Caulifredo Casserole

She ain't gonna win no beauty contest, but she's what's for dinner.

I bear the burden of having to pass by one of my more favorite Italian restaurants every night as I make my way home from the subway stop, and that burden is doubled now that they've opened up their sidewalk seating. Piles of pasta and the mouth-watering smell of garlic taunt me as I routinely muster the willpower to keep walking and cook up whatever I had planned for dinner. Tonight, however, I saw this guy tucking into tortellini smothered in cream sauce, and I knew immediately that whatever I made for dinner was gonna have to involve cheese and HOW.

And so, Caulifredo Casserole was born, and it was good.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 of a 10-oz box frozen cauliflower florets
• 1 wedge Laughing Cow Light swiss cheese
• 2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup lowfat, no salt cottage cheese
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• splash Worcestershire sauce (to suit your taste...or not)
• 1/2 can no salt chunk light tuna packed in water
• 1 package shirataki noodles
• 1 tbsp bread crumbs

Cheese please:

1. Preheat oven to 350*.
2. Steam/microwave the cauliflower to the point of no return, until it flakes apart easily with a fork. Transfer to a medium bowl.
3. Meanwhile, drain, rinse and boil a package of shirataki noodles for about 3 minutes. Drain and snip into small (1 inch or so) pieces with clean scissors.
4. Add cheeses and seasonings to the bowl with cauliflower and use a fork to mush together until you have a fairly even, pastey blob.
5. Drain the can of tuna and flake 1/2 of it into the bowl, mix in until evenly distributed.
6. Add the noodles and do the same.
7. Spread the mixture into a small casserole dish prepared with nonstick cooking spray. Sprinkle bread crumbs over the top, along with a little bit of dried herbs (like an Italian mix of basil, oregano, thyme, etc.), if desired.
8. Bake for 15-20 minutes and enjoy with some fresh ground pepper on top.

Serves 1! :D

If you wanted to make this vegetarian, simply omit the tuna and perhaps double the cauliflower. Don't be alfredo, it'll be just as good. [Insert your bad-pun groans here.]