Cruelty Free Mac & "Cheese"

Cheese is the reason I never took the next step from vegetarian to vegan.  I have tried a few times but my love of cheese always prevails.  I do however try to cut out dairy when I can.  This is the first time I attempted to make macaroni and cheese without using any dairy and I have to say it came out amazing!  Sure, it doesn't compare to regular mac & cheese, but for a dish that has absolutely NO cheese and NO dairy in it, i have to say it was delicious.  I'm glad i made this because it is going to become a regular in my kitchen.  The star of the dish is Nutritional Yeast.  I have been wanting to buy this for a while and picked up from Whole Foods a few months ago.  I have been sprinkling it on food here and there for added nutrition but my intentions were to use it for cheese substitutions.  I am very happy with the results and look forward to more recipes using this great vegan ingredient.  I sprinkled bread crumbs on top then baked the macaroni & cheese at the end but i think next time i might just skip that part.  It tasted delicious with the bread crumbs, but my personal preference is without.  The recipe for the "cheese" came from www.vegweb.com and I just threw it in the oven at the end.  Vegweb.com has sooooo many amazing vegan recipes and I reference their site often for ideas.  Have an open mind and try this healthy alternative! Hope you enjoy!



Ingredients:


1 box elbow macaroni ( i didn't have this on hand so i used penne)
1 1/2 tbsp breadcrumbs

For the sauce:

1/4 cup Nutritional Yeast
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup unbleached flour
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon mustard powder
1 cup water
1 1/2 tbsp Vegan margarine or butter ( I used earth balance)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1.  Fill a pot with salted water, bring to a boil and add pasta.  Cook for approximately 8-9mins then drain

2.  Mix all of the dry ingredients then add the water whisking until smooth and the clumps are gone

3.  Put the mixture in a pot and heat on medium until thick (once the sauce has become thick, it is ready to use.  At this point, my pasta wasn't quite done and so my sauce became a little chunky just sitting there.  I added more water, very little at a time and stirred and the problem was solved, do this if the sauce gets chunky or if you want it slightly less thick.  Vegweb.com also provides this tip which was helpful: This is a very thick sauce as it is best suited for things like alfredo, macaroni and cheese, etc.  It shouldn't get as thick as mashed potatoes, though, so be careful.  You can add more water if you make it too thick, but it's supposed to be pretty thick.)

4.  When the pasta is ready and has been drained return to the pot and stir in the cheese sauce.  (you can serve the pasta at this point or continue to the next step)

5.  Put the pasta and cheese mixture into a baking dish and sprinkle the bread crumbs on top


6.  Bake at 350 for 10 mins or until the breadcrumbs have become slightly golden

ABC Salsa

I LOVEEE avocado! It's actually more like an obsession really.  I have made guacamole so many times that I can proudly say my personal recipe has been perfected…and I have plenty of people who can back me up on that too!  I even jokingly earned the nickname "guac" from my boyfriend's friends! haha...My love for avocado began a few years ago when I took a trip to San Diego, Ca (my FAVORITE place on earth) with 2 my best friends and had it for the first time.  What an awesome trip…3 best friends, San Diego & avocados! Ever since then, I've kept avocados in my kitchen at allll times!  This recipe is not my guacamole but a salsa..an Avocado, Black bean & Corn salsa to be exact..hense the ABC title!  It's great with chips, on a burger (veggie of course!) or quite delicious all by itself! It's also easy to make an can be whipped up in no time!  Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 avocado, diced
1/2 cup black beans
1/2 cup corn
1 med tomato, diced
1/3 cup diced red onion
2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
1 tbsp hot sauce
salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

mix all ingredients in a bowl & serve

Fast Foccacia!

I decided to make a big salad for dinner, but needed something to go along with it.  I made pizza last week and had dough left over in the fridge ( I always make 2 at a time)…perfect for a some quick foccacia!  Since I was just making it for myself, I used only half of the dough but the recipe below uses 1 whole pizza dough.  I also used dried spices that I had on hand but I know this would be even better using fresh ingredients.  The idea for this come to me from an herbed foccacia bread I usually make around the holidays that everyone loves.  You can serve it as a quick delicious appetizer or just a snack.  This recipe is something I just created on a whim with ingredients that were in my kitchen, but the options are endless & can be customized to your liking!

Ingredients:

1 refrigerated pizza dough (I used a homemade whole wheat dough)
1 Tbsp chopped rosemary
1 Tsp ground thyme
1Tsp ground sage
1 1/2 Tsp sea salt
1/4 cup grated mozzarella or parmesan cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees & coat a rimmed baking sheet with non stick spray

Roll out dough and place onto greased baking sheet.  Sprinkle rosemary, thyme, sage & sea salt over the dough.  Bake for 8-10 mins then remove & add the grated cheese.  Bake for 5 more mins, until cheese has melted.  Remove & cut into triangles. (Makes approx 30 triangles) Enjoy!