive, so i told him it might be an every other week kind of thing for us.
we came home and had our 10 minutes of quiet time.
{boyd is going to be mad at me when he finds out what 10 minutes really is. i usually get a good hour or so of quiet time out of him}. and we played outside the rest of the day.

that is all.
it was a good day.

love,
nicolle

stuff

good morning.
it's weird that coffee tastes different when there is snow on the ground.
different, as in even better.

it started sleeting around 3 am, hard.
that lasted several hours,
then we woke up to snow on top of that.
but it's way too cold and gusty to go out.
not sure if i will brave it today so boyd can play in it.
i definitely could not live where some of you do!
this is fun for a couple of days,
a couple of times each winter. ha.
i guess this texas girl just prefers it warmer.


boyd last night,
brushing his teeth.
he loves using his new step stool.


have i ever mentioned how much i love his curls,
and fuzzy footed pj's on him,
and his big smile,
and his fiesty nature,
and everything about him!


don't these look good.
i'm crazy about this stuff.
i made breadsticks out of the cauliflower pizza crust, updated recipe here.
these are so good and so healthy.
{original recipe that i used, here}.
i just shaped my crust into a rectangle for the breadsticks.

i made my own marinara sauce.
a can of crushed tomatoes, some italian seasoning,
black pepper and garlic powder and onion powder,
and a dash of artificial sweetener.
simmer for about an hour on the stove.


i finally found the answer to making the crust 100% non-stick.
parchment paper.
thanks to lots of time on the internet,
and several ruined crusts,
i ran across a blogger that uses it.
no sprays or oil needed.
it was a miracle.


tip: for the cauliflower, you don't need a ricer,
you don't have to buy fresh,
and you don't have to cook it first.
you can just thaw a bag of frozen cauliflower,
and chop it very finely with a large knife.
pat it dry with paper towels, the less moisture, the better. 
then proceed with the recipe.
one small bag will make 3 crusts.

note: the more you season your breadsticks or crust, the better it will be. i have read some reviews of these that people pinned on pinterest. if you make them and think they are going to taste like bread, then you won't like them. they are just a healthy alternative to breadsticks, and we actually love them. they have a healthy, hearty taste to them. enjoy.

and, stay warm.