Cauliflower "Mac and Cheese"

I'm doing so well eating low carb, and I hardly ever crave carb-full food anymore. But my kids have been eating a lot of mac and cheese this summer and that's something that's hard for me to resist! I Googled for a recipe and adapted it quite a bit from the original. It was absolutely delicious. Next time I will use half-and-half instead of cream, or water it down some, because some of the comments said they used milk and it was fine. Milk is higher in carbs, but this was really too rich to use full cream as originally called for. Also, I used a Mexican blend cheese mix because I had that on hand. I want to try it with medium to sharp cheddar.

Here is the exact recipe I used tonight. I will update once I try anything mentioned above.

"MAC" 

2 bags frozen cauliflower florets (1 pound each)

Cook the cauliflower as directed until done. It should not be mushy, but more on the soft side. Cool enough so you can cut it into small pieces (I tried to mimic the size of a macaroni noodle). Cut, then set aside.

Put the cut cauliflower in a lightly greased 8x8 baking dish.

"CHEESE"

1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup half-and-half
1-1/2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. sour cream
1 tsp. dijon mustard
1-1/2 cups shredded cheese (see note above)
1.2 tsp. garlic salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

In a small saucepan, heat the cream, half-and-half and butter to simmering. Stir and simmer for 3 minutes. Whisk in sour cream and mustard, and simmer, stirring, for 3 more minutes. Reduce heat and stir in cheese, stirring until melted, about 1 or 2 minutes.

Remove from heat and pour over cauliflower in the baking dish. Stir to combine. Be sure the cheese mixture completely coats the cauliflower.

There are two ways you can go from here - I served mine as is. It was delicious!

Or, you can turn it into an oven casserole. Top with an additional 1/2 cup of grated cheese. Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven  until browned and bubbly - about 15 minutes.

Yum! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.