Cheese Nachos (with hidden veggies)

Update 11/13 -yes I realize this is my very last post and I just posted it 2 days ago but I just made this cheese sauce again today - I used it for nachos and put it over noodles to make "mac and cheese" for my 3 year old.  Lunch for 4 people and it had veggies in it.  Posting to say that after making this the first time I got the idea to use bean flour in this instead of regular flour.  I think my first thought was just plain adding beans to the nachos, but then I though - hey why not use bean flour to thicken the sauce.  I tried that today.  Worked great, so definitely an option to make it gluten free, or add a bit of fiber and protein.  :) I was also lazy and just tossed in frozen carrot puree, let it thaw/heat, and then threw in the cheese.  Also worked fine.

This week I have checked out the hidden veggies books.  -Deceptively delicious, double delicious, and the sneaky chef.  Yes I've done this before in an attempt to get any type of veggie into my youngest, no it didn't work well then because he also doesn't like many things with any kind of texture I could hide something in but lately I've been feeding him a macaroni and cheese with hidden carrots (sold at costco) and he loves that so these nachos really caught my eye.  They have cauliflower hidden in the meat sauce and carrots in the cheese.  (couldn't get him to try the meat, but he loved the cheese.)  I did have to do some editing on the cheese sauce.  The way it was made in the book was super sweet from the carrots and didn't taste anything like cheese, so I had to add more cheese.  (hence actually coming and blogging the day after I made it.)  I did really like the flavor of the meat.  Could use this for tacos as well and it would be very tasty.  It had just the right amount of spice for me and my kiddos.
I almost rated this 4.5 star, but bumped it up because all of the kids liked it.  Tavio typically doesn't like a cheese that starts as a white sauce, but liked this one.  Both Benjamin and Aaron ate the cheese and loved it.  Even Brandon liked it.  Not too often to I find something that everyone will eat and enjoy, so this definitely moves up the scale to 5 stars.
Here is my adaptation of the original found on page 119 of double delcious.

Ingredients

• 1 lb lean ground beef (I used 93% lean)
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder, divided (original called for less but I didn't pay attention that it got divided. :)  I ended up using 2 teaspoons but really loved the flavor.  Not sure I'd change it.
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1/2 cup cauliflower puree (cooked and pureed cauliflower)
• 1 Tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 Tablespoon oil (I used my healthy blend this time)
• 2 Tablespoons flour (white, wheat, or bean)
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup carrot puree (cooked and pureed carrot)
• 1 1/2 -2 cups grated cheese (I used a mix of sharp cheddar and Monterrey Jack)
• 1 Tablespoon chopped pickled jalapenos.  (I did choose ones with no seeds)
• tortilla chips (I used some food should taste good multigrain chips. (also found at costco) those were tasty.  Kiddos had regular tortilla chips.)
• any other desired toppings, salsa, sour cream, more jalapenos,...   We just ate them with meat and cheese -some of the kiddos with just cheese.

Directions

1. Cook beef with the cumin, chili powder, 1 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, salt and oregano until cooked through.  Drain fat.  Take off heat and add cauliflower puree and tomato paste.  Stir in until well combined.  Set aside.
2. Heat oil in a small saucepan over medium high heat.  Add the flour and stir until it forms a paste (this happens pretty quickly so have your milk measured and ready.)  Whisk in milk until smooth.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer and whisk in carrot, cheese, jalapeno and 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder.  Heat until the cheese has melted.
3. Serve with chips.