Twice Baked Cauliflower

Last night I made one my favorite side dishes. This was something I had found about a month after we started our Ketogenic diet and my husband and I eat it at least once a week. 

Twice Baked Cauliflower consists of every key ingredient in a Ketogenic diet; cauliflower, cheese, cream cheese, sour cream, and bacon. All of your Ketogenic staples in one awesome delicious dish.

Note: I used my food processor to mash the cauliflower instead of a hand mixer. Using a hand mixer will give you a "chunkier" cauliflower mash instead of the smooth consistency the food processor gives. I personally prefer to use a hand mixer but I don't currently own one. Whether you use a hand mixer or food processor, both will still give you a delicious dish, it's just a matter of preference in regards to the consistency of the cauliflower.

We had Italian Sausage and Spicy Cabbage with the Twice Baked Cauliflower making a great meal!

Twice Baked Cauliflower

Ingredients

1/2 head of cauliflower
4 oz cream cheese
1/4 cup sour cream
1/8 cup heavy cream
4 pieces of bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Steam cauliflower until very soft, about 15 minutes.

2. Put cauliflower in food processor with cream cheese, sour cream, and heavy cream. Blend in food processor until well mixed and smooth.

3. Add crumbled bacon and pulse 3 or 4 times to mix in bacon.

4. Transfer cauliflower mixture into a small baking dish. Cover mixture in shredded cheddar cheese and bake for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.

5. Enjoy!

Jalapeno Popper Dip

One of my favorite things to have for dinner is a good dip. When my husband and I first started a keto diet I thought my dip loving days were over. You can't eat dip without chips! Ugh! I suffered for the first month thinking, "Celery is not a good replacement for chips...at all." 

Well, I still don't think it is, BUT bell peppers are a GREAT replacement. I dare say I like them better with certain dips then chips. With the Jalapeno Popper Dip the sweetness from the red and yellow peppers really compliment the hot in the dip, giving it a really good balance. 

My husband and I like a lot of heat in ours so we put in 2 habanero peppers with our jalapenos. I did seed the habanero peppers but did not seed the jalapenos. I don't recommend this unless you want a dip that will clear out your sinuses. Next time I will use 1 habanero and seed everything. That should give the right amount of heat without being too much.

I also used my food processor to cut up the peppers. When taking care of a toddler I don't like taking the chance of having those kind of spicy peppers on my hands in case I don't get it all washed off. I would hate to have habanero peppers on my hands and my son fall and get hurt and have to wash my hands 5 times while he screams because I can't pick him up right away.

 Also, lets be honest, I'm lazy and hate chopping vegetables so this is just WAY easier.

Also, don't forget the cheese. LOTS of cheese. Really with this dip, the more the better.

Jalapeno Popper Dip

Ingredients

8 jalapenos
1 habanero pepper
3 eight ounce packages of cream cheese
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, separated
Celery for dipping
Red, green, and yellow peppers for dipping

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Seed and dice jalapeno peppers and habanero pepper.

2. Combine in a large bowl jalapeno peppers, habanero pepper, cream cheese, mayonnaise, sour cream, and 1/2 a cup of cheddar cheese. Mix well.

3. Transfer dip into a baking dish. Top with the rest of the cheddar cheese.

4. Bake for 12-15 minutes until cheese is bubbling and slightly brown.

5. Enjoy!

The Best Broccoli and Cauliflower Ever!!!

Over the last couple years my husband and I would cook dinner with another couple we had become good friends with. It started when the television show The Walking Dead began and we dubbed Sunday nights "Dinner with the Dead". Even when the show wasn't on we continued every Sunday and always made great, new, amazing food. Our friend was an amazing cook. He had learned a lot of things from his Italian grandmother over the years, and so I learned a lot just watching what he did and helping him in the kitchen. 

About a year ago, during a meal we made, we had brought broccoli as a side. We had no particular idea in mind, just a good vegetable to have. Our friend decided to cut it up, add some oil, salt and pepper and bake it. 

Now, at this point I had done a lot of cooking and was pretty darn good at it. I would find recipes online and no matter how complicated I could do it. I had NEVER heard of baking my vegetables! Oh my goodness was I missing out! This broccoli was the best broccoli I had ever eaten. 

I had been missing out all my life! As years went on I tried baking every vegetable I eat and in my opinion, vegetables are WAY better baked, period. I have yet to find an exception. So I have altered and adjusted a little here and there over the years and have come up with...

The Best Broccoli and Cauliflower Ever!

Ingredients

1 head of broccoli
1/2 head of cauliflower
1/3 cup olive oil
1 T garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut up broccoli and cauliflower into slightly bigger then bite size. If you cut them to small they will burn very quickly. Big pieces are fine, they will shrink a bit as the water bakes out of them.

2. Add olive oil to broccoli and cauliflower and mix together until broccoli and cauliflower are well coated.

3. Spread broccoli and cauliflower onto baking sheet. Sprinkle garlic power, salt, and pepper all over vegetables.

4. Bake at 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes, flipping vegetables about half way through cook time. Broccoli and cauliflower should have a lot of light brown all over them.

5. Enjoy!

Vegetable Casserole

My husband and I began a Ketogenic diet about 6 months ago. It was working wonderfully for weight loss until a few months ago when we found out my husband has high cholesterol. After a lot of research, I found that a Paleo diet would serve our needs the best, my weight loss needs and my husbands cholesterol needs. As I read many other blogs over the last month or so, adjusting to a Paleo diet seemed like a lot of work. BUT, it seems to make a lot of sense and seems like the solution to our health issues not only in the short term but also realistic in the long term. (I encourage everyone to look into all options for their own diets. Every person is different and you need to find what meets your family's needs.)

We went with a modified/combo version of Keto and Paleo. I brought down the bacon from the Keto diet but kept up cheese. No potatoes, pasta, rice, bread, or sugar. Nothing processed. Ok, I'm not unrealistic, sometimes we do have things that are processed, but it is rare, and usually only in a pinch. So, here is a casserole I made tonight for dinner.

Vegetable Casserole

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 2-quart baking dish.

Chop broccoli and slice carrots. I like to take the time to chop all the vegetables at the same time. I'm in the chopping mode, just keep it going.

Steam broccoli and carrots until crisp-tender. I have been told that it takes around 3 minutes, but mine took about 6 minutes.

While the broccoli and carrots are steaming, combine cheddar, mayo, hot sauce, and pepper in large bowl and mix well. My husband and I like heat, so I added WAY more than 3 drops of hot sauce.

Add steamed broccoli and carrots, zuchinni, celery, bell pepper, onion, parsley, and basil to cheddar mixture and mix well. Spoon into baking dish.

Due to our diet restrictions I don't keep bread crumbs, crackers, or potato chips in the house but this casserole needed a crunchy top. I do keep croutons, though. (I know, NOT Keto or Paleo but I can't eat salad without them and I eat a lot of salad. I figure a couple won't kill me.) I took about 10-12 croutons and put them in my food processor, using the pulse button until it became fine.

I mixed those with half a cup of parmesan cheese and sprinkled it on top of the casserole.

Bake until hot and slightly brown on top, about 30-40 minutes.

I used this as a side dish, so I cooked some kielbasi and added a side salad with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. My husband had two helpings!

Enjoy!

Vegetable Casserole

2 cups broccoli florets

2 large sliced carrots

1 cup shredded cheddar

1 cup mayonnaise

3 drops hot sauce

1/4 tsp pepper

1 sliced zuchinni

1 stalk celery, sliced

1/2 cup green pepper, chopped

1/2 c onion, chopped

1 T Parsley

1 T Basil

10-12 Croutons

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 2-quart baking dish.

2. Steam broccoli and carrots until crisp-tender. About 3 minutes.

3. Combine cheddar, mayo, hot sauce, and pepper in a large bowl and mix well.

4. Add broccoli, carrots, zuchinni, celery, bell pepper, onion, parsley, and basil to cheddar mixture and mix well. Spoon into baking dish.

5. Put croutons in food processor and pulse until fine. Stir in parmesan cheese. Sprinkle over casserole.

6. Bake in oven about 30-40 minutes, until hot and bubbly.