Gluten free and Vegan Mac n "Cheeze"

Blog #8 for the vegan MoFo 2010 challenge!

Do you ever just want comfort food? I don't think it is a good habit to eat it on a regular basis, but sometimes it is fun to have. Sometimes you want fattening food, knowing it is fattening. Like many of you, I want the comfort food without the cruelty. I love it when I am able to recreate a classic comfort food to be vegan. My go to classic is Mac n Cheeze. I want it cheezy, warm, and baked! We recently came across and perfected a recipe that we love. I guess I can technically call it our recipe since we made changes. Note that it is adapted from The Virtuous Vegan cookbook.

Ingredients:

• 12 ounces of gluten-free or regular pasta, we used Quinoa spirals
  
• 1.5 cups shredded vegan Cheddar Cheese
  
• 1.5 cups shredded vegan Mozzarella Cheese
  
• 2 tablespoons vegan butter
• 2 cups unsweetened vegan soy or almond milk
  
• 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• Couple of dashes of hot sauce
  
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
  
• 1/4 cup vegan parmesan cheese
• Slice of gluten free bread, ground to make crumbs

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Cook the pasta for only half of the time listed in the instructions. Drain the pasta and set it aside. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter. When melted, add in the soy milk and 3/4 cup of the cheddar and 3/4 cup of the mozzarella. Cook on low-medium heat until melted, stir frequently. When this is melted, remove from the burner and add the spices, nutritional yeast, and hot sauce. Pour the pasta into the sauce and mix together. Then add in the remainder of the cheese and stir. When combined, transfer the mixture to a prepared 8x8 pan or casserole dish. Top with the bread crumbs and back for 30 minutes uncovered. The top should be slightly brown and bubbly. Remove from the oven and top with the Parmesan.

The end result is a warm, comforting bowl of baked heaven. This is the closest recipe to conventional baked mac and cheese that we have made. You can add more heat or spice to this recipe. It is also tasty with lightly steamed broccoli. Make sure to cut the florets small though.

Whatever you do, just enjoy it and remember that it is ok to indulge in comfort food!