Cheesy Cauliflower Delights

Today, I went a little crazy with cauliflower. I found this recipe for low-carb cauliflower pizza dough awhile back and have been meaning to try it ever since. Well, today was the day and let me tell you, it was DELISH!! I know, sounds weird, right? I thought so too, but I thought, hey, I'll give it a shot. Somehow the "dough" (1 c cauliflower, 1 c shredded mozzarella, and 1 egg) turns into something resembling a crust in the oven! It must be the egg. It's the weirdest damn thing. Anyway, here's the recipe:

Sleevey's Pizza 

Crust:
1 c. frozen cauliflower, prepared as directed on package and grated
1 c. part skim mozzarella
1 egg
Toppings:
2 c. part skim mozz
1/2 c marinara sauce
17 sl. Hormel turkey pepperoni
1/2 c sl. black olives
(you could of course use more or different toppings...just adjust the nutrition counts as necessary!)

Preheat oven to 400, and prepare a cookie sheet by spraying with Pam. Mix crust ingredients and press them evenly onto the cookie sheet (it won't take up the whole sheet, just form it into a circle or rectangle or octagon or whatever floats your boat). Bake for 12-15 min. Remove from oven and allow to cool a little - 15 min or so. Spread 1/2 c marinara sauce over the pizza (or pizza sauce, if you prefer - marinara is what I had on hand). Layer w/ 1 c. of mozzarella, then pepperoni and olives, then the rest of the cheese. Bake or broil (I guess the crust stays crisper if you broil) until cheese is melted and slightly browned. REVEL IN CHEESY PIZZA GOODNESS!

Whole recipe = 1005 cals, 69 fat, 26 carbs, 103 protein
Makes 10 sleeve-friendly servings: 100 cals, 7 fat, 2.6 carbs, 10 protein
Pizza crust alone = 455 cal, 28.5 fat, 6 carbs, 40 protein

So, what to do with the rest of the cauliflower, I asked myself? After all, a 20 oz bag of frozen cauliflower actually yields 3 cups grated and I've only used one. Then I thought, some people make mac and cheese with cauliflower, right? And I have been jonesing for homemade mac and cheese ever since I saw Paula Deen make it on tv a few days ago...so I looked up some recipes (yes, including Paula's) and created my very own sleeve-friendly mac and cheese. Just a warning, if you hate cauliflower, you will hate this. The cauliflower flavor is not totally disguised like it is in the pizza crust. But I happen to like cauliflower, and I think it blends in remarkably well. Also, no, this is not the healthiest food ever. But it is better than regular mac and cheese! This is the decadent version. Next time I may try 2% cheddar (saving 320 cals for the whole batch) and maybe add some lean ham or LF turkey hot dogs for protein. I bet you could also use skim milk and it would make very little difference, flavor-wise.

Sleevey's Mac and Cheese
1 c. uncooked macaroni noodles
2 c. frozen cauliflower, prepared as directed on the package and grated
2 T butter
2 T flour (I used whole wheat, but I doubt it actually matters
2 c. milk (I used 2%)
salt and pepper to taste
a few drops of Tabasco
2 c. shredded cheddar, divided

Heat oven to 350 and prepare a baking dish by spraying it with Pam. Prepare the macaroni al dente (a minute or two less than it says on the package). Rinse with cold water and allow to drain. Mix with cauliflower in a large bowl and set aside. Make a roux with the butter and flour (melt butter, whisk in the flour until it's smooth) and slowly add the milk. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens slightly. Whisk in salt, pepper, and Tabasco. Add 1 c. shredded cheddar, whisking until smooth. Pour cheese mixture over noodle mixture and gently combine. Spread into prepared baking dish and sprinkle remaining cup of cheese on top. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and edges are browned.

Whole recipe = 1910 cals, 114 fat, 131 carbs, 91 protein.
Makes 18 sleeve-friendly servings: 105 cal, 6.3 fat, 7.3 carbs, 5 protein

UPDATE: I made another batch of Sleevey's pizza - this time a pesto chicken version! Yum! I used 1 recipe of the pizza crust + another 3 cups part skim mozzarella, a little more than 1/2 cup homemade pesto, 6 oz grilled chicken breast (I used the Tyson precooked kind) and a chopped tomato. It made 10 servings, with 232 calories, 15.75 g fat (lots of healthy fat, though, from the pesto!), 1.4 carbs, and 20 protein.