So I know Thanksgiving came and went and many people have already forgotten about their turkey and pumpkin pies stuffed bellies because they are now inundated with everything Christmas related. But I have to get one thing off my chest. It was not until this year that I realized that I love Thanksgiving more than Christmas. Yes I said it; I know, shoot me now but first hear me out. Thanksgiving is a time to get together with family, eat good food, watch football and of course, above all, be thankful for what you have and appreciate the people around you. Christmas is about that too, but we forget about the appreciative part because we are so busy and worried about buying gifts, taking pictures with Santa, sending out holiday cards, baking cookies, etc. Thanksgiving is Christmas without the pressure of all the “drama.” This year, I was so blessed that I was able to spend a few days with my wonderful cousins over the Thanksgiving break and it dawned on me that Thanksgiving was now my new favorite holiday. Thirty four of us crazy Cubans were able to meet in Florida to celebrate Thanksgiving and my Uncle’s 80th birthday and it didn’t matter who bought what gift. All that mattered is that we were all there to drink (and eat) to the wee hours of the night and talk about life and everything taboo like politics, religion, and mindless gossip. Two and half weeks later, I am still in the Sanchez Family Reunion withdrawals. I love my family. We all had so much fun that we are already planning the next trip. Stay tuned world, we can’t promise you anything but I know havoc is sure to be present.

Anyway, many of them harassed me and asked me why Ben and I looked so “fit.” They were convinced I was anorexic. As you know, I attest most of my success to CrossFit. Ever since I started CrossFit I am the strongest I have ever been in my life. CrossFit pushes me everyday to the limits and just when I think I cannot do anymore, I do. I surprise myself time and time again and I am eternally grateful to my CrossFit community. Having that said, we all know working out is not the only answer. We must eat healthy and eat whole, non processed foods. My family was amazed and critical of our Paleo-ish lifestyle. How could a Cuban girl live a life without eating rice and beans? Easy, I say. I reassured them that I am still the same girl who loved food. We all know this girl needs to eat A LOT of food or I would be a B!@ch. So I have no choice but to eat healthy, if not I would be extremely obese. They didn’t believe me when I told them that I do not feel deprived with my Paleo-ish lifestyle (Notice I am not using the word diet; die. ts are temporary and lifestyles are permanent). I told them how I tricked my taste buds and make vegetables look and taste like pastas, rices and other starches. They were skeptical and still are but I am not “finished” with them. Since our trip, I have been texting them the importance about eating healthy and sending them pictures of my meals to prove to them that healthy meals can be delicious and easy to make. I know I sound annoying but I truly believe persistence more times than not leads to success and I want them to live long, active lives so we can plan 50 more family reunions.  Anyway, by the end of the trip, I was referred to as the “Cauliflower Woman” because no one believed how much I cauliflower our family consumed. As you have noticed from my blog, I mash it; I rice it; I also use it and make a no grain pizza crust out of it (Stay tuned, recipe to come). I am not exaggerating when I say I always have at least 4 bags of frozen cauliflower in my freezer at all times.

In honor of my crazy Latin family, I decided to make a cauliflower rice infused with fiery Latin flavors; just like them! I added tomato sauce and chorizo, a Mexican soft pork sausage seasoned with paprika and other spices, and I can’t tell you how tasty this Spanish “rice” turned out. Most of the time, no matter how much I love cauliflower rice or mashed, I will be the first to tell you that you need to serve it with a protein that has enough sauce to give the cauliflower flavor. With this cauliflower rice recipe that is not the case; it was good on it’s own! I DO NOT LIE. It was THAT good that Ben and I couldn’t believe we almost ate the entire two bags of cauliflower in 1 meal. Yes, we barely had enough for leftovers the next day, so embarrassing but so true.

Try it and see for yourself. Don’t be a hater and knock it before you try it. It is THAT good, Scouts honor. I served this rice with my Crock Pot Pork Shoulder Carnitas Style. AMAZING!

5.0 from 2 reviews

Chorizo No Grain Cauliflower Rice

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

25 mins

 

This Chorizo no grain cauliflower rice will knock your socks off!

Author: Laura

Recipe type: No Grain Substitution

Cuisine: Paleo

Serves: 8+

Ingredients

• 2 fresh heads of cauliflower or 2 bags of frozen cauliflower, steamed
• 1½ teaspoons of garlic powder
• 1½ teaspoons of onion powder
• 2 teaspoons of cumin
• 1 can of 8 oz tomato sauce
• 1 link (4 oz) of chorizo, squeezed out of casing
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Steam cauliflower.
2. Once your cauliflower is steamed and soft, about 8-10 minutes, you can either grate your cauliflower rice with the grater insert with your food processor like I have done for the last year OR you can be lazy like me tonight and just put all the cauliflower in the food processor and "chop" it for about a minute stopping every 15 to 20 seconds to stir it. If you grate/ rice your cauliflower this way just be mindful you don't want to chop it too long because you run the risk of starting to puree the cauliflower and instead of rice you will have mashed cauliflower.
3. Once rice is grated and the cauliflower looks like real rice, place it in a medium saucepan with all the ingredients. Stir on low to medium heat for about 5 minutes until the the chorizo and tomato sauce are stirred completely and the rice is warmed to your liking.
4. Eat and prepare to be wowed! I served this rice with my Crock Pot Pork Shoulder Carnitas Style. AMAZING!

3.1.09

Chorizo No Grain Cauliflower Rice Ingredients. I decided to use just 1 can of tomato sauce instead of two. Feel free to use more if you want more of a tomato taste. I thought it was fine with just one.

Steaming the cauliflower for the chorizo no grain cauliflower rice. I use a steamer insert into a medium saucepan. Others prefer to microwave their cauliflower and that is ok too.

“Cheating”= Grating the cauliflower to rice and hitting the chopping button instead of using the grater option for the food processor. To be honest, it turned out the same and it was faster and less messy. For those of you who don’t have a grater insert for their food processor, this is proof that now you can still make cauliflower rice. So no excuses now!

Sauteing the cauliflower rice with spices, tomato sauce, and chorizo.

The Chorizo No Grain Cauliflower Rice was too good to not show up close. It was so good that I finally FINALLY finally fooled my boys and they ate it. They thought it was Spanish Rice!

Chorizo No Grain Cauliflower Rice served with my crock pot pork shoulder pernil carnitas style. Soooo good!!!!

So who is running out and making this TODAY?! Try to fool your love ones and see if they notice they aren’t eating REAL rice.