Mr. Prevention and I never have Valentine’s Day plans. To me, the holiday generally ends up like most New Years Eves – total hype for no good reason. I mean, I’m all for flowers and a sweet card, but this year I was way more excited when Mr. P and I planned an evening out to the casino and a swanky steakhouse.
When I was checking out the menu online, the aged steaks started at 14 ounces a piece and as a take-it-or-leave-it red meat eater, my eyes didn’t light up until perusing the seafood portion of the menu. And you KNOW the place is swanky when the sides are all ordered separate and the price of crab is based on the individual leg. I was pretty pumped for my king crab meal and a truly “wow” meal.
After a poorly planned lunch around the baby’s nap schedule, however, we ended up getting to the casino and playing blackjack, waiting out our appetites. We pushed back our reservation on Open Table several times, and all the way back to 10:45pm. Yet, we still weren’t hungry and couldn’t justify the spendy, swanky meal when we couldn’t truly enjoy it.
Valentine’s Day fail. Maybe next year…
Instead, we ended up at a little burger and sub joint and I had the best turkey burger I’ve ever had. It had turkey bacon and avocado and yep, it was just simple, fresh, and good. It hit the spot which is surprising given that I was all geared up for a fancy seafood meal.
This soup is much of the same for me – simple, fresh, and good. The cayenne adds an unexpected heat that we very much so enjoyed, but if heat isn’t your thing…go without. I love the simple ingredient list and this creamy, sinless soup is less than 150 calories per serving. Gluten-free, low-carb, and vegetarian, too!
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 medium head cauliflower, trimmed and cut into 1½-inch pieces
- 4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth6 servings
- 6 oz part-skim sharp white cheddar, grated
- ¼ tsp salt and ground pepper, to taste
- ⅛ tsp cayenne pepper
- In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 8 minutes. Add cauliflower and cook until just beginning to brown, about 12 minutes. Add broth and 1 cup water; bring to a boil, increasing the heat to high. Once boiling, reduce heat and simmer until cauliflower is very tender, 20 minutes.
- In batches, fill a blender halfway with mixture and puree until smooth, or alternately, puree soup with an immersion blender. Return pureed soup to pot and heat over medium until warmed through; add cheese and stir until melted. Season with salt, pepper, and cayenne.
Yep, my husband and I went out once ond only once for V-day. I made the reservation at a restaurant I’ve always wanted to try, only to find out that it was a pre-fix menu – no substitutions and $150 pp., without drink! We ended up staying, it was delicious, but close to $400 with tip and we walked out of there hungry.
It wasn’t until we were walking to the car that I thought “we just spent the equivalent to one months groceries!”
Glad you had a good burger though!
Yep, Valentine’s Day is a bunch of hype. However, this year, my husband got me a Garmin Vivofit which I was super excited about! It’s usually chocolate covered strawberries, so this was way better 🙂