Ingredients
Scale
- 1 cup of chicken or vegetable broth
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 of a large head of cauliflower (about 0.8 lb.), cored and chopped into florets
- 3 baby carrots (or more … I added these for color, but there really weren’t enough there for that)
- 6 oz. macaroni, ziti, penne, bowtie or other pasta of your choice (whole wheat or quinoa pasta is a great idea to further “healthify” this dish … I just used regular macaroni this time, though)
- 2 chicken sausages, sliced (I used Spinach & Garlic chicken sausages)
- 2 Tablespoons light sour cream
- 1/2 Tablespoon spicy brown mustard
- Freshly ground black pepper
- A pinch of nutmeg
- A few sprigs of fresh thyme (just the leaves)
- 1/2 cup shredded sharp white cheddar & parmesan cheese, mixed (I used Cabot Extra Sharp Vermont White Cheddar)
- 1/2 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
- 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Heat the broth with the bay leaf in a microwave-safe bowl in the microwave for 2 minutes or until it just starts to boil lightly. Set aside to “steep”.
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, then add the cauliflower and carrots and cook until they are very tender, about 20 minutes. With a slotted spoon, remove the vegies from the water and place them in your blender.
- Add the pasta to the hot water and let it cook until tender, then strain out the water.
- While the pasta is cooking, cut up your chicken sausages and remove any casings. Set them aside.
- Then make the cheese sauce: take out the bay leaf from the broth and discard, then pour the broth into the blender with the cauliflower. Add the sour cream, mustard, some freshly ground black pepper, nutmeg and thyme leaves. Blend on high until the mixture is very smooth, then add the cheese and blend a little longer.
- In the pot that you used to cook the pasta, mix the cheese sauce, pasta, and sausage. Taste and add pepper (and/or salt) to taste.
- Spray an oven-proof casserole dish with cooking spray. Dump the cheesy macaroni mixture into the casserole pan and spread it out into an even layer.
- In a small bowl, mix the breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup cheese, and Italian seasoning. Sprinkle this mixture all over the top of the pasta in the casserole dish.
- Bake at 400 for 15 – 20 minutes or until hot and bubbly and the breadcrumbs on top are nicely browned. Gobble it up while it’s still hot!
Notes
RECIPE SOURCE: http://www.sumptuousspoonfuls.com/
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