Breaded Cauliflower

I just had this craving for cauliflower. When my hubs and I used to live in our own home, I would eat LOTS of veggies (I never had to share with hubby, because he doesn't like them), but now I have to share with the other people in the house who also love their veggies. So, needless to say, I am having less vegetables than I am used to- hence the craving. I have a vague memory of some cauliflower that my Grandma Betty once made that had some bread crumbs on it. I remember it was so yummy, so I decided to try it out. It came out so tasty...I will definitley make it again.

Breaded Cauliflower

1 head of cauliflower
3 Tbsp butter or margarine (I used Smart Taste butter substitute)- you probably could use olive oil and you may need more of the butter or olive oil depending on the size of the head of cauliflower you use (you basically want it to be coated so the breadcrumbs will stick)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt (or more to taste)
1/4 cup breadcrumbs (or more depending on size of cauliflower)

1. Preheat oven to 400 F
2. In medium-large pot, bring water to boil. Add cauliflower to boiling water and cook until desired tenderness. Drain cauliflower.
3. In a large bowl, melt butter (or just add olive oil). Add salt and garlic powder and stir to combine. Add cauliflower to butter mixture and toss to coat.
4. Pour breadcrumbs (I used italian seasoned) over coated cauliflower and stir to coat.
5. Arrange breaded cauliflower onto baking sheet. Bake at 400F until bread crumbs are lightly browned.

Spiced Apple Cookies

My hubby is pretty good at buying something for a snack that he is so excited about, to only turn around a few days later and tell me he is sick of this snack. It generally leaves me to either eat it, throw it away, or use it in a recipe. The most recent snack he bought was a large bag of Honeycrisp apples from Sams. He thought he could finish them all. He was quite disappointed as these apples didn't have as much flavor as the ones they sell at Publix. He ate a few, but with about 5 apples left, he decided he couldn't eat another apple. What to do? Well, I came across a few recipes I wanted to try, but these apple cookies looked different and yummy, so I tried it out. They were AMAZING! My family kept coming back for more. I brought them to work and they were gobbled up there too! Definitley a recipe I will make again.
I modified the recipe on Sweet Pea's Kitchen blog

Spiced Apple Cookies

1/2 cup shortening
1 1/3 cups packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup finely diced peeled apple- I might use more apple next time
1 cup golden raisins (you can use regular if you'd prefer or none at all)

Maple glaze

1-1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 to 3 teaspoons milk
1 Tbsp (or more to taste) maple syrup

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease cookie sheets (I used 2)
2. Cream shortening and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and milk and beat until combined.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves. Add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in nuts, apple and raisins.
4. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls one inch apart onto greased baking sheets. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until edges begin to brown. Allow to cool prior to glazing.
5. In a small bowl, combine the confectioners’ sugar, butter, vanilla, salt, maple syrup, and milk. Drizzle over cooled cookies.