Mashed "No Potatoes"

My oldest son is a picky eater.

Ha, mom, I know you are laughing.

My payback for terrorizing my mother all those years. All of those years I stuck my nose up at her dinners. I was a horribly finicky child.

As luck would  have it– I am a sneaky mom. I like to sneak different kinds of foods past my children as much as possible. Especially vegetables.

I bought a book a few years back: The Sneaky Chef

This book is MIA right now because of our “Great Family Migrations of 2007 & 2008″. Moving across the country and back 1 year apart… try it sometime! Oh, the things you will lose!

The concepts in it are simple. Puree cooked vegetables and add them to everyday dishes kids love.

Like mashed potatoes. OR in this case my famous Mashed “No Potatoes”.

My boys never know the difference. They thank me for the fabulous dinner and I smile as I watch them shovel in spoonfuls of healthiness into their little mouths.

No spuds in these “potatoes”.   All cauliflower, baby!

And butter

And a tad of garlic, milk, & salt.

Separate the stalks of cauliflower, cut off the tough ends of the stems, and drop into boiling water.

I added a big spoonful of chicken bouillon to the pot for a little flavor. Or you could use chicken broth instead of water & bouillon.

My cauliflower boiled for about 12 minutes. You want it very soft.

Drain off the liquid. Do NOT rinse! You want it to stay hot.

Gently pat the cauliflower dry between several layers of paper towels. You want as much of the moisture out as possible for the texture to be right.

Meanwhile, in your food processor, blender, or bowl add a big dollop of cream cheese, a smidge of parmesan cheese, and some butter.

Throw in your cauliflower, kosher salt, a tablespoon of milk and pulse, pulse, pulse.

Stop pulsing when it is the consistency of how you like your mashed potatoes. I don’t like lumps… so I make mine smooth.

Looks like potatoes…

Tastes like potatoes…

But there is NO potatoes! {evil laugh}

Recipe:   Click here for printable recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 large head of cauliflower, separated into small florets and tips of stalks removed
• large pot boiling water
• 1 heaping tablespoon chicken bouillon
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 heaping tablespoon cream cheese
• 1 clove garlic, minced very fine
• 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• fresh ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions:

Add chicken bouillon to boiling water. Boil cauliflower florets for 10 to 15 minutes, until soft. Drain liquid. Gently pat off cauliflower’s moisture between several layers of paper towels. In the bowl of a food processor combine butter, cream cheese, garlic, parmesan, milk, salt, & cauliflower. Pulse until you reach desired consistency. Top with fresh ground black pepper.

Click here for printable recipe