Spanish-Style Cauliflower (Southern Living 1979)

Audry let me pick between two cauliflower recipes for one of her picks this month. I was looking forward to having a new vegetable, but I wasn't sure how my kids would like it.  Please don't misunderstand.  My kids are great eaters, but our vegetable choices tend to be very routine for us: green beans, spinach, carrots.  I throw in broccoli, zucchini, salad, or a mixed vegetable every once in a while, but cauliflower doesn't usually make the cut.  Vegetables of any kind, though, always work better for my kids if they have the opportunity to dip it, if it has cheese or sauce on it, or if it has butter.  I chose Spanish-Style Cauliflower for several reasons, one was that I thought my kids would be more apt to eat cauliflower mixed with tomatoes and cheese. 

I was right about my kids.  Little Man saw me cutting the cauliflower, and he voiced a negative opinion right away.  I told him, as I always do, that he only needed to try it.

Since Audry picked this for us to try, I decided to make it last Wednesday evening when she and Cher were coming to pick out our March recipes.

So, once we were all finally at my house that evening, I began to prepare the side dish to go with the chicken I'd thrown into the crock-pot that morning. I've been trying to buy organic foods when possible and reasonably priced, so I bought Publix Greenwise Diced Tomatoes.  Well, I apparently could not read the entire label on the can of tomatoes I purchased.  When I pulled out the can to use for this recipe, I read the fine print (OK - maybe it wasn't so "fine") that the tomatoes were in garlic, basil, and oregano.  I started to get pretty upset with myself, and then decided that Italian-Style Cauliflower might actually work out better.  My version of this recipe was a big hit.

Spanish Italian-Style Cauliflower 
1 head cauliflower
2 T melted butter
1-1/2 t sugar (next time I will leave this out)
1/4 t salt
1/4 t pepper
3/4 cup Rice and Corn Chex crumbs
1 (16-ounce) can diced tomatoes with garlic, basil, and oregano
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Wash cauliflower, and remove green leaves.  Break into florets.  Steam in microwave steamer for 6 to 7 minutes.
Combine butter, sugar, salt, pepper, and crumbs.  Stir in tomatoes, cheese, and cauliflower.  Pour into a shallow casserole dish (think 13- x 9- x 2-inch dish).  Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes.

Lindy