Cauliflower Casserole

I remember my parents always being so proud of my siblings and I as kids for always raiding the veggie plates at events; we were, and still are, big broccoli and cauliflower eaters. So when I saw this recipe for cauliflower casserole on my sister's pinterest, I pinned it myself as a possibility. And I will outright say I didn't like it. I'm not a huge fan of sour cream and this had a tendency to collect in the crevices between the cauliflower. However, my mom liked it AND she took it in to work (since I obviously wasn't going to eat it) and they all liked it too. It's apparently quite good on certain dishes, like a baked potato.

It was a bit of work, since I had to shred the monterey jack myself. I also will caution y'all to make sure your steamed cauliflower is well drained--between the water that cooks off that and the cheese, I ended up draining a bit of water out of my finished dish.

• 2 lbs cauliflower florets
• 8 oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
• 8 oz shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided
• 8 oz block cream cheese, softened
• 4 tablespoons heavy cream 
• 2 bunches green onions, sliced (1 1/2 cups)
• 6 sliced bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 1 clove garlic, grated
• Salt & pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Steam cauliflower florets until tender.

3. While cauliflower steams, cream together 6 oz of the shredded cheddar, 6 oz of the Monterey Jack,

cream cheese, and heavy cream.

4. Stir in sliced green onions, chopped bacon, and garlic.

5. Set aside.

6. Drain any liquid from steamed cauliflower and add hot cauliflower to cheese mixture.

7. Stir cauliflower and cheese mixture together.

8. Taste for seasoning, and add as necessary.

(If you want a finer texture, give a few mashes with the potato masher.)

9. Pour into a 2-3 quart casserole and sprinkle on remaining cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese.

10. Cover dish with foil and bake for 25 minutes; remove foil and continue to bake until cheese is brown and bubbly.

I would also add that you could probably add a lot of variety to this--broccoli and cauliflower mix, more/less bacon (bits or otherwise), garlic or onions in greater quantity, etc etc. I probably won't have anything further to say on this subject because of the whole clumps of sour cream antipathy that I have going on towards this dish, but for anyone who likes cheese/cream, the world's your oyster. :) (but not mine, I'm allergic!)