Eat Your (Creamy and Awesome) Veggies

I usually make a recipe more than once before writing about it, but this week I concocted something I couldn't wait to share. It was inspired by National Eat the Frozen Things in Your House Week (it's real, trust me and don't google it).

What started with a couple bags of boring frozen veggies turned into a really good side dish. I would say it reminded me of mac and cheese, but then your expectations would be crazy high. So instead I will just say that it's creamy, spicy, veggie, goodness.

Basically it's mashed vegetables with spices and coconut milk. My husband offered up some wisdom about possible names for the dish while he was chowing down. It went something like this....

Husband: You should call this Squash-cauli-fake-potato-awesomeness

Me: Why?

Husband: Cause it's like cheesy mashed potatoes without the calories.

Me: There are still calories.

Husband: Bummer. Can't you lie? I mean it's just a blog.

Me: (sigh)

So, with that said, I give you Squash-cauli-fake-potato-awesomeness...

Squash-cauli-fake-potato-awesomeness

1T bacon fat
1 T butter
1 20 ounce bag frozen diced squash
1 16 ounce bag frozen cauliflower
3-4 cloves garlic
1 1/2 tsp Ras Al Hanout
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 can coconut milk


Put a medium-sized thick pot on the stove and turn to medium-high (I used a le cruset pan that I bought at a yard sale for $10, tra la la). While it's heating, mince your garlic. Throw in the bacon fat and butter into the pot along with the garlic. Dump the frozen bag of squash and the bag of cauliflower on top and mix (I whacked the veggies on the uncounted to break them up first). Stir to combine and then put a top on the pot to speed up defrosting it all.

Wait about five minutes and remove the top to give it another stir. As it's defrosting, throw in all the spices and mix it all together. As you mix, the squash will breakdown into creaminess and the cauliflower will break into smaller chunks too. When it's defrosted, pour in the coconut milk and let the whole thing bubble together to bring out all the flavors. Then try not to eat it all at once!

Editor’s note: This post took approximately 20 mins to write and 2 hours to post. So, that wasn’t frustrating at all! Anyone with good tips on working photos/spacing on blogger (especially when posting from iPad) will be rewarded with a spice mix from me.