My Wednesday Pantry-Vegan Mock and Cheese and Links

      I don't care if you are vegan or not, but this is worth a try if you like and have an abundance of butternut squash from you garden, friends and family gardens, or the farmers market, where my squash came from. I used this recipe for Vegan Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese, but we taste tested the sauce along the way and found it needs more acid and more mustard to cut the sweetness. The ingredient list was a bit funky as well as no lemon juice was in the list, but the direction then called for lemon juice. I suggest not skipping the lemon juice as it made it fresher. Of course if you use a nut milk or soy milk, it is neither soy or nut free-another quirk in the recipe.  I used a bit more than two cups of squash, plus my squash was particularly sweet so that might have accounted for why we needed to add more acid, but we got there in the end! The nutritional yeast brought a nutty cheesy essence, but don't expect  a true mac and cheese flavor if you are serving to the die hard fans-just call it pasta in creamy butternut squash sauce and divert any different expectations, because this was a tasty dish, but not Mac and cheese. Here's my big pot, in a big ugly photo! The color was actually more pleasant in the bowl, but I don't have a picture of that. 

If you don't want to click the link, here's my speed directions.

• 2 Cups cooked butternut squash
• 1/2 -3/4  dairy free milk product (we used unsweetened almond milk, I started with 1/2c and drizzles in more as it cooked)
• 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp. garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper
• 2 Tablespoons dijon mustard
• 2 Table spoons Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tsps corn starch

     Puree all in a blender or food processor. I did in two batches in just my  mini blender and it worked great without hauling the larger appliance out.  Cook on low heat to get a nice bubbling simmer, adding the rest of the  milk as it heats through and thickens. Taste test and add more of any seasoning to your taste preferences. Mix in 8-10 ounces of cooked pasta of your choice; we used rotini. We had probably 9+ oz., as I used half a box and some fusilli  left in a  bag. 

     For price reference, Trader Joe's Vegan Mac and Cheese was $4.69 for 20 ounces/2 Servings. This probably made twice that. We also found a single portion of  a brand I can't remember in our local grocer that was a sauce packet and precooked noodles and it was nearly $5!  My squash was on the pricey side-$4, but I only used 2/3rds and devoured what was left for lunch on Monday. The nutritional yeast was the other pricey item, and I would guess I used about $1.25 worth of the container I have. The rest of the ingredients were negligible as we had on hand, but let's throw in another $1.25-which is on the high side, plus  $ .50 for pasta, so I'm going to estimate this at under $7. If you have a squash supply, knock  off nearly $4! It was so easy to make too. I didn't have the mental energy to do the nutritional break down, but I'm just going to say it was healthy and made my daughter happy! 

     I'm always on the lookout for a good collection of recipe inspirations to bookmark. I'm sure many of you know and read Mavis at $100 per Month. She just posted a  21 Comfort Food list for fall and winter, with recipe links. Included is a copycat Panera creamy Wild Rice soup. Yum, and will make me a popular mom over Thanksgiving break. Let me know if you try my mock and cheese or any of Mavis's recipes.