was my side dish tonight.  I’ve recently found I like cauliflower!  I found a recipe I liked, but tweaked it a bit with what I had on hand and to bring the calories/fat content down.

  • 4 slices cooked bacon, chopped
  • 1.5 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
  • 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
  • 1 head of cauliflower, but into florets (mine ended up being 4 cups)
  • 4 ounces reduced fat cream cheese
  • 1/8 cup heavy cream
  • 1/8 cup fat free half and half
  • salt and cracked pepper to taste
  1. Mix bacon, 1/2 cup of the cheddar cheese and Italian seasoning in a small bowl for the topping.
  2. Preheat oven to 350.  Bring 4 quarts of water to boil, add 1 tablespoon of salt to the water, throw the chopped cauliflower in and cook for about 7 minutes until its tender.  Drain and then transfer to cutting board and chop into small pieces.
  3. Melt cream cheese in the now empty pot over low heat.  Stir in heavy cream, half and half and remainder of cheddar cheese until combined.  Add salt and pepepr to taste.  Transfer to a baking dish and sprinkle with topping, and bake until browned and bubbly, about 15 minutes.

This made 6 servings for me, each one coming in at 193 calories, 15 fat, 5 carbs, 1.8 fiber and 10.1 protein (thank you cheese!)  This really tasted like macaroni and cheese to me! 

I served it with my Classic Roast Beef and Gravy – turned out EXACTLY like the first time!!  And while I love the meat, this side dish really stole the show.  So much so, that Hannah said “don’t ever lose this recipe!”

by adding just 1/8 a cup of heavy cream really gave the cauliflower dish richness
by adding just 1/8 a cup of heavy cream really gave the cauliflower dish richness
out of the oven - I ended up finishing this off under the broiler for a few minutes
out of the oven - I ended up finishing this off under the broiler for a few minutes
perfect medium rare roast beef on the side (my portion was 4 ounces) with green beans and one serving of the casserole
perfect medium rare roast beef on the side (my portion was 4 ounces) with green beans and one serving of the casserole

My whole dinner was 451 calories, 23 fat and 9.1 carbs

Stats for the Day:

  • 1441 calories
  • 66 fat
  • 84 carbs
  • 12 fiber (need to boost that a bit!)
  • 122 protein

So Hannah is off baking a chocolate cake with vanilla frosting.  I may switch back and forth for the Grammy’s, but now a days I don’t know half the people who are even on that show!

Check out my new favorite blogger Stephanie at A Year of Crockpotting.  She’s got an amazing giveaway going on!   And she has some tasty crockpot recipes to boot!

Hope everyone had a good weekend, see in you the am!