I don’t now about you, but I love going to the Italian Deli and purchasing rice balls. They are just filled with yummy goodness! I wanted to do a take on this favorite, but a keto version of it. Some recipes I have seen call for sausage or no meat for that matter, but I did not have sausage in the house so I used ground beef instead. I wanted to try it as a casserole instead to see how it would come out. The family liked it and said it was pretty tasty.

Ingredients:

2 cups Steamfresh cauliflower rice (usually two packages)

1 ¾ tsp Himalayan Salt

1.3 lbs. ground beef

¼ cup onion, dried/minced (I didn’t have a fresh one, so I used dried minced)

Pinch Black pepper

1 package Steamfresh peas

2 ½ cups Rao’s Marinara Sauce

1 large egg

1 egg white

½ cup pecorino Romano or parmesan cheese

cooking spray

1 cup crushed pork rinds (divided)

1 ¼ cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cook the cauliflower rice according to the directions on the package. Once done, let it cool to room temperature (be sure to strain as the cooking process causes water to be retained in the package). In a pan cook the ground beef until it is brown and then add the onion and cook until onion is translucent. Season the mixture with salt and black pepper, add peas, and 1 cup of marinara sauce and simmer covered for 20 minutes. In a bowl combine cauliflower rice, pecorino Romano cheese, eggs, and 1 cup marinara sauce and mix well and set aside. In a blender crush up pork rinds. Spray a 9 x 13 casserole dish with cooking spray and coat the bottom of the dish with the pork rinds. Take ½ of the cauliflower rice mixture and cover the bottom of the dish. Press down to make the first layer. Add the meat and peas and press down to make the second layer. Top the mixture with ¾ cup of mozzarella cheese. On top of the mozzarella mixture add the remaining cauliflower rice, top with the rest of the marinara sauce, 2 tbsp pork rinds, and remaining mozzarella cheese. Cover with foil and cook for 30 minutes until bubbly. Take out of the oven and let sit for a few minutes. Serve and eat.