Multi-Purpose "Cheese" Sauce

                      Baked mac 'n "cheese" with broccoli and cauliflower



So tonight for dinner I decided to try making some vegan macaroni and "cheese" (and keep track of the recipe!). Well I did it! I wrote it all down, and it ended up turning out really well! At first the cheese sauce was meant only for this dish, but once I tasted it, I got the urge to try it with a tortilla chip. So I got some out of the cupboard, and once I tried it, I wanted more and more! It was good just as is, but it would be really good to if you added some tex mex seasoning or some chopped jalapeno peppers (the jarred kind). Yum! Can't wait to do it that way and have nachos and "cheese" dip!

Basic "cheese" sauce recipe:

2 tablespoons vegan margarine
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup Silk creamer for coffee (plain)
1 cup vegetable stock
1 cup daiya cheddar style shreds
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon curry powder (unsalted, basically turmeric, so that will do to)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder


Melt the margarine in a saucepan on medium heat. Add the flour and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring with a whisk constantly. Add the Silk creamer slowly, while whisking, and then add the vegetable stock. Bring to a boil, while whisking on a regular basis. Now add the Daiya shreds and allow them to melt. Keep whisking! Now add the salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and curry powder. Reduce heat and allow to simmer for a couple of minutes. Remove from heat and serve! Like I said, this can be used for pasta, over veggies, for nachos.... whatever you like! Add additional spices to your liking! Enjoy:)

To make the baked mac n cheese, I simply cooked 2 cups of macaroni and about 2 cups of broccoli/cauliflower mixture. Once they were "al dente", I mixed them together with the cheese sauce in a baking dish. You could add another half cup or cup of Daiya and stir it in at this stage if you want that "stringy" mac n cheese effect. I then crushed about 20 saltine crackers (multi grain or whole wheat), and placed them in a frying pan with 2 teaspoons of melted margarine, and mixed them together until the margarine was evenly distributed. I then sprinkled the cracker mixture on the macaroni mixture and baked at 400 for 15 minutes.