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Wednesday, April 16, 2014

White Cheddar Cauliflower Bake -- Low Carb & Grain-Free

It was a chilly day here today. It was only 32 degrees when I headed to work this morning and it only made it up into the 50s. Quite a drastic drop from our 80 degree weather over the weekend where we got tricked into pulling out our shorts and flip-flops only to have to unpack the turtleneck sweaters again this morning! It felt like a pretty cruel joke Mother Nature played on us! For dinner tonight, I was in the mood for a little comfort food with our sudden cold snap. I had a small head of cauliflower in the fridge that needed to be used as well as a big block of sharp white cheddar cheese. I thought about making mashed cauliflower with white cheddar but decided to put together a quick little "skillet bake" with them instead. I created a simple White Cheddar Cauliflower Bake and baked it in a skillet. When hubby got home, he grilled some boneless chicken thighs that I lightly sprayed with olive oil and sprinkled with Spicy Montreal Steak Seasoning. While he was grilling, I planned to make a green vegetable to go with our meal but realized I had some avocados that needed to be used...so the "green" on my plate became avocado (which is actually a fruit, not a vegetable). I snapped a few photos for you to see below and the recipe for the cauliflower bake. Enjoy!








White Cheddar Cauliflower Bake

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil or coconut oil
1 small head of cauliflower, cut into 1-inch pieces (about 4 cups), steamed and drained
1/2 cup heavy cream
3 large eggs, beaten
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
1/2 teaspoon sea salt 
Black pepper, to taste
2 cups shredded sharp white cheddar cheese, divided

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Generously grease a 10-inch nonstick ovenproof skillet with oil. Add steamed cauliflower to skillet and spread evenly in pan. 

In a medium bowl, beat cream, eggs, Parmesan, almond flour, mustard, salt and pepper until well blended; stir in 1 cup shredded cheddar. Pour egg mixture over top of the cauliflower.  Top with remaining 1 cup cheddar cheese.

Bake uncovered at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown.

12 comments:

  1. Do you think this could be done in a dutch oven? I do not have an ovenproof skillet.

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  2. Hi Shannon -- yes, providing your dutch oven is ovenproof (which I'm assuming it is). You could just as easily scoop it out of a dutch oven as you could a skillet! :-)

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  3. I think this will replace our traditional cheesy potatoes with our Easter Ham!

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  4. This recipe sounds delicious. My browser said "Problem loading page" when I clicked on your link for the ovenproof skillet. I'd like to purchase one since I don't presently own one. Which 10-inch nonstick ovenproof skillet do you use?

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  5. Hi Kathy -- sorry about that -- I just fixed the link. I use a Calphalon unison skillet (the 10-inch). I have both the 8 and 10-inch. I probably use the 10-inch one the most but the 8-inch is nice for a couple of servings of eggs or a small frittata, etc. :-)

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  6. Great idea, Susan! You could bump up the cheese in this recipe, too -- the more cheese, the better! ;-)

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  7. This was a fantastic addition to our Easter spread today! My kids gobbled it up. Thanks for the recipe!

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  8. Hi Jesse -- Thanks, so glad everyone enjoyed it. I really love the fact that your kids gobbled it up too. I find it amazing that when veggies are presented and served like this, kids will go for them like "macaroni and cheese"...but instead of empty calories, they are getting all kinds of nutrition AND enjoying it. Oh how I wish I would have known this when my 3 kids were little. Instead of just serving plain veggies on the side of a meal...make veggies a special side dish instead! So glad they enjoyed it. :-)

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  9. What is the calorie count for this? I see you use 2 cups of cheddar cheese and heavy cream.

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  10. Hi there Anonymous -- I don't count calories. I follow the Wheat Belly plan and we count carbs. I actually dropped lots of weight with the inclusion of fat, just no wheat, grains, or added sugar and counting carbs (approximately 50 net carbs per day). If you follow a low fat plan, you can easily modify it to reduce the fat (milk instead of cream and either less cheese or low fat). If you want to figure out the calories, here is a calculator I like to use: http://caloriecount.about.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php

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  11. This looks so pretty too. It isn't mentioned, but is that a dusting of paprika on top? Or, is that just the way it looks when it comes out of the oven?

    Haven't made this yet (we are going to be the "guinea pigs" this weekend to see if this would make a good side dish to take to a Thanksgiving dinner next week). If it passes the test, it will be doubled & baked in a huge casserole dish.

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  12. Hi there,

    Yes, you are correct...it is a dusting of paprika on top! I tend to do that when making any type of cheese topped casserole because it adds nice color. I hope you enjoy it! :-)

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