The One Dish You Must Make This Weekend {Spicy Vegan Mac and Cheese}
Posted: June 4, 2011 Filed under: Dinners, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes | Tags: comfort food, dinner, healthy recipes, vegan comfort food, vegan cooking, vegan food, vegetarian cooking 9 Comments »I don’t trust people who don’t like macaroni and cheese.
If tender, chewy, noodles and warm, gooey, cheese sauce don’t appeal to you, then you, my friend, are beyond my help.
Before you attempt to justify your macaroni hate by telling me that it’s bland, artificial, low in nutrients and loaded with animal products, heavy ingredients and “bad fats”…allow me to shut down your excuses. This bowl of goodness is entirely vegan and all-natural, and it comes together in less than 30 minutes.
Now do you understand why I insist that you make this macaroni dish this weekend?
Spicy Vegan Mac and Cheese
Serves Four
Ingredients:
- 4 ounces Mozzarella-style shredded Daiya (1/2 package)
- 4 ounces (1/2 tub) Tofutti vegan cream cheese
- 4 cups water
- 2 cups (dry) whole wheat elbow macaroni
- 1 cup vegan milk substitute (I used unsweetened plain almond milk)
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon jalapeno powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Directions:
- In a small pot, bring water to a rolling boil and add macaroni. Cover, reduce heat to low and cook until pasta is tender.
- In a small pan, warm olive oil and lightly sauté the red pepper for 5 minutes or until slightly tender.
- In a large saucepan, bring almond milk to a rolling boil. Reduce heat to medium high and add in vegan cream cheese and Daiya, stirring continuously until cheeses are completely melted. If your sauce is too thin, add an extra dash of almond milk; if sauce is too thin, increase heat one level and continue stirring until it thickens.
- Add pasta, sautéed red pepper and spices to the sauce. Stir until evenly combined.
- Serve warm; drool over the absolute gooiness of this vegan comfort food.
This will be the richest, creamiest vegan macaroni ever to pass your lips – and that’s a statement you can trust!
Did I mention that it qualifies for Vegetarian on a Budget, costing less than $2 per serving?
| Ingredient | Cost |
| Daiya shredded “mozzarella” | $4.49/8 ounces = $2.50/4 ounce serving |
| Tofutti “cream cheese” | $3/8 ounces = $1.50/4 ounces |
| Whole wheat macaroni | $3/4 cups = $1.50/2 cups |
| Almond milk | $4/8 cups = $0.50/1 cup |
| Red pepper | $1.00 |
| Olive oil | $0.25 |
| Cayenne pepper | $0.25 |
| Jalapeno powder | $0.25 |
| Salt | $0.05 |
| Total Budget Breakdown: | $7.85/4 servings = $1.97 per serving |
Happy taste buds, happy wallet…Happy Weekend!
Five Minute All-Natural Classic Bruschetta
Posted: April 26, 2011 Filed under: Snackage, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes | Tags: cooking, Recipes, vegan cooking, vegetarian cooking 8 Comments »Some things are undeniable classics: red nail polish; a little black dress; Breakfast Club…
And of course, Bruschetta.
Oh, bruschetta. Tomatoes, olive oil and a few select spices, stirred into a perfect topping.
I’ve seen countless bruschetta variations: Roasted red pepper bruschetta, mushroom bruschetta, eggplant bruschetta…
Nothing can compete with the original easy tomato bruschetta recipe!
The fact that it takes all of 3 minutes to assemble makes it all the more delicious.
So easy, even a college kid could make it 
Five Minute All-Natural Classic Bruschetta
Vegan, serves two
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup cherry, grape or roma tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp basil
- 1/2 tsp garlic
- pinch each of salt and pepper
Directions:
- Chop tomatoes into the smallest chunks possible
- Drizzle olive oil over the top. The higher quality of oil you use, the better!
- Sprinkle with spices and toss until well distributed.
- Serve atop toasted bread to continue the authenticity. If you’re the aforementioned college kid (or facing a sparse cabinet like I am,) feel free to spoon your bruschetta onto anything: pita chips, pretzels, tortillas…you get the picture!
