Cauliflower made yummy, easy, and quick

This cauliflower is baked with red peppers & thinly sliced fennel

It’s easy to get in a meal rut.  You are busy but you want to create healthy meals.  You want to cook something that everyone will eat, or at least try.  So before you know it you are rotating the same 7 meals over and over and over again.

Yawn.  You are bored to death with your meal plan and can’t think of a single good meal substitution that won’t require inordinate time and planning.  What to do?

If you’ve been reading my blog, you know I love healthy food.  I love tasty food.  I hate long preparation times.  Don’t we all?  When I get bored with my regular rotation, I usually try to change just one thing.  I’ll mix in a new vegetable or prepare legumes like white beans or black beans, which I don’t often prepare.

Last week, I ran across research highlighting the nutritional virtues of fruits and vegetables with white flesh.  It inspired me to get out to the store and buy a head of cauliflower for dinner that night.  I had no idea how I’d prepare it, but never mind.  I had the internet to help me.  A quick search would surely reveal something good to try.

And it did.  I found a Paula Deen recipe on Pinterest that was easy and delicious.  She’d added leeks, red peppers and other yummy ingredients to her dish, but I had only cauliflower and little time, so I skipped that part.  I chopped up the cauliflower, tossed it in Dean’s marinade, and baked.  It was delicious, and while my children were wary, they did eat their portions.

For your convenience, I’ve written out the marinade recipe below, just in case you’d like to try it.  For the full recipe, go here.  Happy cooking!

Paula Deen’s Cauliflower marinade:

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme (I used dried)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt