Fully Loaded Mashed Cauliflower

In my quest to find lower carb substitutes, I learned that cauliflower can be made into ANYTHING. Although whether it should or not remains to be questioned.  You want to eat rice? Make cauliflower rice! You want to eat pizza? Make cauliflower pizza crust! You want to eat mashed potatoes? Make mashed cauliflower!  You want to eat crackers and hummus? Just eat cauliflowers.  So basically, since I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes, I've bought a head of cauliflower every week at the grocery store.  I love that cauliflower is super cheap

I'd posted this on my Instagram account a few weeks ago, and I hadn't planned on posting about it since it is so stupid simple, but lots of people were interested in it so here goes:

Fully Loaded Mashed Cauliflower
Ingredients

• 1 head of cauliflower florets
• 1/2 c. shredded cheese
• 2 slices thick-cut bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 3 tbs. butter
• 2 tbs. Greek yogurt
• 1 tbs. ranch dressing mix (optional)
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 green onion, sliced

*really, all the additions are optional.  I just happen to like my fully loaded potatoes with all the above, so that's what I put in the mashed cauliflower.  Feel free to change the measurements, too.  I'm not really sure if these are accurate because I just eyeballed stuff.

Directions

1. Fill a large pot with water and about 2 tsp. salt and boil over high.  Add cauliflower florets and simmer covered over medium-low until soft, about 5-10 minutes.  Drain well!  Like shake all the water out of those suckers as you can.  Dry them in paper towels or a kitchen towel if needed.  I think I spun them in a salad spinner to get as much water out of them as possible.
2. Preheat oven to 375*F
3. In a large bowl, mash the cauliflower with a potato masher.  Mix in butter, Greek yogurt, ranch dressing, cheese, and bacon, salt and pepper; reserving about 1/4 c. of cheese and 1 tbs. bacon for later.  Transfer mixture to an oven-proof casserole dish (or if you hate dishes like me, do the mixing and mashing in the casserole dish too).  Top with reserved cheese and bacon and bake for about 5 minutes or until cheese melted.
4. Top with green onions and if desired, an additional dollop of Greek yogurt

Maybe not the prettiest thing to photgraph but pretty tasty!

Baby Back Pork Ribs, Fully Loaded Mashed Cauliflower, and Shish-kabobs