A lot of yummy recipes are shared on Facebook, like this one recently posted from BuzzFeed for One-Pan Mac and Cheese. This is a delicious recipe with lots of cheese flavor and the subtle taste of the spinach and artichoke hearts just enhances it.

For me, I immediately start adapting it to a low carb version because I know that macaroni, or any pasta, is too high carb’d for my lifestyle unless I make the pasta myself from low carb flours. So far, I haven’t tried that although it’s on my to-do list.

But in this case, the easier change to the recipe is to replace the macaroni with cauliflower. If you like this vegetable, and I know some people who don’t, then it is an amazing replacement for many starches in your cooking. You can chop it and use it to replace smaller pastas. You can rice it or chop it finely in a food processor to use it as a fill-in for rice, couscous, and other small pastas. You can also use it for pizza crusts, bread sticks, and assorted other bread replacements.

As a replacement for macaroni, it is fantastic. It doesn’t have a strong flavor, particularly if you start with fresh cauliflower or use frozen that hasn’t defrosted and sat in the refrigerator for a couple of days. While this recipe is very close to the one posted, I never make anything exactly the way it’s written. In addition to the cauliflower for macaroni swap, I also added bacon, because I love bacon and this just called out for it. The artichoke hearts may be a little hard to find but you can get them either canned or frozen. If you can get frozen, those are better. Do not get marinated artichoke hearts unless they’re the only option you have. If you do, wash them thoroughly before using unless you want the taste of the marinade in your meal. While I didn’t add them this time, the next time I make this, I think adding chopped green onions would be awesome.

I also cut the recipe in half so two people don’t have too many leftovers, but you can easily double it if you want the larger dish. I used an 8″ cast iron skillet and it filled it to almost over-flowing so even the larger cast iron skillet might not be big enough for the full recipe. Also, if you are making this recipe with macaroni instead of cauliflower, use 1/2 the amount called for as macaroni expands as it cooks, so one cup dry equals two cups cooked.

Don’t like cauliflower? Try dicing turnips or kohlrabi into small cubes to fill in for the macaroni. After they are diced, cook them in boiling water or in a bowl in the microwave until a fork can easily pierce them. At this point, this resembles a scalloped potato recipe more than it does macaroni and cheese, but they are similar.

Skillet Spinach Artichoke Cauli-Mac

1 tablespoon Butter
1 clove Garlic minced
3 oz. Baby Spinach
1/2 cup Artichoke hearts, drained
1/2 pound Bacon, cooked and broken into pieces(optional)
3/4 cup Heavy Cream
1/4 cup Water
1 teaspoon Sea Salt
1 teaspoon Black Pepper, freshly ground
2 cups Cauliflower, chopped
1/2 cup Cheddar Cheese
1 1/2 cups Mozzarella Cheese

Preheat oven to 450 degrees (F.)

In an ovenproof 8″ skillet, such as a cast iron one, melt the butter, then add the garlic, spinach and artichoke hearts. Cook and stir until the spinach wilts. Add the cream, water, salt and pepper. Stir until the sauce is boiling. Add the bacon and cauliflower pieces and stir into the sauce. Cool until the sauce coats the cauliflower pieces. Add the cheddar and one cup of mozzarella to the pan and stir until it is completely melted.

Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella on top and bake for about seven minutes or until the cheese if bubbly and golden brown.

Makes 4 servings.