Cauliflower Garlic Rice Skillet

I’ve been trying to decide all week what to post for Recipe Friday, but we really haven’t had anything new all week. Monday we had Fajita Tacos, Tuesday we had Goulash (albeit with rotini noodles instead of macaroni, which my husband says makes it not Goulash, but it’s the same recipe to me), Wednesday we had a rice skillet (which I posted several variations of in the past), and Thursday we had Chili Dogs (without the macaroni). It’s been a pretty ordinary culinary week at the Kruschke household.

But then I got to thinking about the variation on the rice skillet that I made this week, and realized that although it’s just a variation on the same old recipe to me, to someone else it might seem completely new and something they never would have thought of. So I decided to share this recipe that involves cauliflower and just a little bit of garlic.

I really like this recipe because cauliflower is one of my favorite vegetables, and has been ever since I was a kid. The first time I made this variation I was a little worried about using cauliflower because it doesn’t take long to cook and can get mushy pretty easily. But I discovered that if you don’t add it until the latter half of the cooking process it holds up well and adds a nice flavor to the dish. My family loves this one, although my son’s favorite rice dish is still what he has dubbed Rice Stuff.

Cauliflower Garlic Rice Skillet

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef
2 packages Rice-a-Roni, Long Grain and Wild Rice flavor
1/2 cup chopped sweet onion
2 tbsp butter (per Rice-a-Roni directions)
3 2/3 cups water
1 large clove of garlic, chopped or pressed through a garlic press
1 tsp dried rosemary, crushed
2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
1 small head of cauliflower, chopped into small pieces
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Fry hamburger in a large skillet. Remove grease using a turkey baster. Add onion and garlic, and saute for a minute or two. Push meat and onion mixture to one side of the pan. Melt butter on the other side of the pan and pour in the Rice-a-Roni, seasoning packet, rosemary, and water, and stir altogether. (You will note that the water is more than indicated on the Rice-a-Roni directions. This is to accommodate the vegetables.) Layer carrots on top. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover. Simmer for 15 minutes. Stir and layer cauliflower pieces on top. Cover again and simmer for another 10 – 15 minutes, or until all liquid is absorbed. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Note about lower fat options: If you prefer chicken or turkey, you could substitute either one in this recipe for a lower fat recipe. You can also substitute a tbsp of olive oil for the butter for a healthier option.

Note about the rice: The reason I use two packages for this recipe is because the Long Grain and Wild Rice variety of Rice-a-Roni is only a little over 4 oz, whereas most of the other varieties are almost 8 oz. I suspect that is because wild rice is more expensive than white rice or vermicelli pasta that is used in other Rice-a-Roni. You can substitute one package of Herb and Butter Rice-a-Roni if you don’t like wild rice.