Quick and Easy Creamy Cauliflower Alfredo

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Each weekend I sit down and start to plan out what we will be eating for the week. I always try to make sure we eat a somewhat balanced diet. For us, that means we need to have dairy, protein, and vegetables in every meal.  I’ve noticed that once my daughter started school she went from getting 4 glasses of milk a day to maybe 1! That means she’s missing out on tons of nutrients she needs to help keep her bones strong and to grow nice and tall.

Milk has 9 essential nutrients, like potassium, vitamin D, calcium and high-quality protein, that can help kids grow strong. So, I am always looking for ways to get more dairy into our diets beyond drinking a glass of milk with our dinner. One of my favorite dishes to make is Creamy Cauliflower Alfredo. It’s full of dairy yumminess! It helps me get those 9 essential nutrients back into my daughter’s diet. Milklife.com has some great dairy based recipes if you need help planning out your weekly menu. Once I’ve figured out a menu for the week, and I’ve drawn up a grocery list of items I’ll need to accomplish this plan I head to the Cub Foods. It may sound weird, but I have a specific way I shop at the grocery store. I hit the produce first, then I do the center of the store, meats, frozen and finish in the dairy section. I don’t like my milk getting warm so it’s always the last thing I grab before heading to the checkout. Do you have a specific route you like to shop? I feel it keeps me on track and helps me not to forget things.

This week we (by we I mean me) are making my super yummy Creamy Cauliflower Alfredo. It’s a fairly simple recipe and does not take much time which makes it the perfect meal for busy weeknights. There are only 5 ingredients in this dish! You’ll need the following –

3 cups of milk

1 head of cauliflower chopped into bite size pieces

1 stick of unsalted butter

2 cups of shredded parmesan cheese

1 package of dumpling noodles

1 large pasta pot with lid

You may need a little more or little less milk, it will really depend on how big of a head of cauliflower you end up with. You need enough milk to cover the noodles and cauliflower so you can eyeball this step.

First, you’ll pour the milk, cauliflower, and butter into a large pot and bring to a soft boil over medium to high heat. This is a tricky step because if you heat it too high you can curdle the milk so be sure to keep an eye on it.

Now that you have a soft boil, reduce heat to medium, add the noodles, cover and cook for 8 -10 minutes. Then remove the cover and test the cauliflower for tenderness. You’ll need to cook an additional 5+ minutes depending on how long it takes the noodles and cauliflower to soften.

Once they are soft, remove the pan from heat and stir in the parmesan cheese. Let sit for 5-10 minutes and the sauce will thicken up. If you’ve used too much milk your dish may be a little runny, it’s no big deal, you can drain a little off.

This is one of my favorite dishes to make because it reheats beautifully the next day. You may also want to have a little extra parmesan cheese on hand to top your dish too. If you want to add chicken, pick up a rotisserie chicken from the deli section at Cub Foods and add it to the dish while it’s resting.

For additional milk-based recipe inspiration check out Milklife.com.

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