Cheesy Cauliflower-Sausage Casserole

[Ammy]

I found a "hash brown" casserole (http://www.lowcarbfriends.com/recipereview/showproduct.php/product/3821/sort/8/cat/all/page/1)recipe on another site and thought it sounded really good as a breakfast casserole.
But I had to make some adjustments to it so that it had more protein...so here's my adjusted recipe...good for a "one-bowl meal".

Cheese Cauliflower-Sausage Casserole
1 Med. head of Cauliflower
1/2 c. real bacon bits
1 can Campbell's Cream of Celery Soup (an cream soup will work, but the celery is very low in carbs)
1/2 c. sour cream
1/4 c. heavy cream
3 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1 lb pork and bacon sausage *
1 lb ground turkey or chicken **
1 small sweet onion, chopped
salt and pepper, to taste

Wash cauliflower and cut up into florets. Steam until tender.
Drain well and chop up into "hash brown" size pieces (a hand masher works great).
Add bacon bits and put into greased casserole dish.
Brown meat with onion until done, drain.
In a bowl, mix cream of celery soup with sour cream and heavy cream. Add shredded cheese and mix well.
Mix all ingredients and put in casserole dish.

Bake in 350 degree oven for approx. 30 mins until bubbly and browned on top.

Makes 8 servings...Per serving:

Calories: 580.6
Fat: 46.2
Saturated Fat: 21.2
Polyunsaturated Fat: 2.5
Monounsaturated Fat: 7.7
Carbohydrates: 9.6 (ecc: 7.4)
Fiber: 2.2
Protein: 32

If the calories are too high, you could easily cut back on the cheese (but I LOVE cheese).

Here are the counts if you cut the cheese in HALF (1.5cup cheese):

Calories: 495
Fat: 39.16
Saturated Fat: 16.7
Polyunsaturated Fat: 2.35
Monounsaturated Fat: 5.75
Carbohydrates: 9.3 (ecc: 7.1)
Fiber: 2.2
Protein: 26.76


* Whenever a recipe calls for sausage, I use Farmland pork and bacon sausage. It's very "fatty" but it is the absolute MOST flavorful sausage I have every eaten. It's found in the freezer section near breakfast meat.

** I chose a low fat meat to counteract the fatty sausage. You can use 2lbs of any meat you would like, but be sure to adjust the counts to work with the meat you chose.

[Gaelen]

Amy, this is Dutch oven material--I bet it would work just perfectly in my 10" oven over the campfire.

I tend to think about good camping recipes when it's 20 degrees or lower... ;)

[Ammy]

Ooooo....what a GREAT idea!!
MMmmmmm.
I can just smell it cooking over an open fire.

[Lucille]

this is the recipe I ended up cooking yesterday morning, i omitted the cream, I used honey garlic sausage and ground chicken, cauliflower and all the other ingredients, I was so surprised after I ate one small bowl at about 10 am, i wasnt hungry all day. I had to make myself eat more later. I wasnt hungry. now if I made my regular stew with potatoes, i would have eatn several meals and still felt hungry. and this was delicious! It gave me that feeling that i was eating "comfort food"...very satisfying, and I will make it again. I will vary ingredients for variety.

[Billie]

i can't wait to try this Amy, thanks!

[LulaZula]

Thanks for this great idea!

I don't usually use any kind of condensed canned soups, and when I went to buy some, I happened to be at the Whole Foods Market and they don't seem to have any.

So, I added chopped celery and mushrooms (about 1/2 cup each) to the sauteeing onion. Added seasoning: garlic powder, coriander, salt and pepper. And doubled the cream and sour cream.

I used ground turkey breast (1.66 lb package) and mild chorizos (taken out of their casings).

And I only mixed in 2 cups of the cheddar, and the last cup I sprinkled on top of the casserole.

This was fantastic - higher fat, calories, and protein, and about the same amount of carbs - as the original. According to my calculations, for 1/8 of the casserole, the stats are:
Cal 711.7,
Fat 54.2 g
Carb 9.7 g (ECC 8g)
Dietary Fiber 1.7 g
Protein 45.3 g

Both my kids and husband ate with delight - it was delish.

[gitfiddle]

Sounds delicious, Lula. It's true you don't have to use the soup. The possibilities are endless.