Cauliflower Mash - New Recipe!

People who have known me forever (like my mom, my BFF Lindsay, Andy, etc.) sometimes still get a good laugh out of: a) seeing me in the kitchen working away b) me telling them about a new recipe c) me making them try a new recipe. This is due to the fact that I hated cooking/baking/making anything (despite being President of FCCLA - aka politically correct version of Future Homemakers of America). I often told people how I would only marry a man that could (and would) cook (all of our meals). When I lived on my own in college I made a whole lot of cheese fries, frozen pizzas and spaghetti (without meat in the sauce, as Andy likes to point out).

I refused to touch raw meat. I had no real desire to make anything in the kitchen. And honestly, I have no idea when it all changed.

I remember when I first started handling raw meat (wearing rubber gloves! haha) and adding hamburger to my jar spaghetti sauce (I was 22). I'm not sure how I became such a housewife considering I didn't even know how to do laundry until I was 22 (ignorance is bliss people).

Now, I can not tell you how many days I spend hours straight in the kitchen. During the month of December I'm pretty sure I racked up some amazing numbers in my kitchen!

Yesterday I spent a good portion of the day making 7 Layer Salad, Jalapeno Corn Muffins, Taco Soup & Banana Pudding for Andy's squad for dinner. Today I tried out Cauliflower Mash and Potato Soup. I realized today, I had never boiled potatoes before (thank goodness for Google). I often find myself Googling how to do seemingly easy tasks in the kitchen (how to cut up a butternut squash...).

My mom gave me a head of cauliflower to use because she knew she wouldn't get around to it. She also told me (knowing my "healthified living kick") about being able to use Cauliflower to make something similar to mashed potatoes. Of course, I set out on Google looking for the easiest recipe.

Warning: I'm not much for complicated recipes that take 20+ ingredients. Especially, when I'm trying something completely different. If this recipe had been awful and I had thrown it away, I wouldn't have cost myself $20 on the ingredients too.

Garlic Cauliflower Mash

• 1 head cauliflower , separated into florets
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 garlic cloves , minced
• salt and pepper , to taste

1. Preheat oven to 300°F.
2. Steam cauliflower for 10 minutes, until soft enough to easily pierce with a fork. 
   Remove from heat & transfer to a food processor or blender. Process until smooth. Add milk, garlic, salt and pepper. Process until mixed.
3. Pour into 1-1/2 quart baking dish. Bake for 10 min., until top is slightly browned.

 

I adapted this recipe from others on the internet - since I had the ingredients on hand. I also baked mine for 10 minutes but didn't wait for it to brown, just to "set" to a better consistency. 

 

I was impressed and will definitely give cauliflower mash another try -- next time I'll add a few more ingredients and try a little twist on the recipes I saw online... now that I know it's worth the extra money!