Beef and Cauliflower Bake

BEEF and CAULIFLOWER Bake

4 hearty servings OR 6 average servings

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp. Bacon Grease

Cauliflower florets (about ½ a large head cut into bite size pieces)

1 small onion, diced

1 lb ground beef

1-2 garlic cloves, minced or "pressed"

1/2 medium bell pepper, diced

2 large carrots, diced

(**See below for addition veggies you can throw in!)

2/3 C. Salsa (*** See below for substitutions if you don’t have salsa on hand)

1/3 C. Beef, Chicken or Veggie Broth

1/3 C. Red Wine

1 Tbsp. Flour (if you can’t use any flour, just skip this step, or use a thickener of your choice)

3/4 tsp. dried basil

3/4 tsp. dried oregano

Salt and Pepper

Olive Oil

1 C. shredded cheese (cheddar, mozz, fiesta mix, pepper jack, etc)

Place cauliflower pieces in a bowl, drizzle with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Stir to coat.

Melt the bacon grease in a large ovenproof skillet (I use cast iron), heat over med to med-high. Once pan is nice and hot, add Cauliflower, and spread out to make one even layer (set bowl aside to use later). Allow it to brown about 1 minute, stir and allow it brown again for another minute or two. Place lid on skillet, reduce heat to med and cook 2 minutes. Remove lid, stir in onions and saute an additional 2 minutes. Remove Cauliflower onion mixture to reserved bowl and set aside.

Preheat oven to 375.

Increase skillet heat to med-high, add ground beef and garlic, season with a little salt n peppa. Cook, stirring to crumble, until meat is browned through. Add carrot, reduce heat to medium and cover skillet; cook for 2-3 mins. Remove lid, toss in remaining veggies and stir; cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle beef mixture with flour, stir to form a roux. Stir in salsa, broth and wine, allow it to cook down and become thick, 2-3 minutes. Return cauliflower/onion mixture to pan and season with basil, oregano, and salt and pepper if needed. Stir to combine; spread shredded cheese evenly over beef and veggies - replace lid. Place skillet in oven and bake for 10 minutes on center rack. Remove lid and turn oven to Broil. Allow to broil for 1-2 minutes.

**Add additional veggies as desired: I like to add in cut fresh green beans; a handful of roasted red bell peppers (bottled); chopped fresh tomatoes that are just about too soft for salad; what veggies do you like – add them in! The more the merrier!

***If you don’t have salsa, try one of two things:

1. Add in 2 choppped very ripe tomoatoes, and ½ a minced jalapeno as well as ½ tsp. cumin.

2. OR, toss in ½ a can of diced tomatoes with green chiles. Be creative here! J