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Vegan Mac & Penne Cheese

On Friday Night I wanted something quick and didn't have that much to work with.  This isn't much for nutritional value but it's a great comfort food and I was tickled at how good it turned out!

Vegetable Based Penne Pasta

with a "cheese-like" sauce!

Here is what went into my sauce...

About 1 C of Almond Milk

1/2 tea Savory Spread (Organic Gourmet)

1 T (or more) of Earth Balance

Handful of Daiya Shredded Cheddar

I cooked and stirred often until desired consistency!  This has been my BEST Vegan mac & Cheese Attempt YET!  It was so creamy and tasty!

Participating Post:
Blue Monday
Just Another Meatless Monday
Macro Monday
Made By You Monday
Monday Mellow Yellow
My Meatless Monday
Simple As That
Veggie Mama's Meatless Monday
Make The Scene
Project 52
Mix It Up Monday

Midweek Munchies

Read More About Midweek Munchies HERE!

Here's what I found this week!

Store Location:
Whole Foods Co-Op, Erie, PA

Since cutting Dairy I've just been doing veggie pizzas with no cheese on them.  I found this one and already ate it!  It's pretty good!  I would eat it again!

 I've been looking for something close to a vegan version of Nutella that I can get semi-Regionally.  I just tried a little bit of this for the first time last night and it's DARN Tasty!

 I haven't cracked open these two Nature's Path Chia Products yet but I'm pretty excited about them!  I have been looking for some Breakfast Foods to have on hand.

It's been a while since I have bought this Lightlife Brand for anything not to mention the Fakin' Bacon.  Now that I am a fan of the Tofurky ones I'll have to see which is better.

 This Almond Milk was on sale for $1.99 so I decided to try it.  I haven't opened it yet tho...I still have a little left of my last Almond Milk Purchase.

 I've blogged about this Quinoa Polenta before but they had it for a pretty good price and I decided to stock up on it while I could!

And I got more of these shreds since I ran out AND they had them on sale!

I also caved and bought the last 'home made' Cashew Cheese from their Cafe/Deli as well as Vegan Cheesecake they had two left of.  It's the first Vegan Cheesecake I have had since deleting Dairy, too!  It was AMAZING, btw!

There are a few things I got at the Co-Op this past week and I am pretty excited!  What were your purchases this week?

I'm also going to post this for What I ate Wednesday.  You can also take a look at my Meal Plan for the week HERE.

Top 20 Ingredients I Can't Live Without!

Alicia Silverstone over at The Kind Life posted about the 20 ingredients she can’t live without. As did Cadry at Cadry's Kitchen.  So I decided to follow suit!  Here are my TOP 20 Ingredients in random order.

TEA - As many of you know I drink A LOT of tea.  All day...all night...I have even started using it in dishes!  All sorts of tea...Black, Green, White, Yellow, fruit and herbal tisane's, Oolongs, Pu-erh, Blends, Purple, Guayusa, Rooibos, Honeybush...the list goes on and on!

CHICK PEAS & BLACK BEANS - I was going to list these separate but came up with too many items I MUST HAVE in my kitchen, apparently!  The older I get the more I LOVE Chickpeas.  They are so versatile!  I would have also put HUMMUS on the list but it's not just ONE Ingredient it's a FOOD, a dish, a delicacy, really.  Okay, okay...you can tell I LOVE hummus!  Well, Chickpeas are one of the ingredients so it works, right?

GRAPESEED OIL - Why GSO?  I think this sums it up nicely!  I LOVE IT!  If you want to order some let me know!!  I can have it shipped directly to you!

LEAFY GREENS - I know this is more than ONE but I couldn't resist!  There are so many Leafy Greens to choose from and they ALL have their benefits!

CASHEWS - And other nuts, really.  I'm very fortunate to NOT have allergies to Nuts!  I don't think I would be able to deal with that intolerance, to be honest!  I'm finding Cashews are very versatile as well and now that I'm NOT doing dairy there are many things I can do with them as a substitute. 

NUTRITIONAL YEAST - I have used it for YEARS - but have been using it on a weekly - sometimes daily basis these days!  Along the same lines would be HEMP HEARTS and CHIA SEEDS, I guess, too!  For Digestion Issues/Benefits as well as a protein option.

VARIETY of RICES - Again, I am a REBEL, here, and noting more than one but I really can't help it!  Just when I think I know which RICE is my favorite I discover new ones...like Medleys from Bob's Red Mills as well as FORBIDDEN RICE, lately, too!

QUINOA - Quinoa is in a category all of it's own for me!  I have been eating it for years but continue to be amazed by it!  I LOVE the nutritional benefits as well as digestion support but also the texture and flavor and the ability to make it MORPH!

TOMATOES - Any kind, really.  I could go on and on about THE TOMATO but I will let it speak for itself!  YUM!

BALSAMIC VINEGAR - Yes!  BALSAMIC VINEGAR...Wildtree Brand, specifically.  And I'm not just saying that because I sell it!  The flavor CANNOT BE BEAT!  Plus it has the Grapeseed Oil Base, too!

TAHINI - I thought it was just for HUMMUS but it's good for SO MUCH MORE!!!  I'm using lately in Cheese and Cream Alternatives, too!

GARLIC - Need I say more?  I just LOVE it!  I can't get enough of it!  I'd put it on cereal if it were allowed.  Okay...that might be a stretch...but...you know what I mean, right!?

ONIONS - They give flavor to EVERYTHING and they make the perfect base for many things!

LEMONS & LEMON JUICE - I almost over looked this one.  It's one of those things I really use a lot of but just USE it and tend to forget about it BUT if I run out...there is HELL TO PAY, Mister!

CORN - It's so sweet, It's so cute, It's SO GOOD!  I have been using it more and more to kick certain recipes up a notch as well as add to leftovers, wraps, salads, etc.  So simple - yet - SO effective!

COLORFUL BELL PEPPERS - LOVE them!  In every way!  I find myself adding them to EVERYTHING and then some!  The sweeter the better!

SPROUTS - When I was a toddler they used to be one of my 3 favorite foods (next to Dried Apricots and Lima Beans - which SHOULD also play a part in this list somewhere...there...they just did!) and I lost touch with Sprouts for a while but have been having FUN Sprouting my own Sprouts at home on and off again for a couple of years!

CARROTS & CELERY - Mostly because I can't have one without the other - and because they are right up the same alley as Onions and Garlic and Corn!

ALMOND MILK - I prefer Almond Milk to any of the other Milk Alternatives.  It's my default, really.

AVOCADOS - I wish I could have one everyday but they are really expensive here but when they are on sale!  I'm ALL OVER THAT!  Nom.Nom.Nom.

Hope you enjoyed my list!  If you do one let me know!

Aftermath: "Cheesy" Cauliflower Casserole

First, let me start this post off by saying this is my 3rd post today and all 3 of them progress so please scroll down!  This is what I ended up with!  It ended up being a "Cheesy" Cauliflower Casserole instead!  After 15 minutes at 350 degrees my 'cheese' wasn't melting fast enough.  I took it out of the oven - stirred - then added some Almond Milk, Nutritional Yeast, and Rice Crumbs.  I will post about my NEW Rice Crumbs soon!  Probably within the next day or two!

I baked this for another 10 minutes or so and I must say I am very pleased with the way this turned out.  I had a small sample of it and am looking forward to it for lunch tomorrow!  I will also be having Vegan Lasagna Leftovers for Dinner tomorrow, too!

No-Cheese And Mac

 I did a little Cheese Alternative of my own tonight!  It turned out really well!  I'm surprised and actually happy with myself!  Above you can see the Mac&"Cheese" dish and below you can see the 'left over No-Cheese".  It made a lot and you can actually add more Almond Milk for the thickness or thinness you prefer or to stretch your batch.

I use leftover plastic containers when possible.  This was from a store-bought Hummus I bought a while back.  The rest of the "cheese" batch perfectly fit in there!

Here's the recipe I came up with:

1 C (or more) of Almond Milk

6 T Nutritional Yeast

1 T Wildtree Grapeseed Oil

2 Squirts of Yellow Mustard

1/2 T Wildtree Garlic Galore (you can also use 1/4 T Onion and 1/4 T Garlic)

I'm very pleased with the way this turned out :)

EZ Un-Cheese Sauce #2

Here's another EZ UN-Cheese Sauce I tried.  I actually attempted this one before the one I posted the other day but had the other one handy to blog about before this one.

As I mentioned before - I do prefer the taste of this one - over the one I posted the other day - but this one makes far less than the other...I suppose I could always multiply the recipe, tho!

This one was inspired by a recipe I found on VegWeb but I tweaked it.

Here is what it contains...

3/4 C Almond Milk
2 T Nutritional Yeast
Pinch of Wildtree's Garlic Galore (it has both Garlic and Onion in it)
2 T Bob's Red Mill's All-Purpose Flour
1-2 teaspoons of Ketchup (to give it that Salsa-Type Flavor)

Un-Cheese Sauce #1

I have a few Un-Cheese Sauces I will be posting here and this is the 2nd one I tried but the first one - so far - I will be posting.

It was originally inspired by The Vegan Family Cookbook but I made a few minor changes based on what I had access to.  It turned out pretty good and did make a lot more than the other Un-Cheese I did the other day.  So far I have used this on Corn Chips as well as over top of Left-Over Casseroles.

Here is what I used to make it...

2 1/4 C Almond Milk

1/2 C Nutritional Yeast

1/4 C Bob's Red Mills All-Purpose Flour (Gluten-Free)

1/4 C Hazelnut Oil

2 T Almond Butter

1 T Minced/Dried Onion

ALL in a blender and then on stove top on medium until hot and thick

The Vegan Family noted TWO Variations or Kinds of "cheese" flavors as well!  For an Italian Cheese add a little Italian Dressing and Olives - Chopped.  For a Mexican Flair you can add Green Chili's and/or Chili Powder.

This was pretty good...I also liked it better after being in the frig for a night, too!