Baked Egg Dish (Low Carb)

I love eggs.  So thus I must post another egg recipe that I have had on heavy rotation lately.  It is low-carb of course but might be my new favorite way to eat eggs.  What is so great about this is that it is super simple and adaptable to your tastes depending on what ingredients you add and how long you cook the eggs.  I am personally a fan of an egg with a crispy edge so I like mine well done.  This recipe is for one large serving as I typically eat twice a day and this makes up both my breakfast and lunch.

Baked Egg Dish

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbs real butter, slightly melted and used to grease the dish... yes, this is a lot of butter, yes it makes the dish
• 4 large eggs
• 2 Tbs chopped green chilies
• 2 Tbs chopped bacon (or any other meat you like)
• 2 Tbs. crumbled goat cheese 
• Salt & Pepper to Taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a small casserole dish, grease the bottom and up the sides of the dish.  Let the extra butter pool at the bottom of the dish.  Break open the four eggs.  Sprinkle the remaining ingredients across the top. Place in the oven 10-15 minutes depending on how done your like your eggs.  I go for the whole 15 to get a good crisp on the eggs.  Remove from oven and let cool.  These eggs are super hot and will burn your mouth like no other if you aren't patient.  Enjoy.

KETO (Low Carb) Cheese French Souffle

Despite the temptation, I have managed to stay strict to Keto the entire month of January. Getting back on the wagon has been tougher this go around following the splurge of the holidays and traveling, it has felt like learning good behaviors all over again.  Last night I was grouchy because I couldn't eat all the things that I was craving and I was so tired of the foods I routinely eat.  I hadn't been to the grocery store as I was supposed to be in Minneapolis this last week but plane mechanical issues and a blizzard that crossed the Midwest kept me in Wichita.  Needless to say, I felt inspired to be creative with what I had on hand and my love of french food.  I had heard that a souffle could be made low-carb but had never attempted it on my own.  I'm actually really happy with the results and am definitely adding to my repertoire.  And of course contemplating why I haven't been making souffles for years?  Next time I'll have to give a chocolate souffle a try.

KETO (Low-Carb) Cheese French Souffle

Ingredients:
2 Tbs. real butter (I use Kerrygold)
2 Tbs. Almond Flour
1 Tsp. Nutmeg.
1 C. Heavy Whipping Cream
4 eggs, separated
3/4 C. Grated nice cheese of your choosing (Gruyere, Parmesan, Vermont cheddar, etc.)


Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a skillet heat butter till melted.  Add 1 Tbs. Almond Flour and mix with butter.  Lower heat and add heavy whipping cream.  Mix together and then add the other tbs. of almond flour and nutmeg allowing to slightly thicken.  Remove from heat.  In a medium size bowl mix together egg yolks and cheese.  Add grated cheese.   In another mixing bowl using a hand mixer, mix the egg whites with electric mixer until egg whites form stiff peaks.  Add the skillet mixture once mostly cooled into the yolk mixture and mix together.  Next fold in the egg whites.  Be careful not to over mix causing the the egg white mixture to loose it's airiness.  Place the mixture in ramekins (3) or a medium size round souffle dish.  Bake for 25 minutes at 375 degrees.  Do not open the oven for the first 20 minutes or it will cause the souffle to fall.

Souffles will rise quite a bit above the top of the ramekin or dish.  This is expected.  Mine were quite a bit higher but then fell a bit after cooling on the counter.

Low Carb Southern Tomato Pie

After returning from Savannah, I have been craving southern foods moreso than normal.  I started looking up recipes and came across a recipe for Low Carb Tomato Pie and let me tell you, it doesn't disappoint!

Low Carb Southern Tomato Pie

Crust:
3/4 C Almond Flour
1/3 C Oat Fiber or 2 Tbs of Coconut Flour
1 C Shredded Parmesan
1 Egg
2 Tbs Butter

Mix ingredients and press into 9" pie plate.  Bake on 350 for 15 minutes.

Filling:
4 large tomatoes, sliced
1 C Shredded Cheese of your choice, I used Colby Jack
1/2 C Mayo (the real stuff)
1/4 C Chopped Bacon
Italian Seasoning

After the crust is done lay sliced tomatoes on crust.  Sprinkle tomatoes with chopped bacon.  Mix mayo and shredded cheese together in a separate bowl.  Slather the top of the pie with the mayo mixture to evenly distribute. Sprinkle top with Italian seasoning.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.  Serve warm or chilled.

Faux Loaded Potatoes

I am back with another low carb, keto-friendly dish that I tried out this last weekend.

Cauliflower is great substitute for mashed potatoes but doesn't do it when it comes to boiled or fried potatoes. I had been hearing that radishes are a good substitute but I have never liked radishes.  They have always tasted far too bitter and peppery for me.  Apparently if you boil radishes, they lose a lot of the strong flavor and become much mild.  I was skeptical but I still wanted to try.

Rinse radishes and remove the ends.  Slice into bite size pieces.

These look like new potatoes already.

Boil radishes for about 10 minutes on medium heat.

The water will turn a bit purple, that's ok.

Drain radishes and try to dry the radishes as best you can.

Add radishes to heated skillet with the oil of your choice. I salt and peppered my radishes as they cooked.

Fry radishes until browned.

Once complete, prep your faux fried potatoes to your preference.

Mine are topped with cheddar cheese, crumbled bacon, and ranch dip.  The radish has a slicker texture than a potato but the flavor becomes very mild.

This was definitely one of the more decadent things that I have made keto-friendly but I wasn't disappointed.  I can now say I am a former radish-hater as these were really tasty.

Keto Meal: Hatch Chile Pork

This weekend the Midwest was hit with a cold front which dipped our highs into the 70's creating all the feelings of fall in my household.  I love to make crockpot meals in the fall and winter and while at the grocery store this weekend, I decided to make some Hatch Green Chile Pork in the crockpot when I came across a new kit I had never seen before by Stubbs. The kit is actually for chicken but the husband and I prefer our green chile with pork so we swapped the meats.  The kit comes with a dry rub, a cooking sauce, and a finishing sauce. You can use it to cook on the stovetop or in the crockpot but we opted for the crockpot method.  We cooked our pork roast about 7 hours and it was very tender to shred.  It would be great to serve the meat on sandwiches or a salad but we opted for soft tacos.  Using Mission Low Carb Tortillas, I stuffed mine with pork, pepper jack cheese, sour cream, and salsa.  If I had some avocado, I definitely would have made some guac to go along with it.  The flavor was excellent.  We were a little worried because our roast was bigger than what the seasoning kit called for but no worries, very well flavored and even had a little heat.  We noticed there were a few other flavor kits that we may have to check out next time.

Strawberries

 

 

I am loving strawberries right now.  Especially strawberries that adorn my low-carb cream cheese pancakes.

Cream Cheese Pancakes
2 eggs
2 oz cream cheese
1 tsp. sugar substitute
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. baking powder
Coconut Oil spray or Kerry Gold butter for the griddle

Heat griddle and prep with coconut oil or butter.  In blender mix first 5 ingredients until well blended.
Pour batter on griddle and cook approximately 2 min per side until done.

Strawberry Topping
1/2 C. Strawberries, sliced
2 Tbs. sugar substitute

Combine strawberries and sugar-substitute and let sit overnight in the fridge.

Serve on top of pancakes with Cool Whip if desired.

Keto-Friendly, Sugar-Free, Diabetic-Friendly, Low Carb ButterBeer Recipe

Our recent trip to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter has left me with a hankering for Butterbeer.  Now let me be clear, I already loved all things cream soda and butterscotch so it wasn't a hard sell.  Once I returned from our trip and jumped back onto Keto I thought to myself, "surely I could create a Keto-Friendly version of Butterbeer so I can continue to enjoy it while on keto."  I had to seek out a couple of ingredients but all were easily found at my local grocery store.

Keto-Friendly Butterbeer Recipe
Makes 1 Serving

Ingredients:
1 Can Diet A&W Cream Soda Chilled
1/4 C Heavy Whipping Cream
2-3 Sugar-Free Werther's Originals (the smaller ones)
1 Tsp. Butter (the real stuff)
1 Tsp. Sukrin Gold (great low carb alternative to brown sugar and is optional in this recipe)
1/2 C Ice Cubes


To make the Butterbeer froth, in a saucepan, melt butter and sukrin over low heat. Add heavy whipping cream and Werther's Original candy. Stir over low heat until candy has melted into mixture. Remove from heat.

In a blender (I just upgraded to a Ninja Blender and I love it!) add Cream Soda and Ice. Blend until nice and smooth and pour into glass. Careful removing the lid because there will be some pressure from the carbonation.  Pour froth mix over the top of cream soda.

Enjoy!

Keto (Low-Carb) Biscuits

One of my pantry staples for living a ketogenic lifestyle is Carbquik.  Carbquik is a low-carb version of the popular baking mix, Bisquik. I buy my Carbquik on Amazon for about $13 for a 3 lb. box which lasts quite awhile since I am the only one in the house who eats it. I typically use Carbquik for waffles or pancakes (with sugar free syrup) but lately I have been craving biscuits. My husband whipped up some Carbquik biscuits for me to go with our dinner of baked pork chops and french style green beans last Sunday evening. And yes, he is just that great of a guy to make dinner and make something that I can eat too. The biscuits turned out pretty good.  They definitely are comparable to a Bisquik drop biscuit. They have some flakiness to them and crumble about the same. I think they would be great with sugar-free jelly or jam or to use in a breakfast sandwich with sausage and egg. They could also be modified to use as a shortcake for Strawberry Shortcake.  I might have to try that next.

Keto Recipe: Baked Artichoke Heart Casserole

I didn't always love artichokes.  It was some time around the "spinach and artichoke dip" craze of the late nineties that I realized that I actually did like artichokes.  Now I'll eat them on just about anything... salad, pizza, sandwich. 

Earlier this week I was looking for some new sides to have with my meals that would be keto-friendy.  I saw that artichokes were relatively low in carbs so thought it might be good to make some sort of casserole out of them.  Since I am on the only one in my household who eats keto or would eat an artichoke for that manner, I just made small ramekin size servings.  I didn't find a recipe, I just kind of made it up as I went along and overall not too bad.

Single Serving Baked Artichoke Heart Casserole

Ingredients:
1 can of artichoke hearts
2 Tbs. Real Mayo
2 Tbs. Parmesan Cheese + additional to sprinkle on the top
1 tsp. Garlic Salt
Pepper to taste

Directions:
Open artichokes and drain well.  Put artichokes in bowl and use fork to mush them up a bit.  Add remaining ingredients and mix well.  Put in individual servings or one small casserole dish.  Sprinkle with additional Parmesan Cheese.  Bake at 400 degrees for 8 minutes.  Turn on the broiler and let broil until top is crisped to your liking. 

My Birthday Cake - A Low-Carb Keto Cheesecake

I was dead set on sticking to my keto diet this birthday so coming up with a birthday cake was going to be a challenge.  Lucky for me, I like cheesecake and it can easily be made keto-style or low-carb.  My husband took it upon himself to make the cheesecake for me and he did an excellent job. I like the Cheesecake Factory's Low-Carb Cheesecake and this tops that, seriously.

Low-Carb Keto Friendly Cheesecake

Ingredients:

3 packages (1 and 1/2 lbs) full-fat cream cheese (room temperature)

4 eggs (preferably room temperature)

1 and 1/2 teaspoon (1/2 Tablespoon) vanilla

1 and 2/3 cups sugar equivalent of artificial sweetener, we used baking stevia

1/4 cup sour cream

1 cup almond flour

2 Tablespoons melted butter

2 Tablespoons sugar equivalent in artificial sweetener

Directions:
Heat oven to 375 F.
Crust:  Combine the last 3 ingredients for the crust, and press into the bottom of a springform pan.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until brown.

Heat oven to 400 F.
Cheesecake: Beat cream cheese in a mixing bowl until fluffy. Add remaining ingredients, be sure ingredients are well incorporated. Once all ingredients are combined, pour the mixture into the pan, on top of the crust. Put cheesecake in the oven and turn down to 200 F.  Bake 60 - 90 minutes until the cake is firm but center is slightly soft.

Chill in refrigerator before serving.

Sweet & Spicy Tofu Stir fry -- Keto Friendly

I am always interested to find new things to eat and realized I hadn't done much tofu since I started keto.  I do the noodles on occasion but not the firm tofu, so I pulled together this little stir fry inspired by niece who likes to make stir fry tofu.

Sweet & Spicy Tofu Stir Fry
1 package of extra firm tofu  chopped into bite size pieces
2 Tbs. Soy Sauce
1 Tbs. Sukrin Gold Brown Sugar Alternative (love this stuff!)
Cabbage sliced
Mushrooms sliced
Green Pepper sliced
Onion sliced
2 Tbs. Water
1 Tbs. Sriracha
1 Tbs. Coconut oil

Mix soy sauce, sukrin, Sriracha, and water together in a bowl large enough to marinate tofu.  Marinate for 5 minutes.  Heat coconut oil in the skillet.  Add tofu and vegetables (as many as you want) and cook until desired.  I like to char my food quite a bit so I let it cook until it was well done. My husband wasn't crazy about it but the daughters seemed to like it.  Enjoy!

Egg Salad

I love good ole plain egg salad.  It is convenient to make and keeps me full for hours.  Friday evening I was struggling to find something that sounded good so I went back to egg salad and whipped up a quick batch. 

Nothing Fancy Egg Salad

6 Hard Boiled Eggs roughly chopped
2 Tbs. Real Mayo
1 Tbs. Mustard
Salt & Pepper to taste

Low Carb Cheese Danish

I have a great recipe to share today.  It isn't often that I can eat things like cookies or pastries because they are typically not low carb.  I found a recipe online for Low Carb Cheese Danish so decided to spend my Saturday morning attempting to make them.  I wasn't disappointed in my efforts.  These definitely have a different texture from the normal Danish dough but I actually really liked the texture.  I doubled the recipe since I figured my girls would want to try them as well and if I was going to the effort may as well make some extras for later! 

Low Carb Cheese Danish Recipe.

Makes 3 danishes.  I doubled the recipe in the pic above.

Dough
1 1/4 C of full fat grated mozzarella cheese
6 Tbs Almond Flour
3 Tbs Coconut Flour
4 Tbs Sugar Substitute - Erythritol, Stevia, Truvia are all good options
1/2 Tsp Baking Powder
2 Tbs Oat Fiber (optional but I like the flavor and texture this adds)
4 Tbs melted butter
1 large egg

Filling
6 oz Full fat cream cheese
1 Tsp Lemon juice
1/2 Tsp Vanilla
1/4 c Sugar Substitute
1 Egg Yolk
Optional - Sugar Free/ Low-carb Jam or Jelly

Frosting
3 Tbs Powdered Sugar Substitute - you an turn your sugar substitute to powdered by running it through the food processor
2 Tbs Heavy Cream
2 oz Cream Cheese
1/2 Tsp Vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Filling
Add all ingredients other than jelly to mixing bowl and mix on high speed until fully mixed.  Set aside.

Dough
Add almond flour, coconut flour, baking powder, oat fiber, and sugar substitute to large microwave safe mixing bowl.  Whisk ingredients together. Mix melted butter and vanilla together and then add to dry ingredients.  In a glass dish, melt mozzarella in microwave slowly ensuring it doesn't burn.   Add fully melted mozzarella and egg to bowl as well.  Using your hands, start to mix the dough, working it together until fully incorporated.  If the mozzarella becomes difficult to work with, heat the mixture up in the microwave again.  Wetting your hands with water may also help in combining.  Once the dough is fully mixed get out a cookie sheet.  You can either grease your cookie sheet or use parchment paper or a silpat to keep the danishes from sticking.  Separate dough into 4 parts.  Start to work each quarter into a Danish shape making the edges a bit higher to "hold" the filling in place.  Add the filling to the danishes by filling the "wells" you have created in the danish.  Do not add jelly at this time.  If you want to use jelly it is best to add in the last few minutes of the cooking time to keep it from burning and then closely monitor as the Danish completes the cooking process.  Bake danishes for 10-13 minutes until edges are slightly brown.

Frosting
Melt cream cheese in microwave until soft.  Add additional ingredients and mix well.  Put into a sandwich bag.  Once the danishes are done, clip the corner of the bag and pipe frosting across the danishes as desired. 

Let cool a few minutes and then enjoy.  I had mine with a nice cup of Chai & Mighty from David's Tea.

Keto Cinnamon Toast Crunch

I have another discovery for you -- Keto Cinnamon Toast Crunch.  I admit, cereal is one of the things I miss quite a bit.  The crunch of cereal in milk is something I just couldn't imagine being able to re-create on keto.  Until today.  I whipped this up in a couple of minutes and while not exactly the same as Cinnamon Toast Crunch, it satisfies the craving.  Now the pork rinds -- I know they aren't for everyone and even weirder as a cereal.  I was a bit on the fence myself but went for it and wasn't grossed out.  It's amazing the things I'll try now that I've been on a bread-pasta free diet for 8 months!

Keto Cinnamon Toast Crunch Recipe

1 serving of plain pork rinds - broken into bite size pieces
1/2 tsp of cinnamon
1 Tbs sugar substitute
2 Tbs heavy whipping cream

Directions:  In a cereal bowl combine first thing ingredients mixing well to cover the pork rinds in dust.  Add cream and mix together.  Eat quickly so pork rinds don't turn mushy. 

Goat Cheese Stuffed Sweet Peppers

I have another great keto side or snack to share today.  As you know, I am on a goat cheese kick right now and was trying to think of ways to incorporate it with other foods I can eat.  I sometimes struggle to find a creative snack or side to go with my meals as the same old cauliflower, broccoli, and brussels get old.  While at the grocery store the other day it hit me... Goat Cheese Stuffed Sweet Peppers.  So tonight, I made that thought a reality.  It is super easy to make and turned out awesome.

Cut sweet peppers in half, rinse and remove seeds.  My grocery store sells sweet peppers in bags.Stuff goat cheese inside each half of pepper, as much as you like.  Place on baking sheet.  Bake in oven on 425 for about 12 minutes or until peppers and cheese start to brown.  Once removed from the oven, sprinkle lightly garlic salt over the top.  Enjoy.

Low Carb Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana

I recently went to dinner with a friend and she chose Olive Garden.  I've never been a huge Olive Garden fan but since my diet, I'm not so finicky about where I eat out at as long as I have some keto options.  Strange how that is, give me fewer options and I care less!  I checked the menu ahead of time to determine what options I would have and ended up not being disappointed.  I skipped the bread sticks (the horror) and ordered the Zuppa Toscana to start. Olive Garden's version comes with chunks of potatoes but I figured out I could just eat around them, so I did.  I could also have done the salad but I eat a lot of salad already so wanted something different.  For my entree I got some baked talapia with a side of steamed broccoli. It wasn't the only option I had either but a good choice.  The soup was the best though.  In fact my waiter told me if I had told him up front he would have just got me more broth and skimped on the potatoes.  Next time.  As I was eating the soup, I thought, I bet I could make this low-carb at home.  And so I did.  Below is my recipe for my low-carb version of Zuppa Toscana, which turned out so good that my family had a hard time staying out of it.  Next time, I think I'll double the recipe.  Also to note, my version has more veggies and sausage... I had to make up for the potatoes somehow.

Low-carb Zuppa Toscana

Ingredients:
2 Tbs Real Butter
1/2 Chopped Onion
1 Tbs Minced Garlic
1/2 Tsp Red Pepper
1 LB Sweet Italian Sausage
1 Pkg Frozen Spinach
5 C Chicken Broth
Heavy Whipping Cream
Grated Parmesan Cheese
Salt & Pepper to taste


On the stove in a large soup pot, add your butter and chopped onion.  Stir until onion is translucent.  Add frozen spinach and mix together with onion until spinach breaks down.  Add garlic and red pepper.  Add sausage and cook until sausage is fully cooked.  Add chicken broth, salt and pepper.   Let cook on stove for at least 30 minutes.  Ladle soup into serving bowl and a splash of heavy whipping cream and stir together.  Top with grated Parmesan.

Believe me, you won't be disappointed.

I did consider adding cauliflower as a potato supplement. My family isn't big on cauliflower so I decided not to this time but will probably give it a try next time.

Dinner 1/21/15

On Keto, I occasionally eat some very strange things.  Concoctions I will call them.  Things I think up that might pass as a meal.  Yes, my meals have gotten very strange and yours will too if you are on Keto, just watch. This would be one of those bizarre meals that somehow works. 

I am going to call it:

Faux Italian Fried Rice.

Recipe:
1 lb sausage
1 pkg of Cauliflower Crumbles (they sell them at Target but you can make them by taking a food processor to your cauliflower and getting down to rice size pieces)
1/2 brick of cream cheese
1/4 C low carb pizza sauce
1/2 C mozzarella cheese grated

Cook your sausage in a skillet.  Once it is done, drain it (or don't) and add your cauliflower.  Stir it together until the cauliflower gets soft. Add your cream cheese and pizza sauce to the skillet and mix together until melted through.  Top it with mozzarella and call it good.

Now I've never tried making Italian Fried Rice with rice so I don't know how it would be but I can imagine not so bad.  Obviously the meal isn't great to look at but was filling and the right mix for my macros today so I'll call it a win.

Chai - Tea on Keto

If you know me, you know that I love tea.  I like tea hot and I like it cold.  Either way, I like it most with milk.  Chai is my tea of choice and I used to get an Iced Chai from Starbucks a couple of times a week.  Since starting Keto, I knew that I would have to stop that habit.  Starbucks uses a Chai concentrate (Tazo) that is loaded with sugar and carbs.  No Bueno.

So I figured out a new way to make my iced chai at home.  Enter in the ingredients.

Archer Farms Chai Latte Black Tea Concentrate - Purchased at Target. You can find it near the coffee.

So Delicious Cashew Milk Unsweetened Vanilla - Purchased at Dillons. You can find it near the shelf-stable milk alternatives such as Almond Milk and Soy Milk.

The mixture is 1:1 so very simple to combine and stir together.  The chai is sweet but not overly so. 

I had never tried Cashew Milk before. I used to be a Soy Milk person but it had too many carbs so I moved to Almond Milk for awhile.  When I tried Cashew Milk (I think at the recommendation of my sister), I was much happier. I like both the unsweetened plain and the unsweetened vanilla.  Low carb and good for me.

I still drink hot tea as well.  My favorite tea is from David's Tea which I have to order online. One of the best chai teas I have ever tried. (They are actually having a clearance sale so check them out if you like tea!) Instead of Cashew Milk in my hot tea, I usually had a splash of heavy whipping cream to the tea.

And lastly, I am completely obsessed with iced tea.  I drink iced tea every day, all day.  My favorite is Diet Gold Peak Tea.  It uses a keto-friendly sweetener and keeps me from drinking diet soda all day.

Creamy Spinach Casserole Recipe - Keto Friendly

Creamy Spinach Casserole by my cousin, Andrea as made for Christmas Dinner 2015. 

Adapted from Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker

 

Ingredients

• 2 10 oz bricks frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 1 8 oz brick cream cheese (full fat)
• 1 cups shredded Mozzarella (shred yourself as the packaged shredded has added carbs)
• 1 cups shredded Parmesan (shred yourself as the packaged shredded has added carbs)
• 1 onion, minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 4 beaten eggs
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. In a large pan, saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil until soft.
2. Turn the heat to low and add cream cheese, stirring constantly until melted.
3. Remove from heat and stir in the eggs and cheese.
4. Add the spinach.
5. Season to taste.
6. Spread into a greased casserole dish (or 9x13 glass pan)
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.
8. The edges should have a little brown on them.

Notes

The casserole turns out nice and firm so can be cut into squares bot a mushy mess. I think adding artichokes to this would be really good.

Dinner 1/6/2016 and Cauliflower Mash Recipe

In an effort to help with ideas for things to eat on keto, I will be posting pictures and recipes of what I eat.  Tonight I had Italian herb kielbasa and cauliflower mash.  I had already eaten a couple of bites when I remembered to take a photo...

*ignore the party plate leftover from a recent baby shower that I hosted

 

 

Recipe:  Caulimash  -- is a good substitute for mashed potatoes

 



 

Ingredients
Bag of frozen cauliflower
2 T cream cheese (or more to your liking)
2 T sour cream
Shredded cheddar to your liking
Garlic powder or Garlic salt

1. Steam cauliflower in the frozen bag by microwaving bag (poke holes to steam) for 7 min or so (until tender)
2.  In food processor add cauliflower and puree
3.  Add cream cheese, sour cream, and garlic to the food processor and mix well to desired consistency
4.  Top with shredded cheese before serving.  Sometimes I make with bacon but happened to be out tonight.

This is super easy and really delicious.  My husband hates the smell of cooked cauliflower but puts up with it!