Creamy Cauliflower Macaroni and Cheese

Why do weekends have to go by so fast?  I think Monday is my least favorite day of the week.  Again since I woke up late yesterday, I had another brunch – this time with 2 ounces french bread topped with spinach and ham scrambled eggs, topped with 1/2 ounce of cheese, then put under the broiler.  Breakfast was a delicious 10 points.

On Saturday when I was doing an inventory of my pantry/fridge/freezer I forgot that I had a whole cauliflower to use up.  I was recently sent a box of Dreamfield’s Pasta to try (I received two boxes of pasta to try for free).  Being diabetic, I appreciate the fact that this pasta is low on the Glycemic index, meaning that I don’t have a spike in blood sugar like I normally would eating regular pasta.

I adapted a recipe from Mark Bittman to make a Creamy Cauliflower Mac N Cheese.  The only thing I did was reduce the broth to 2 cups, left out the Parmesan cheese, left out the olive oil and reduced the bread crumbs to 3 tablespoons over the top – and reduced the cheese to three ounces total.  Six servings (a generous cup) is 6 WW points.

Creamy Cauliflower Mac
Instead of using high-fat butter and cream, Bittman makes his healthier mac and cheese with pureed cauliflower, chicken stock, and a moderate amount of cheese.

• 2 1/2 cups vegetable or chicken stock  (I used 2 cups)
• 2 bay leaves (nope, hate by leaves)
• 1 cauliflower, cored and cut into large pieces
• 8 ounces whole-wheat elbow macaroni  (I used Dreamfield’s Pasta)
• 1/2 cup grated cheese (such as sharp cheddar, Gruyere, or Emmental, or a combination)  I used 2 ounces in the sauce, and 1 ounce for the top
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• Salt and black pepper
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup whole-grain bread crumbs (I used 3 tablespoons)

Heat oven to 400° F. Boil a pot of salted water.   In a saucepan, warm stock and bay leaves on medium-low heat for five minutes; turn off heat.
Cook cauliflower in boiling water for 25 minutes. Put cauliflower in a food processor.  Cook pasta in boiling water for five minutes. Drain and rinse to cool; put pasta in a greased, nine-inch square baking dish. Process cauliflower with stock (discard bay leaves), cheese, oil, mustard, nutmeg, salt, and pepper, working in batches.
Pour sauce over pasta, toss, and spread evenly in dish. Top with Parmesan and bread crumbs. Bake 20 minutes. Serves six four.

This was super delicious and creamy.  And the pasta tastes like regular pasta to me – sometimes whole wheat pasta has a different texture that I am not fond of.  Best part is that this reheats really well too.

My SIL and I went to see the Vow yesterday – really cute movie, but TOTAL chick flick. 😀  I ended up making a whole chicken on the gas grill.  I cut out the back bone, put about 1 teaspoon of olive oil over the top, then salted and peppered it and added chopped fresh rosemary.  I put the chicken back in the fridge and it stayed there for about 2 1/2 hours before I grilled it.  Because it’s butterflied, it only took about 50 minutes to grill.

 

I just happened to have brussel sprouts on hand – I wanted to give them another try and bought them last week, but never used them.  My SIL and MIL love them, so I cooked them up with broccoli – simply tossed in a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper and baked for 15 minutes at 400 degrees.

Guess what?  I still don’t like brussel sprouts, but the broccoli was delicious!  I never took a picture of my finished plate!  Oh well, my SIL loved dinner.  Remember how I used to cook her lunches when she first started WW?  She’s lost almost 35 pounds so far!  Well, she’s decided to hire me back in a couple weeks – she pays me $25 a week, and since I usually make recipes that serve at least 2 people and usually 4, it’s not a big deal.  She missed my food!

Alright, I guess I have to jump in the shower, unless anyone wants to sit at my desk today – any takers??

Make it a great day!