Butternut Squash Mac n Cheeze

Continuing with the trying to get Elinor to eat healthier, I found a recipe for butternut squash mac n cheeze. I know she loves mac n cheeze so I gave it a try.

Elinor gobbled her whole bowl up! We added peas to ours and I gave her a small bowl of them on the side. I got her to eat one little pea too!

Here is the recipe from Oh She Glows...

Butternut Squash Mac ‘n Cheeze (Vegan with Gluten-free & Nut-Free options)

Husband approved. Cook approved. Vegan approved. Omnivore approved. ‘Nough said.

Yield: 4 servings or 1.5 cups of cheeze sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 fresh butternut squash* (peeled and chopped) OR 1 cup canned butternut squash OR canned pumpkin
• Extra virgin olive oil, S & P
• 1 tbsp Earth Balance (or other non-dairy butter replacer)
• 3/4 cup unsweetened & unflavoured almond milk (revised from 1 cup)
• 1 tbsp arrowroot powder (or cornstarch)
• 6 tbsp nutritional yeast, or more to taste
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1/4-3/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2-1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1/2-1 tsp kosher salt (to taste) & ground black pepper, to taste
• 4 servings brown rice macaroni (8oz or half a 16oz package) makes 3 1/4 cup cooked
• Mix-ins of choice (e.g., kale, spinach, broccoli, peas, pumpkin seeds, etc)

1. Preheat oven to 425F. Line a casserole dish with tin foil. Mix chopped squash with EVOO, S & P. Roast for about 40 minutes, uncovered, or until tender.

2. Meanwhile, prepare the cheeze sauce in a pot on the stove top. Add Earth balance over low-medium heat. In a bowl, whisk together milk and arrowroot powder (or cornstarch or flour) until clumps are gone. Add into pot and whisk. Stir in remaining ingredients (nutritional yeast, Dijon, garlic, lemon, S & P) and whisk over low heat until thickened (about 5-7 minutes or so).

3. Cook your pasta according to package directions. The sauce makes enough to cover 4 servings of pasta.

4. In a blender, blend the sauce with 1 cup of roasted squash (or if using canned, simply stir 1 cup into the pot).

5. Add cooked, drained, and rinsed macaroni into pot, along with cheeze sauce & mix-ins. Heat and serve.

Read more: http://ohsheglows.com/2011/10/03/butternut-squash-mac-n-cheeze/#ixzz2fIOOTzoz

I use lime juice instead of lemon and regular yellow mustard instead of dijon. I also added more than a cup of the roasted butternut squash.

I hope to find a few more recipes to try out. Any suggestions?