Low-Carb Sausage, Cauliflower & Rotel Skillet

Sometimes dinner isn't planned.

Michael and I hadn't had a chance to go grocery shopping, and we were running low on food. So I looked at what we still had in the house: ground sausage, a head of cauliflower, a red onion, frozen mushrooms, Rotel, tomato sauce, garlic powder, and cheese.

It was enough.

Because many of the foods we normally keep on hand can be used in lower-carb meals, I didn't need a special trip to the store to make dinner. I could take what was available and turn it into a filling, low-carb meal.

That's one reason the way we grocery shop matters. When the refrigerator is full, there may be dozens of choices. But eventually there comes a night when the refrigerator isn't full. If the foods left behind are ingredients that work with the way your family eats, those last few ingredients can still become dinner.

This skillet was one of those meals.

The cauliflower cooks right in the Rotel and tomato sauce, absorbing their flavor as it becomes tender. After some of the liquid cooks away, cheese is stirred in at the end, making the whole skillet creamy and mellowing some of the heat from the Rotel.

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground sausage

• 1 head fresh cauliflower, cut into bite-sized pieces

• 1 whole red onion, diced

• 8 ounces frozen sliced mushrooms

• 1 large can Rotel tomatoes with green chiles

• ½ cup tomato sauce

• 1 tablespoon garlic powder

• Black pepper, to taste

• Salt, if needed

• 1 cup Mexican blend shredded cheese

Directions

1. Brown the sausage. Place the ground sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook, breaking it into small crumbles, until browned and cooked through. If the sausage produces a large amount of grease, drain off the excess, leaving a little in the skillet for flavor.

2. Cook the onion and mushrooms. Add the diced red onion and frozen sliced mushrooms to the sausage. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion begins to soften and the mushrooms are cooked through.

3. Add the cauliflower, Rotel, and tomato sauce. Add the bite-sized fresh cauliflower, Rotel, and ½ cup tomato sauce directly to the skillet. Stir everything together so the cauliflower is well coated with the tomato mixture.

4. Season. Add 1 tablespoon garlic powder and black pepper to taste. Taste before adding salt because the sausage, Rotel, and cheese may already provide enough.

5. Let the cauliflower absorb the flavors. Cover the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until the cauliflower is tender. Cooking the cauliflower directly in the Rotel and tomato sauce allows it to absorb those flavors as it cooks.

6. Cook off the excess liquid. Once the cauliflower is tender, remove the lid. Continue cooking uncovered, stirring occasionally, until some of the excess liquid has cooked away. The mixture should still be moist but not runny.

7. Add the cheese. Stir in 1 cup Mexican blend shredded cheese. Cook just until the cheese melts into the remaining juices and the skillet becomes creamy.

Lactose-Free Option

For a completely lactose-free skillet, replace the 1 cup Mexican blend cheese with 1 cup plant-based shredded cheese.

To make half regular and half lactose-free, as I did: Complete the recipe through Step 6, then divide the sausage and cauliflower mixture evenly between two pans. Add ½ cup Mexican blend shredded cheese to one half and ½ cup plant-based shredded cheese to the lactose-free half. Heat just until the cheese melts and each portion becomes creamy.

Estimated Carbohydrates

Entire Recipe

Total Carbohydrates: Approximately 75 g

Net Carbohydrates: Approximately 54 g

Per Serving (1/4 of Recipe)

Total Carbohydrates: Approximately 18.8 g

Net Carbohydrates: Approximately 13.5 g

Nutrition values are estimates and may vary depending on the size of the cauliflower and onion and the brands of sausage, Rotel, tomato sauce, and cheese used.

The lactose-free version may vary slightly depending on the plant-based cheese used.

A Faithful Steps Kitchen Tip

Eating with diabetes or choosing a lower-carb way of eating doesn't mean every meal has to begin with a special recipe or a perfectly stocked refrigerator.

Think about the foods you buy regularly. Proteins, lower-carb vegetables, canned tomatoes, seasonings, frozen vegetables, and other versatile ingredients can be combined in many different ways.

Then, when grocery day gets delayed and you're looking at the last few things in the refrigerator, freezer, and pantry, the question doesn't have to be, “What can we eat?”

It can simply be, “What can I make with what we have?”

Sometimes, what you have is enough.

“I know both how to have a little, and I know how to have a lot.”— Philippians 4:12 (CSB)

Paul's words are a reminder that life has seasons of abundance and seasons when there is less. We can learn to be content and make good use of what God has already placed in our hands.