The vegetable formerly known as cauliflower

This was an eating highlight of the weekend. Soooo good. A totally yummy Italian fix without the pasta. I heart that it utilizes the sadly under utilized cauliflower. One of my favorite veggies.


Shelly's Cauliflower and Sausage Bake

1 head of Cauliflower, broken into florets, parboiled
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup Italian Style Bread Crumbs
1/2 pound Mild Italian Sausage, browned (You can use beef or turkey too just add a dash more seasonings)
1 1/2 cups Marinara Sauce (I use Rao's)
4 slices (about 1/4 lb) Mozzarella
1/4 cup Parmesan, grated
1/2 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
a few twists of Black Pepper
Olive Oil

Brown sausage. Drain any liquid, set aside.

Parboil the cauliflower, dredge it in beaten egg and lightly toss in Italian Style dried bread crumbs and pan fry in a tiny bit of oil. Turn till golden on all sides.

*You can skip this and just parboil the cauliflower if you are concerned about added fat/carbs (but it's sooooo much tastier this way)

Mix the browned sausage and seasonings into the sauce and spoon 1/2 into a pyrex casserole dish. Place cauliflower over sauce in an even layer. Pour remaining sauce over top. Cover with grated Parmesan and Mozzarella slices.

Sprinkle with a dash more Italian Seasoning. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

More Eggface Pastaless dishes 'cause that's how I roll.


More Highlights of the weekend:

* Went to a wine tasting/food sampling event. The entertainment was Tommy Tutone. Remember that song "867-5309 Jenny" from the 80's? I totally hated that song. Well... it really wasn't the song. The guy I dated back then and I broke up and he dated a girl named Jen after me and so it was just bad timing. Anyway... I must give TT props. He actually rocked it. You know like all one hit wonder bands they had a few hidden gems that just didn't get airplay. I enjoyed them... or maybe it was the wine samples. As for the food there wasn't a whole lot of weight loss surgery friendly samples. I did really enjoy a salad with a yummy raspberry vinaigrette. I'll try and replicate it for the blog.

* I noticed my boob scars are really fading. I love that Bio Oil stuff. I was so worried that a second surgery would really leave some massive scarring. ;) I'm such a Franken Barbie.

* I felt kind of cruddy most of the weekend. It's been nasty hot and I am still sleeping like crap but I did have an hour or so of pure bliss on Sunday. As the sun was setting I laid down in my backyard and stared at the sky. A cool breeze kicked in. It was beautiful. So peaceful. You know those completely perfect moments you just want to bottle up and keep forever. The sky was all orangy and purple with crazy cloud formations. I wish I had a camera with me. I just couldn't get up and break the zen.

Now I have Prince "1999" in my head. "The sky was all purple there were people running everywhere..."

Listening to: "Purple Rain" Prince