The first time I served this dish to my family, nobody had any idea I was sneaking them veggies. In fact, my husband was perplexed, thinking I was eating rice (a definite no-no because of my diabetes). I giggled like a little girl. "Nope!" I said. "There's no rice in this dinner. That, my dear, is cauliflower."

Now, I've tried quite a few cauliflower-masquerading-as-something-else recipes, and most of the time, I haven't been impressed. But cauliflower as a rice substitute? Perfect!

I make my own cauli-rice from fresh cauliflower, but if you prefer, you can now buy riced cauliflower in the freezer section of most grocery stores. One thing I haven't tried is using frozen cauliflower to make cauli-rice. I'm learning frozen is usually less expensive than fresh, and often has a more mild flavor suitable for cauliflower substitute recipes; but I'm not sure how well it will rice. If you try it (or already do it), please leave a comment, and I will update the post with opinions on how well it works!


To make your own cauli-rice: Quarter a fresh cauliflower and cut away the core and the bigger parts of the stems. Pop chunks of the cauliflower florets into the food processor (with the grater attachment in place), or simply chop the cauliflower florets finely with a knife until it has the appearance of rice. I usually rice several heads at one time and pop the results in the freezer for later use.

Mexican Skillet Cauli-Rice Recipe

PRINT

This recipe can be made dairy free! Just omit the dairy products. It still tastes great!

1lb. ground beef
1/2 small onion, chopped
1/2 large green bell pepper, chopped
1 batch taco seasoning (see below)
1 cup no-sugar-added tomato paste
Cauli-rice from 1 cauliflower head (or about 24 oz. of pre-riced cauliflower)
1/2 cup beef broth
2 cups shredded Cheddar and mozzarella cheese

1. In a large skillet placed over medium high heat, cook the ground beef until no longer pink. Add the onion and green pepper and cook until tender. Add the taco seasoning, mixing well.




2. Add the tomato paste, cauli-rice, and broth, stirring well to mix. Bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until cauli-rice softens (about 5 minutes for fresh cauli-rice, or about 9 for frozen).

3. Sprinkle cheese over the mixture and serve. Add sour cream, green onions, and other toppings, if desired, but add them to the carb count.

Makes about 5 servings. Estimated nutrition, according to SuperTracker: 227 calories; 18 g. protein; 10.2 g. carbs; 3 g. fiber;13 g. fat.

DIY Taco Seasoning
Not only is it cheaper to mix your own taco seasoning, but it makes all the dubious ingredients in ready-made spice mixes (like flours and preservatives) something you can easily avoid.

2 teaspoons chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper 
1/2  teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon black pepper