Loaded Cauliflower Casserole: Cook Once Eat All Week Review

New obsession: this cookbook. And this Loaded Cauliflower Casserole I made this week from the book ain’t hurting my opinion of it either. Read on for a Cook Once Eat All Week review AND a delicious recipe from the book courtesy of Cassy Joy Garcia!

PS – head to the bottom of the page to enter a giveaway to win a copy of the book!!

This book is ingenious and I’m surprised that no one (myself included) had thought of this concept before. In Cassy Joy’s Cook Once, Eat All Week: 26 Weeks of Gluten-Free, Affordable Meal Prep to Preserve Your Time & Sanity, we’re preparing food for the week (duh, as noted in the title of the book) to make your life easier. Not to restrict your food or eat it out of little containers all week, but also not to eat the same thing all week, which is what happens with conventional/popular meal prep. 

Usually, it goes a little something like this: grocery shop and plan on Saturday, prep all the things on Sunday for the week which can take you hours and hours and hours. Not even counting the dishes.

Not so with this cookbook. Cassy’s new method has you preparing a few basic ingredients on Sunday that you’ll use in three different recipes throughout the week – so that you’re eating a different recipe every night and it only takes about 15-20 minutes to prep for each recipe on weeknights. For the WIN. This is a fantastic way to take the fear out of preparing meals if you’re getting out of the dieting/all-or-nothing mentality. Because while traditional meal prep (container, chicken + broccoli + plain rice style) can be a danger zone for people trying to break free of dieting, preparing some ingredients on the weekend can take you 100 steps forward in making your life easier and making sure you have a base of foods that are going to make you feel great throughout the week.

Here’s how the book is set up. Each week you have 2-3 main components that you will prepare, and then strategically transform them throughout the week into different recipes to suit your tastebuds’ fancy. For example, I started with week 3, which is Roasted Chicken and Cauliflower.

Here’s the game plan.

1. before you prep, grocery shop (the list is written out for you in the book!)
2. follow the prep steps. Roast the chicken in the oven. Meanwhile, break down two heads of cauliflower into florets, and then steam one of them and turn it into cauliflower mash. Cook and crumble some bacon, then make the balsamic sauce. Once the chicken is cool, break it down into breasts and thighs for use later in the week. Weekend prep done.
3. Once you’re ready to make a recipe during the week, you’ve got 3 choices:
   • Loaded Cauliflower Casserole
   • Balsamic Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner
   • Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Avocados
   • Cassy also includes extra bonus recipes and simple side ideas if you want to add any of those on during the week, with tons of substitutions for dairy-free, allergen-friendly, etc., 
4. On any given night, you take the components that you’ve already prepared, throw them together, and then either stick it in the oven to cook or throw it together and eat immediately. Again, WHY has no one thought of this concept before??

It took me an hour and a half to prep on Sunday, my prep day. And that’s only because the chickens were roasting for an hour and I had to wait for them to cool to break them down. But total hands-on time was probably 30 minutes!!

Did I mention that not only are the recipe photos gorgeous, but totally mouthwatering with their simple yet delicious flavor combinations? I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t drooling while flipping through the book. The hardest part of all of this was honestly deciding what to make first! 

Some other recipes to look forward to/drool over…

• Green Chili Chicken Casserole
• Firecracker Meatballs
• Mexican Chicken and Corn Street Tacos
• Philly Cheesesteak Loaded Fries
• Sweet and Sour Chicken Chow Mein
• Al Pastor Pizzas
• Caribbean Plantain Bowls
• and so many more delicious recipes!!

And because Cassy is the BEST, she’s letting me share one of the recipes from the book with you!

Honestly, when I was flipping through the book to decide what to make first – this recipe reached out from the pages and screamed “MAKE ME you know I’m delicious”. For real though. Talk about a decadent dish that seems like it makes hours and hours to make…but no one needs to know how easy it was for you to throw together! You could even throw some boiled potatoes in the mash if you want to make it a little more filling!

PS – want to hear Cassy talk more about her cookbook, her journey to break the diet cycle, and how she approaches meal prep from an intuitive eating approach? Check out my interview with her here!

Loaded Cauliflower Casserole from Cook Once, Eat All Week

 

Print

Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

25 mins

 

Dana: Cassy Joy Garcia

Serves: 4+ servings

Ingredients

For the Mashed Cauliflower:

• 2 medium heads cauliflower, cut into florets
• ¼ cup sour cream or coconut cream from the top of a can of full-fat coconut milk
• 2 tablespoons salted butter, ghee, or oil of choice
• 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

For the Casserole:

• 3 cups of shredded chicken (from a rotisserie chicken or about 1 ½ pounds chicken breast)
• 1½ cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 10 strips bacon, cooked and sliced or crumbled (from Prep Day)
• 2 tablespoons sliced green onions, for garnish

Directions

Steam the cauliflower using one of these two methods (this is done on prep day!):

1. Microwave option: Place the cauliflower in a microwave-safe bowl with 1⁄4 cup of water. Cover and microwave on high for 10 minutes, until cooked through. Let cool slightly, then drain.
2. Stovetop option: Pour 1⁄4 cup of water into a large skillet or sauté pan over medium heat. Once hot, add the cauliflower and cover the pan. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let the cauliflower steam for 12 to 15 minutes, until cooked through. Let cool slightly, then drain.

Place the cooked cauliflower in a food processor along with the sour cream, butter, salt, and pepper. Pulse until smooth.

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. Evenly spread the cauliflower mash into an 8-inch round casserole dish.
3. Top the cauliflower mash with the cheddar cheese, chicken, and bacon.
4. Bake for 20 minutes, until cheese is browned and bubbling.
5. Let cool slightly, garnish with green onions, and serve!

3.5.3208

Game plan for you? 1. Enter the giveaway below! OR, 2. Grab the book on Amazon, duh! and definitely try out this recipe! 

Like this Cook Once Eat All Week review? You’ll love these too!

Tomato & Sausage Frittata: Cassy Joy’s Fed & Fit Cookbook Review
Meal Planning Made Easy with Real Plans
Chicken & Veggies Meal Prep Sheet Pan Bake

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