Serves 6
Picky eaters can be really tough to convince to eat veggies and other healthy foods. I came up with this recipe for these picky eaters; it has veggies masquerading as a cheese sauce! Just don’t tell them, we’ll keep it our little secret!!
This is easily my favorite pasta. I make it all the time for myself and friends and family. Kids love it too!!
Cheaters Alley: If you can’t find butternut squash frozen or just want to shave a few minutes off prep time, you can use canned pumpkin instead. It would be about 1 cup of pumpkin, and you can skip the boiling with the milk and water.
Ingredients:
½ head Cauliflower – sliced thin (don’t worry if it falls apart)
1 lb Pasta (any shape you like – gluten free is perfect too)
½ cup pasta Water
10 oz frozen Butternut Squash
½ cup Milk (regular, or non dairy milk)
½ cup sharp Cheddar cheese
¼ cup Parmesan cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste
Easy Directions:
- Bake the cauliflower in a 425 oven for 15 minutes
- Boil Pasta
- Bring squash, milk, and pasta water to a boil
- Add squash mix, cauliflower, and cheeses to the blender
- Taste, you will probably need to add a decent amount of salt
- Add the sauce to the pasta
- Eat up!! (And don’t tell!)
Detailed Directions:
- Set oven to 425
- Put cauliflower florets on a baking tray
- Throw the cauliflower in the oven (its ok if its not up to temp yet)
- Bake for 15 minutes
- In a large pot, bring pasta water to a boil
- Add pasta, and cook until al dente, I recommend 2 minutes less than the package says
- Drain and add back to the pot, off the heat
- In another, small pot, boil milk and pasta water (scoop it out of the boiling pasta pot) with the butternut squash
- Add the butternut squash and milk mix into a blender with the cheeses
- Add the cauliflower
- Blend until smooth
- Taste, you will probably need to add a decent amount of salt
- Add the sauce to the pasta in the pot, reheat if necessary
- Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed (yes again – this is your last chance to get it perfect!)
- Eat up!! (And don’t tell!)
