Servings – 4-5

This recipe can be adapted for any stage of the program.

Ingredients:

• mashed cauliflower (cook one head of cauliflower, then mash with 4 tbsp of low fat / fat free sour cream and a couple of tablespoons of taco seasoning.)
• 1 pkg. of low sodium taco seasoning mix
• 1 lb. extra lean ground beef
• ½ cup chopped onion or green onion depending on which stage of the program you area following
• 1 cup shredded lettuce
• 1 medium tomato, chopped – if you use just a small amount, you can make this work no matter what stage of the program you area following.
• 1/2 green pepper finely diced
• 1 bunch green onions finely diced
• 1 cup low fat / skim milk mozzarella
• light / fat free sour cream for topping at the end.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Press mashed cauliflower mixture into the bottom of a 10-inch pan.
2. Bake for 7-10 minutes until it just BARELY turns golden brown.  At this stage you could try to turn it over to brown the other side but it is not necessary.
3. In a medium skillet, cook beef and onions until beef is browned and cooked through. Drain any excess fat (best done by spooning the meat out of the pan with a slotted spoon onto a plate lined with paper towel) – clean the remainder of the fat from your pan and add the meat back into the pan for the remainder of the cooking.
4. Add the taco seasoning that you did not use in your mashed cauliflower – at this stage you may need to add 1-2 tbsp water to mix the spices.  Alternatively, you could mix the spices in the water to make a loose paste and pour that into the beef to ensure even distribution. Cook over low to medium heat until bubbly.
5. Pour onto crust. Bake for 15 minutes, or until crust is golden brown.
6. Let cool for 5 minutes. Top with shredded cheese, lettuce, and tomatoes, green onions, green peppers. ( you could add the cheese for the last 5 min of baking as well to make it soft and stretchy )
7. Cut and serve with sour cream if desired.