Cauliflower cheese

[CauliflowerCheeseMeal]

DD (aged 7) wanted just a bowl of cauliflower cheese for tea tonight. She’s had sausage, mash and peas at school for lunch so has a lighter evening meal. I offered sandwiches, crumpets, crackers and beans with toast/bread she insisted she wanted the left over cauliflower cheese from yesterdays roast dinner.

It feels weird to me to have that for tea, but I think I might be UR? She had it warm (microwave). It was basically cauliflower in a cheddar cheese sauce topped with mozzarella and breadcrumbs – I made the sauce myself so know there’s nothing bad in it.

She’s eaten the lot. But I still feel weird about it. Tell me I’m UR and overthinking it

Is it because you think of it as a side dish or that she didn't "need" another hot meal?

I wouldn't want to cook again in the evening, but reheating something doesn't really count imo.

I don't think food needs to be eaten as a particular meal.

I bought some fish fingers today to have at breakfast tomorrow.

Great meal. Way too much effort as a side dish for a roast, but totally legit by itself. Add some part cooked pasta shapes and you’ve got a cauliflower mac and cheese!

Cauliflower cheese is great. Can be less fat (if you are worried) by using parmesan/parmesan type cheeses. Mustard - any kind - is esential IMHO. Great served with steamed carrot batons, extra broccoli (as suggested by others), oven baked potatoes (or, less healthy, baked potato wedges), plus grilled or even tinned tomatoes with herbs and maybe a green salad with a sharp (oil vinegar/lemon juice vinegar) dressing.

I want it for tea now!

Definitely weird @CauliflowerCheeseMeal

You should be happy she wants to eat vegetables.

I once made cauliflower cheese with a very tiny cauliflower, so decided to add some cooked macaroni to the cheese sauce before adding the breadcrumbs, butter and grated cheese and putting it into the oven to crisp up.
Since then hybrid cauliflower/macaroni cheese has become a favourite in this house.

I have had and served cauliflower cheese and indeed broccoli cheese as a meal - it's fine - I rather love it.

Not sure what there is to feel weird about tbh!

Your crumpet options are mostly carb - she gets protein, fibre, fat and more vitamins this way. It's much better and much nicer - lucky girl!

If she eats it then it's all good isn't it and probably a bit more filling that crumpet or sandwich. When I was vegetarian I ate cauliflower cheese as a meal.

Love it, even better with buttered crusty bread to dip in it.

I think I have the same type of appetite as your dd. Could happily eat a hot lunch then just sandwich or toast or something picky in the evening.

Oh macaroni/cauli cheese sounds delicious 😋

One of mine likes it with beans...I stick beans on everything but for some reason that's a step too far for me.

I've just taken a huge broccoli and cauliflower cheese out of the oven. It was meant to go into the freezer for later but now I think a little might 'fall out' into a bowl.

"Could happily eat a hot lunch then just sandwich or toast or something picky in the evening."

That's what we do.

The cauliflower cheese would probably be the hot lunch!

We often have it as a meal with nice bread and maybe a side salad to cut the richness.

In fact there is a school of thought that cauliflower cheese is actually a dish in its own right and should not be served as a side veg (cauli in a white sauce is the side dish).

@TheDogsMother

Cauliflower cheese was one of my childhood dinners and I'm still surprised when I see it as one of the veg on a roast dinner. It's a lovely meal in it's own right.

This exactly! Although I don’t complain if I get it as part of a roast dinner

I had this for tea all the time as a kid in the eighties. It's basically a low-carb version of mac and cheese - as long as you're happy that she's had enough carby energy from her other meals then why not?

i love cauliflower cheese

I never have cauliflower cheese as a veg with a roast - too filling.

I love it as a meal in itself with bacon & peas.

Comte or Gouda is nicer than Cheddar I think - better flavour & less greasy.

I love Cauliflower cheese too. Inspired by this thread I’m going to make one tonight.

I love cauliflower cheese - we regularly have it as a meal with loads of different veg shoved in it to make it feel a bit healthier. It's so dark and damp here tonight, perfect weather for cauliflower cheese tea.

I want cauliflower cheese for dinner now!

It was a staple dinner growing up, and I'd happily still have it as a meal on its own. We rarely do though, as DH is diabetic and his control is better if he has some carbs as part of dinner. I guess toast alongside it would meet that criteria but we rarely have bread in the house.

I love cauliflower cheese, it’s fine as a meal.

I always put a teaspoon of mustard into the cheese sauce - makes it a little more tangy.