Cauliflower and Broccoli Pesto Casserole

I had a bunch of cooked broccoli and cauliflower left over from dinner one night and knew that no one in my family would really want to eat the leftover vegetables as I can rarely can get them to eat any vegetables.



I remembered how well my kids loved the cauliflower Alfredo we had made and I thought if I mashed up the cauliflower and broccoli and served it with pasta they might not even notice... and I was right!



They RAVED over this dish and everyone gobbled it right up.

Ingredients:

1/2 package cream cheese (4 ounces)
2/3 cup olive oil
2 packages Knorr pesto mix
4 cups pureed broccoli and cauliflower
1 cup milk
1 box of your favorite pasta
2 cups shredded cheese

To make the casserole:

I took my leftover cauliflower and broccoli and ran it all through the food processor until I had a fairly thick green paste and then I set it aside.

In a medium sized sauce pan I combined the olive oil, pesto mix, and cream cheese until the cream cheese had melted into the oil.  Then I added in the pureed vegetables and kept stirring until I had a nice smooth sauce.

While the sauce was cooking I boiled up some water and cooked a box of pasta according to the package directions.

Once I drained the pasta, I added the sauce mixture and spread it out into a glass baking dish and topped it with shredded cheese.

I threw my casserole in the freezer at this point and when I pulled it out two weeks later I let it thaw in the refrigerator for the day and then baked it in a 350 degree oven for about an hour until it was nice and hot and the cheese was golden brown.





It was so good and I know I'll be making it again soon.

Comments

  1. Shannon @ Of The HearthFebruary 10, 2018 at 7:37 AM

    I'm always looking for ways to get more broccoli and cauliflower in my kids (and husband). I think they might eat this !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mother of 3February 10, 2018 at 7:40 AM

      When I finally told my youngest and pickiest eater that there was broccoli and cauliflower in it he shrugged and told me he couldn't taste it so it was OK. Hope it works for you!

      Delete
  2. Annette VFebruary 10, 2018 at 7:57 AM

    Looks yummy though throwing it in the oven for two weeks had me worried :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. The Lazy GastronomeFebruary 11, 2018 at 12:39 PM

    This looks so good-pinned for later! Thanks for sharing at the What's for Dinner party - have a fabulous week!

    ReplyDelete
  4. The Lazy GastronomeFebruary 11, 2018 at 12:55 PM

    Thanks for sharing at the What's for Dinner party - have a fabulous week!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Dara @ Not In JerseyFebruary 12, 2018 at 9:06 AM

    Sounds like a great way to get in more veggies!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mother of 3February 12, 2018 at 1:07 PM

      It really was! Even when I confessed veggies were in there my youngest shrugged his shoulders and said it was fine since he couldn't really taste them.

      Delete
  6. Lady ANDFebruary 14, 2018 at 7:29 PM

    Looks delicious! I might try this next week! Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mother of 3February 15, 2018 at 6:21 AM

      I hope you like it. It is definitely one of my new favorite meals.

      Delete
  7. Teresa BFebruary 15, 2019 at 7:37 AM

    It sounds delicious, thank you for sharing the recipe at The Really Crafty Link Party. Pinned.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Of Goats and GreensFebruary 15, 2019 at 7:53 AM

    Looks great... and since I like my veggies, I may not even puree it so far!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mother of 3February 15, 2019 at 3:17 PM

      Yeah, you really wouldn't need do. I just knew if I didn't my kids would pick it all out and complain.

      Delete
  9. Miz HelenFebruary 19, 2019 at 1:55 PM

    Your cauliflower and broccoli pesto casserole looks delicious! Hope you are having a good week and staying warm. Thanks so much for sharing with us at Full Plate Thursday!
    Miz Helen

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mother of 3February 19, 2019 at 4:54 PM

      Thank you! I've been thinking of making it again soon. It really was yummy.

      Delete
  10. Coastal BohemianFebruary 15, 2020 at 8:38 PM

    Thanks for posting at Funtastic Friday. Pinned and sent to my daughter.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Favorite TV Shows Growing Up in the 80's and early 90's

Image
Do you remember the TGIF lineups on Friday nights? I can remember planning sleepovers and time with friends around TV Show lineups of our favorite shows... or else trying to set the VCR to record our favorite shows if we weren't going to be home. And through the years I had SO MANY favorites! Growing pains aired in 1985 which put me around age 8 and it stayed on the air until I was 15 or so; I'm pretty sure most people in my age group watched mostly for Kirk Cameron and all his antics.  I still have a soft spot for family sit-coms!  The Facts of Life aired when I was just 2  and stayed on the air until I was 11 so I'm sure the episodes I remember so fondly were either some of the later ones and then reruns shown later on when I was old enough to watch from the beginning. I think everyone would have loved an Edna Garret in their lives.   Benson another sitcom that began airing when I was just 2 and was done by the time I was 9 (another one I must have watched mai...
Read more

Things That Make Me Laugh

Image
I loved the challenge of this week's list for our 26 lists link up.  I don't know about you but I really need to laugh more lately.  It's such a great stress reliever. 1.  Books-- I love a good funny book that makes me laugh out loud.  I haven't read one in a while but if you have any recommendations I'm all ears.  The last book I can remember making me laugh was the Un-Honeymooners. 2  The boys being silly. 3.  Watching shows like America's Funniest Videos or Family Feud. 4. My husband.  Most people don't realize it but he's actually pretty funny and often makes me laugh. 5.  Whenever my sisters/ family get together and we get to reminiscing (particularly if my Aunt Elaine is around) we end up laughing so hard at all the old family stories that we are all in tears by the end of the night.  It's fabulous. 6. Movies like Mom's Night Out, Christmas Vacation, and Grown Ups make me laugh out loud. 7.  When my ...
Read more

Making Gift Card and Money Holders Using Scrapbooking and Cardmaking Supples

Image
I don't tend to keep a lot of crafting supplies on hand so when I saw this month's de-stash challenge I wasn't sure what I was going to make.  I finally realized that with so many of my Christmas gifts being cash and gift cards this year that I needed to make up some fun paper crafting/ creative ways to gift them.   I still want my nieces and nephews to have something to open so I pulled out my papers and stamps and made up some cute little money/gift card holders. They were much easier to make than I thought.  The first one I worked on was to hold some oversized Nintendo gift cards.  I made a standard sized card and folded down one corner of the card front.  Then I ran my double sided tape along the bottom an 1/2 way up the side creating a cute little pocket.  Finally I added some cute embellishments and ribbons.   Voila! A simple and easy gift card holder for those larger sized gift cards.  The bulk of the tweens and teens on my list j...
Read more

Making a Sugar Cookie "Gingerbread" House

Image
 Alec really wanted to try making his own gingerbread house this year without using a premade kit.  We talked about how we never really eat the house since they don't taste very good.  Years ago we gave up on the frosting that comes in the kit and began making our own so we thought perhaps we should try making our our house too. Only problem is that no one in the house likes gingerbread.  We talked about trying to make the house using a sugar cookie recipe.  Alec was so excited at that idea since he just LOVES sugar cookies.   He found a recipe online for a simple sugar cookie recipe and mixed up the dough.  He rolled it out an cut it to the size of our cookie sheets-- we had read that it's easiest to cut the house pieces out after the dough has been baked and is still warm and soft because then you don't have to worry about any of the pieces losing their shape while baking. I had picked out a simple cookie cutter set on Amazon and as soon as the ...
Read more

Dollar Store Candy Cane Wreath

Image
Today I am linking up with some fellow bloggers for a Dollar Store craft challenge.  I don't often participate in these challenges since I try to stay away from our local Dollar Stores; I find they can be quite dangerous for me!  I knew this was the perfect time to find some inexpensive holiday decorations though and I just LOVE how my wreath turned out!  I hope you stop by and see what the other hosts are sharing. Meet this month's co-hosts! Across the Blvd | Purple Hues & Me This Autoimmune Life | Our Unschooling Journey Domestic Deadline | Sew Crafty Crochet Stone Cottage Adventures | Sum of Their Stories | Two Chicks & a Mom I bought the candy cane wreath base and a few rolls of mesh (not knowing how many I'd need I bought waaay to many; I only ended up using one white roll and one red roll. Using some chenille stems I already had on hand I attached the mesh to the wreath base trying to alternate the whit...
Read more