Recently, I stopped by Carl’s Jr. for one of their low carb burgers and spotted the photo for their yummy-looking French fries with bacon and cheese.  Oh, my mouth watered for that! It looked so delicious… But I was good and just ordered the burger, but I started thinking about the potato substitute options with cheese.  I decided to try cauliflower with it and to do something I’ve not done with this vegetable before; I fried it.  And with that, this side dish was born.

Cheese and Bacon Fried Cauliflower

1/2 head Cauliflower, cut into flowerets
4 slices thick cut Bacon
1` cup Cheddar Cheese, shredded
1/2 cup Oil
Seasoning Salt to taste

Bring a pot of water to a boil and add the cauliflower. Cook for 5 minutes, then drain and let cool five minutes.

Heat the oil in a skillet to about 350 degrees over medium high heat. Add about 1/4th of the cauliflower flowerets to the hot oil and cook until golden brown, then turn over and cook until the backside is golden brown. Remove to a paper towel to drain. Cook the rest of the cauliflower in the same-sized batches and let them drain.

Preheat oven to 365 degrees (F.)

Cook the bacon until crisp, let cool, then break it into pieces.

Prepare a baking pan with a layer of aluminum foil and spread the cauliflower into four groups on the sheet. Put 1/4 of the bacon pieces on each group of cauliflower, then sprinkle 1/4 of the cheese on top of each.

Put in the oven for 5 minutes to melt the cheese. Remove with a spatula to plates to serve.

Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition Information per serving:
Calories: 195 Fat: 14.9 g Net Carbs:2.4 g Protein: 12.1 g

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