I was reading Frugal Housefrau the other day and saw this recipe for an instapot chili mac meal. I am not generally a huge fan of any chili mac dish, but this one was made with taco seasonings rather than a traditional heavy chili flavor. Though I do have an instapot (which I have yet to use) I knew I was going to have to ketofy the dish and of course cauliflower would be taking place of most of the pasta, so I just opted for a stovetop version. The end results were so good, not just to me, but DIL2 and Son2 raved about it and TheHub asked if we could put this in our regular rotation. If the term keto puts you off, just substitute low carb. I mean, with the exception of my uber thin mother, who can't benefit from a dish with lower carbs? (This week Mom's doc actually told her to eat ice cream, cake and cookies. I can guarantee you, no doc has ever, or will ever say the same to me )
Macless Chili and Cheese
(Sorry for the bad photo, This was literally my dinner bowl, it was hot and I was hungry)
1 pound (or more, your choice) ground sirloin, lean
1 onion chopped
1 yellow sweet pepper (chopped or in strips, your choice)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small head cauliflower in small pieces (think shooter marble size)
1 1/2 cup chopped zucchini (it is a great use for 3/4 of a big ass zucchini)
1 1/2 teaspoon ground chili powder
3/4 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/2 ish teaspoon salt
1 can crushed tomatoes (I used the 28 ounce size, but I love tomatoes)
sharp grated cheddar cheese
sour cream
In a large saute pan, brown the beef until almost brown, then toss in the onions and peppers. Cook until they begin to wilt. Add the garlic powder and salt and stir to make sure these first components of the dish are seasoned. Add the olive oil then the cauliflower and zucchini and let them cook a minute of two, add the remaining spices (yes include the additional garlic powder and salt) and stir well. Pour the tomatoes over the mix and let it cook (medium/medium low heat) for about 20 minutes. The liquid from the tomatoes will reduce greatly and you will be left with this wonderful moist stew. Serve in bowls and top with grated sharp cheese and a dollop of sour cream. Next time I will add some guacamole to top it, but I had no avocados.
I served it with just a side of angel hair slaw and thick slices of buttered warm French bread to make it a complete meal. (For everyone but me. I really wanted some of that bread too but it is not even a little bit keto)
I added this to my list of tried and true meals to satisfy my way of eating that are equally appealing to those who can eat whatever the heck they want and not gain an ounce. I am pretty sure they are all the spawn of Satan put on Earth to torment me!
Macless Chili and Cheese
1 pound (or more, your choice) ground sirloin, lean
1 onion chopped
1 yellow sweet pepper (chopped or in strips, your choice)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small head cauliflower in small pieces (think shooter marble size)
1 1/2 cup chopped zucchini (it is a great use for 3/4 of a big ass zucchini)
1 1/2 teaspoon ground chili powder
3/4 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/2 ish teaspoon salt
1 can crushed tomatoes (I used the 28 ounce size, but I love tomatoes)
sharp grated cheddar cheese
sour cream
In a large saute pan, brown the beef until almost brown, then toss in the onions and peppers. Cook until they begin to wilt. Add the garlic powder and salt and stir to make sure these first components of the dish are seasoned. Add the olive oil then the cauliflower and zucchini and let them cook a minute of two, add the remaining spices (yes include the additional garlic powder and salt) and stir well. Pour the tomatoes over the mix and let it cook (medium/medium low heat) for about 20 minutes. The liquid from the tomatoes will reduce greatly and you will be left with this wonderful moist stew. Serve in bowls and top with grated sharp cheese and a dollop of sour cream. Next time I will add some guacamole to top it, but I had no avocados.
I served it with just a side of angel hair slaw and thick slices of buttered warm French bread to make it a complete meal. (For everyone but me. I really wanted some of that bread too but it is not even a little bit keto)
I added this to my list of tried and true meals to satisfy my way of eating that are equally appealing to those who can eat whatever the heck they want and not gain an ounce. I am pretty sure they are all the spawn of Satan put on Earth to torment me!
It does look delicious. Thanks for sharing your recipes. I will definitely give it a try but maybe after the family leaves as I think I've got my "menus" pretty much planned!
ReplyDeleteBig guest days requires a plan of sorts! Hope all goes as planned and everything is happiness and joy personified!.I am sure it will be.
DeleteI saw a cartoon years ago which explained those infuriating people There are fat cell donors (who expell fat cells with every breath) and fat cell recipients who take them on. I am the latter and live with the former.
ReplyDeleteMe and you both. Life is so damn unfair sometimes!
DeleteWhat's under the cheese? Is that all cauliflower? I have never been a cauliflower fan, but if I tried it with some seasoning and mixed with other things maybe I would learn to like it. Doctors don't say much about my weight because they just want me to not be so depressed and anxious. When I was in high school and on the verge of anorexia, no one said a word.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
It is a stew of ground beef, onions, peppers, tomatoes, cauliflower and zucchini and spices. The cauliflower basically replaces the macaroni and becomes infused with the taco type seasonings.
DeleteEveryone really did love it
ReplyDeleteOK, maybe I will try it. I'm still not a fan of cauliflower, but I need to get back to low carb!
ReplyDeleteIt really does not taste like cauliflower since the cauliflower absorbs all the other flavors.
DeleteYou put cheese and sour cream on anything and it looks delicious. And it doesn't hurt that I like cauliflower. Yum.
ReplyDeleteIt was really good and spicy but not hot (Until we added jalapeno hot sauce to it after serving)
DeleteI'm a little dense here, but did you do this in the Instapot? I too have one that I have yet to use, a gift at Christmas to hubs and I form his mom. My sister in law, all of us got them, uses hers all the time and raves about it. She has four kids 8-15, all in sports and very busy, so she is constantly making massive meals. I'm looking for people who use it for smll families or couples.
ReplyDeleteNo I did not use the instapot, just cooked it in a pan on the stove top. My son cooks for just the 2 of them and he uses his all of the time.
DeleteThat looks good. I am a carb addict but could totally see eating that.
ReplyDeleteIt was really good. No one here missed the carbs at all. Of course they had thick slices of buttered French bread, so what is there to miss?
DeleteDo you have a smoothie tag on your blog?
ReplyDeleteI do not. I don't even know what a smoothie tag might be
Delete