Cauliflower Alfredo

Our children wanted Chicken Alfredo for dinner on Sunday.  I have been making my way through a box of mixes in the food storage and said yes figuring I'd use up a couple more.  Mixes are something that's gone to the wayside with our new eating habits, but I've been steadily using up what we've had stored. When I went to get a mix I found that I'd already used the last one.  What to make for dinner?

I found several sites that talked about a cauliflower sauce for pasta and it intrigued me. I had a head of cauliflower that was ready to be used so I decided what the heck?  My husband was out of town so we could always have rice crispies if it flopped.  The result was a yummy pasta sauce. Next time I would use my blendtec to puree it rather than my hand blender as it had a grainy in texture, but it was yummy.  We skipped the chicken and just did wilted spinach in the sauce.  I will do it again  and might even add cooked carrots and broccali to the sauce.  In fact I might use the sauce to make a cheesy veggie soup.  

Crumb Topping 

Mix together: 

1/2 c. dry bread crumbs

1/4 c. parmesian cheese

1/2 tsp dry basil

1 T. olive oil

Brown bread crumb/parmesian mixture in skillet with olive oil.

Alfredo Sauce:

3-5 cloves of garlic peeled

1 small onion diced

1 T. olive oil

1 head cauliflower washed and cut into pieces

4 c. water

1/4 tsp basil

1/4 tsp oregano

1/8 tsp red pepper flakes

1/2 c. paremsian cheese

3/4 c. fresh spinach

Place oil, onion and garlic in large pan.  Cook til tender then add cauliflower, water and seasonings.  Cook til cauliflower is very, very tender.  Blend well and add cheeses. Remove from heat and stir in spinach. 

Serve over pasta and sprinkle bread crumb topping over each serving. 

Inspired by a recipe at: American Food