Sweet Potato Mac & Cheese

This cold weather has made me want to do nothing more than to cuddle up in a blanket on the couch and eat a nice warm hearty dish. This mac & cheese dish does the trick without all the gilt and is a great meal to reheat and have for left overs throughout the week. Pictures and instructions are below. Enjoy!

For the Mac and Cheese:

• 1 bag of brown rice pasta or macaroni
• 2 sweet potatoes (about 3 cups), cubed
• 2 cups unsweetened almond milk (or other milk of your choice)
• 1 teaspoon tamari (or regular soy sauce)
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon dried chili flakes
• 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil + more for drizzling
• 1 teaspoon sea salt and freshly ground pepper

For the mushrooms:

• 8 ounces mushrooms, washed and sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
• 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.  Place sweet potato cubes onto lightly greased baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper.  Place in preheated oven for 35-40 minutes or until tender, turning once halfway through.

2. In the meantime, boil your pasta according to packaging instructions.  Drain and place pasta back in the pot.

3. In a medium bowl, combine lemon juice, dijon, garlic powder, chili flakes, nutritional yeast, olive oil, salt and pepper.  Set aside.

4. In a small pan, sauté mushrooms in oil on medium heat for 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and set aside.

5. Remove sweet potatoes from oven (don’t turn off the heat) and add sweet potatoes to the bowl with all your seasonings and almond milk.  Mash well, combining all ingredients….