We took two weeks off for Christmas Break and did nothing. We stayed home, lounged in our pajamas, watched movies, built Legos, played games, and made a lot of food.
Between running our design agency, juggling the kids’ activities, running the Sacramento WordPress Meetup Group, going out on date nights, organizing WordCamp Sacramento, writing for the Inspired Imperfection blog, and working on some personal brand projects that will finally see the light of day this year, things get pretty busy and we don’t have a lot of time that isn’t accounted for.
But I’m committed to this blog and this brand — and really, I just really enjoy working on it and creating for it. That means I have to be strategic about my content creation. That meant cooking a whole bunch while I had some downtime to stock pile recipes for those weeks when we’re really busy and I don’t have time to cook something new.
In those two weeks, just a few things we made include Ruth’s Chris Sweet Potato Casserole, Barbecue Bacon Cheddar Potato Rounds, No Bake Peanut Butter Bars, and Cocoa Krispie Treats.
We also made 20 different kinds of waffles.
By the end of our staycation, Brian said no more! No more desserts and waffles. We’ve got Hawaii on the horizon and it’s time to cut back on the sweets and amp up our vegetable intake.
The first thing I wanted to try was a side dish. I like pairing something new with something tried and true just in case the new recipe I make is a bust and it’s gross. Thankfully this new side dish — Cauliflower Broccoli Rice — wasn’t a bust. In fact, it was surprisingly good. Brian has already asked me to make it again and Natalie even liked it too!
I didn’t really believe that vegetables could taste like rice. I figured it was one of those “kind of like it but not really” things, but I was wrong. The texture and consistency of the Cauliflower Broccoli Rice was very much like real rice.
Making Cauliflower Broccoli Rice
The first step is reducing the cauliflower and broccoli down to tiny pieces that are a close to the size of rice without turning them into a mushy mess that’s more like a mash. I cut the head of cauliflower and the head of broccoli into small pieces, and pulsed a little bit at a time in my Vitamix blender, transferring each small batch into a large skillet.
Once the cauliflower and broccoli were prepped, I drizzled olive oil and a little butter over the top of the vegetables and mixed it all in until all of the veggies were coated and turned on the stove to medium heat. I cooked the mixture for about 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently. I then added salt, pepper, onion flakes, garlic, Italian seasoning, and lemon juice, turned the heat up to high, and cooked the vegetable rice for another 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently. The final step was to add some vegetable broth and let the entire mixture simmer on low-medium heat for another 4-5 minutes.
I served this alongside a Parmesan Breaded Chicken Breast and the entire meal was delicious! I was shocked my daughter like Cauliflower Broccoli Rice… we’ll definitely be making this again.
Cauliflower Broccoli Rice
A new twist on eating your veggies!
Prep Time
Cook Time
Total Time
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower
- 2 heads broccoli
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter/ghee
- 4 cloves garlic, pressed
- 1 tablespoon onion flakes
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup vegetable broth
Instructions
- Cut the head of cauliflower and the heads of broccoli into small pieces. Pulse a little bit at a time in a food processor, reducing the cauliflower and broccoli down to tiny pieces the size of rice. Transfer each small batch into a large skillet.
- Drizzle olive oil and butter over the top of the vegetables. Mix it in until the vegetables are coated evenly. Turned on the stove to medium heat. Cooked the mixture for 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add salt, pepper, onion flakes, garlic, Italian seasoning, and lemon juice. Turn the heat up to high. Cook vegetable rice for another 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add vegetable broth and simmer over low-medium heat for another 4-5 minutes.
Notes:
Be very careful when pulsing your cauliflower and broccoli. If you do it too much, the vegetables will be too fine and will make more of a mash than a rice.
I used an entire head of cauliflower and three small heads of broccoli and my skillet was really full. If you use less than that and your pan isn't as full, you could reduce your cook time in each stage by 1-2 minutes.
