Vegan Mac 'N' Cheese

This is a great vegan mac and "cheese" recipe. It is easy to make and the end result is tasty and creamy. You can find the recipe on Chef Chloe's website.

Spaghetti Squash

This is a classic fall meal. Follow this link to learn how to bake and prepare spaghetti squash. Serve hot with spaghetti sauce.

Pesto

Pesto is one of those recipes that you have to experiment with until you get it right for your liking. I like more garlic than some people may prefer. The following measurements are suggestions based on how I made my pesto.

Ingredients:

- 5 tbsp. pine nuts

- 3 packed cups fresh basil

- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

- 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk

- 2 tbsp. nutritional yeast

- 3 cloves garlic

- salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients in a food processor. Process until smooth.

2. Refrigerate until the sauce thickens. Serve over whole wheat pasta.

¡Viva el burrito!

Be sure to read the tortilla packaging carefully. As I was buying whole wheat tortillas, I realized that many of the available varieties include honey as an ingredient, which would not make it vegan.

Ingredients:

- vegan whole wheat tortilla (I found these at Trader Joe's)

- Daiya cheddar style shreds
- chopped cilantro

- refried black beans (also found at Trader Joe's)

- salsa

- vegan sour cream (I used Tofutti)

Directions:

1. Heat desired amount of refried beans in a microwave-safe dish until hot.

2. Layer all the ingredients in the center of the tortilla and wrap.

Homemade Pizza

Who knew that vegan pizza could be so appetizing? Rolling out the pizza dough was no easy task. It took patience (and then help from my mother) to get out all the holes.

Ingredients:

- wheat pizza dough (purchased at Whole Foods)
- tomato sauce
- Daiya cheddar style shreds (it actually melts!)
- chopped fresh spinach
- sautéed eggplant slices
- sautéed fresh garlic
- marinated artichoke pieces (from a jar)
- sliced kalamata olives
- sliced dried figs (you can buy these in bulk at Whole Foods)
- sliced mushrooms

Directions:

1. Knead and stretch dough over a pizza baking sheet.

2. Spread canned tomato sauce over the dough.

3. Sauté eggplant slices with fresh garlic.

4. Sprinkle pizza dough with Daiya "cheese."

5. Add toppings.

6. Bake at 375 F until "cheese" melts and veggies brown.

Mac & "Cheese" Masterpiece

I am, admittedly, a macaroni-holic. My obsession with the "cheesy" noodles is grounds for 12-step intervention. That being said, I have come up with the most satisfying and "cheesy" vegan macaroni recipe. This is so good, you might be able to fool some non-vegans.

Ingredients:
- 3 tbsp. nutritional yeast
- 1/2 - 3/4 cup almond milk (or your choice of vegan milk)
- 1/2 cup Daiya cheddar style shreds
- 2 cups pasta (your choice, preferably whole grain, brown rice, or quinoa pasta)
- fresh ground pepper, to taste

Directions:
1. Cook pasta according to package and strain.
2. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, add almond milk (or other vegan milk) and bring to a soft boil. Add Daiya shredded cheddar "cheese" and nutritional yeast and stir until the mixture melts. Reduce to medium heat if it begins to boil rapidly, to avoid burning.
3. Add pasta to liquid mixture. Stir constantly so that the liquid covers the pasta and so that it does not burn at the bottom. After a few minutes, the mixture will thicken.
4. Remove from heat and sprinkle with fresh ground pepper and nutritional yeast to taste.

Voila!