This Is How I Rolled, This Is What I Got!

Today my daughter called and asked me what I was up to. In short reply, my answer was "I have no clue"! Why was that? As usual, I had my kitchen in what I like to call various stages. For some reason I had decided to make space in my fridge and use up lots of "stuff" and get it out of the way, to of course, make room for more. I had cut up my roasted chicken and had the bones with all the usual flavor enhancers going for bone broth and chicken in stages for possibly chicken salad and hot chicken sandwiches on my cutting board. I had buttercup squash quarters roasting in my oven and I had a head of cauliflower steaming on my stove top and desperately waiting for me to do something with a couple potatoes hanging out (which finally got tossed in the oven to roast for home fries).

It has gotten to the point in our 50 plus year marriage where my husband refuses to listen when I mention my menu because he knows it is a long shot whether or not what I say is what we actually get that meal. My problem is I love the unusual and he loves very basic meals. So, today, I went the way I always go. One different and one basic. I had my created cauliflower, squash mac and cheese, recipe below, with my chicken and he had chicken and gravy over home fries.

Here is what I did today:

Made 2 cups of a white sauce

Added in 3/4 cup of finely mashed butternut squash

1 1/4 cup of shredded Monterey Jack cheese, or cheese of choice

Spices of choice if desired

TBSP of dijon mustard, or mustard of choice

Added in my steamed (steamed for just 5 minutes then broke into florets) and dried cauliflower (see note)

Poured into my lightly sprayed casserole dish

Baked at 375 about 30 minutes till bubbly and starting to brown on top

Note: steaming your cauliflower whole in an inch of water with the core hollowed out core side down, covered, makes the cauliflower easier to break into pieces and keeps it fairly dry which makes for a much better dish. The drier the cauliflower the better. If doing this way for other recipes, you will want to steam much longer until done to your likeness.

In my defense, I did make more room for that day anyway. As always, my resolve to cut down on my next shopping trip went right out the window, but I will keep trying!!

Happy cooking, Be Safe!!