Delicious Baked Mac -n- Vegan Cheese!!

As you may remember, yesterday I gave into my desire for cheese, much to my personal chagrin.

So today I thought I'd try to come up with something vegan which was at least close to a familiar comfort food..Baked Mac-n-Cheese. I have a great recipe from the Food Network and Ina Garten which my family is always requesting, so after I finished making their favorite weekend dish I thought I'd see if I could adapt a vegan version for myself (and hopefully avoid temptation).

I'm thrilled to announce my endeavor was more than successful! Creamy, delicious, and oh so satisfying. Honestly, I think I could serve this to a bunch of omnivores and they wouldn't know it wasn't real cheese.

So here is the recipe (veganized!) Since I was making this recipe for myself I cut everything in half but the full recipe makes a nice casserole for a family.



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Vegan Baked Mac-n-Cheeze

Ingredients:

Kosher salt
Canola oil
1 pound rigatoni
1 quart Silk Original soy milk
8 tablespoons Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups Daiya Cheddar Style Shreds
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 1/2 cups fresh bread crumbs (5 slices, crusts removed)

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Drizzle oil into a large pot of boiling salted water. Add the macaroni and cook according to the directions on the package, 6 to 8 minutes. Drain well.

Meanwhile, heat the soy milk in a small saucepan, but don't boil it. Melt 6 tablespoons of vegan buttery sticks in a large (4-quart) pot and add the flour. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes, stirring with a whisk. While whisking, add the hot soy milk and cook for a minute or two more, until thickened and smooth. Off the heat, add the Daiya Cheddar Style Shreds, 1 tablespoon salt, white pepper, red pepper, and nutmeg. Add the cooked macaroni and stir well. Pour into a 3-quart baking dish.

Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of buttery sticks, combine them with the fresh bread crumbs, and sprinkle on the top. Bake for 45 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and the macaroni is browned on the top.

Allow to cool for ten minutes before serving.