Chili Dog Cauliflower Mac and Cheese
8.2g
Net Carbs
19.0g
Protein
35.2g
Fat
3.7g
Fiber
434
Calories
Cooking tip: This is possibly the easiest cheese sauce ever and comes together quickly. The only issue to consider is that you don’t want to overheat the cream before adding the other ingredients or it could tip the sauce toward separating. Just look for a nice steam from the cream, then add cream cheese and dry ground mustard, stirring until melted and incorporated.
Ingredients:
- 6 cups (642g) fresh cauliflower
- 1 1/4 teaspoon salt, divided
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 3 tablespoons cream cheese
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1 teaspoon minced or pressed fresh garlic, divided
- 3/8 teaspoon ground black pepper, divided
- 1/4 teaspoon tabasco hot sauce
- 1 1/8 cups (127g) shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/3 cup (53g) chopped yellow onion
- 2 small (28g) fresh jalapenos, divided
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 3/4 teaspoon cumin
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 pound ground beef (85% lean)
- 8-ounces no sugar added hot dogs
- 10-ounce can diced tomatoes with green chilies
- 1/4 cup (1-ounce) shredded Monterey Jack Cheese
- 1/3 cup (50g) fresh cherry tomatoes, sliced
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 375°F and prepare an 8-inch by 8-inch baking dish with olive oil spray. Heat a large pot of water to boiling and add 1/2 tsp salt.
- Remove stem and leaves from cauliflower. Cut into small bite sized pieces and place in boiling water. Cook until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Drain well then pat between paper towels to remove all moisture.
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, warm cream until steaming. Whisk cream cheese and powdered mustard into the warm cream until fully melted and smooth. Stir in ½ teaspoon garlic, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and hot sauce. Whisk in all but 1/4 cup of shredded cheese until fully melted; about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the cauliflower.
- Pour into the baking dish and bake for 15 minutes until browned and bubbly.
- While the cauliflower is baking, in a medium skillet over medium heat warm olive oil. Add onion, sautéing until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add remaining 1/2 teaspoon garlic and 1 minced jalapeno, sautéing until fragrant, 30 seconds. Sprinkle with chili powder, cumin, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, cayenne, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper, stirring until evenly coated and fragrant. Push vegetables to the edges of the pan and add ground beef, breaking into crumbles and cooking until evenly browned, about 5 minutes. Add sliced hot dogs, canned tomatoes with green chili, stir to combine and continue to cook until thickened and hot dogs are heated through, another 10 minutes.
- Layer chili dog mixture on cauliflower, top with Monterey jack cheese, sliced fresh jalapeno, sliced cherry tomatoes and serve while warm. One serving is about 3/4 cup cheesy cauliflower topped with 1/2 cup chili dog mixture.
