Loaded Cauliflower

I thought this was a pretty yummy dish, but it was met with mixed reviews at my dinner table.  My husband loved it. One of my children (the adventurous one) hated it.  I thought it tasted good, as long as you were honest about the fact that it was cauliflower, and not potatoes.  See, a lot of folks are currently wrapped up in this idea that you can make cauliflower look and taste just like other foods (like potatoes, or rice, or pizza crust).  I’ve never been successfully fooled.  As long as you expect and accept that this is going to taste like a delicious variation of your standard cauliflower, I think you will be pleased with the results.  I am not at all a cauliflower fan, but i did enjoy this, and it definitely tasted richer than I would expect from 168 calories!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb bag of cauliflower “pearls” (*see note below)
• 1 container (5.3 oz) of plain nonfat greek yogurt
• 6 TBSP Neufchatel cheese (1/3 less fat cream cheese)
• ¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 4 slices of center cut bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 1 tbsp dried chives
• Salt and pepper to taste

*Cauliflower “pearls” are basically just pre-cut pieces of cauliflower that are sold in a bag in the produce section. If your store doesn’t sell prepared cauliflower pearls, just cut up a head of cauliflower, and pulse it in the food processor until the pieces are about the size of bb’s.

Directions:

1. Cook Cauliflower pearls in the microwave according to package directions (or if you’re making your own cauliflower pearls- microwave on high about 9 minutes)
2. Carefully remove the cauliflower from the microwave and pour into a medium size bowl.
3. I like to mash the cauliflower up slightly with a potato masher, but this is totally optional. It’s not going to become “mashed potato” texture as a result, but just a little smoother than not mashing. The texture will still be lumpy unless you take a mixer to it, but I don’t like the way that turns out…so here we are, just slightly smooshing….
4. Stir in the cream cheese (Neufchatel), the yogurt, the bacon, and ½ a cup of the shredded cheese. Mix well along with the salt and pepper to taste.
5. Pour the whole thing into a small baking dish that has been sprayed with Pam. I use something smaller than your standard 9×9, like a medium casserole dish.
6. Spread the cauliflower mixture evenly in the dish, and sprinkle remaining ¼ cup of chees on the top.
7. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes. If cheese starts to get too brown on top, just cover with foil for remaining time.

Makes 5 servings= 168 calories per serving 

Tags: cauliflower, cauliflower and cheese, cauliflower pearls, cauliflower rice, easy loaded cauliflower, loaded cauliflower, low calorie loaded cauliflower, mashed cauliflower