Did you eat Macaroni and Cheese as a kid? Well that is a silly questions, of course you did! Who didn’t? And I am sure you still enjoy it on occasion, right? It pretty much is the quintessential kid food, am I right? Quick and easy to throw on the table on a busy day. Unless you had one of those food loving moms or grandmas that would make homemade mac and cheese baked in the oven with mass amounts of gooey cheese, breadcrumbs, the works. All bubbly and browned to perfection. Well I know I didn’t, but I was just fine with my fake powdered cheese packets dumped in to the pot after my cardboard box pasta was cooked ๐ A little splash of milk and it was ready to eat. And we can’t forget to mention the innovative shapes and colored mac and cheeses used as a ploy by marketing to get a mother’s child to jump up and down in the grocery until they bought their Spongebob shaped mac and cheese. I know, the good old days, right? I was also one of those kids that enjoyed some ketchup on my macaroni and cheese as well. Haha, that is nutrition right there!
Well don’t worry, now that we know the scary things that are used to manufacture those wonderful boxes of chemical, man-made, “cheese” and noodles, we can remedy the situation. You can have you mac and cheese and eat it too! Most importantly you can have your non-gmo, clean, real-food, gluten-free, soy-free, vegan mac and cheese and eat it too! Haha, I know I am excited too! However, let’s make things more interesting and not use a traditional pasta or just plain old vegan cheese. No. Let’s make this a fancy grown-up side dish delicacy packed with wholesome ingredients and nutrition.
Full of warm roasted veggies, including eggplant, artichokes, portobello mushrooms, and pearl onions. With our superfood base ingredient of quinoa. That little powerful seed of gluten-free protein happiness. All mixed together with the wonderful nutty cheezy taste from my favorite, nutritional yeast!
Cheezy Roasted Vegetable Quinoa
Ingredients: (serves 4-6)
For the Roasted Vegetables:
+ 9oz of (Thawed) Frozen Sliced Artichoke Hearts
+ 2 Cups of Sliced Eggplant
+ 2 Medium Portobello Mushroom Caps (sliced)
+ 6 Pearl Onions (peeled and roughly chopped)
+ 1/4 Tsp Black Pepper
+ 1/4 Tsp Garlic Powder
For the Quinoa:
+ 1 Cup Dry Quinoa (+2 Cups Water for Cooking)
+ 1/4 Cup Nutritional Yeast
+ 1 Tsp Turmeric
+ 1/2 Tsp Smoked Paprika
+ 1 Tsp Dijon Mustard
+ 1 Tsp Chopped Chives
+ 1 TB Dried Parsley
Directions:
+ For the roasted vegetables, preheat the oven to 415ยฐF. Prep all the veggies and spread them out on a foiled and lightly oiled baking sheet. Toss the veggies with the pepper and garlic and roast for 20 minutes, stirring half-way through.
+ For the quinoa, rinse off your quinoa under cold water, bring a large pot of 2 cups of water to a boil, add the quinoa and cook for about 15 minutes or until all water is absorbed.
+ When the quinoa is done, add in the roasted veggies, nutritional yeast, turmeric, parsley, smoked paprika, Dijon, and chives. Give everything a good stir until everything is coated and incorporated.
Grown-up “mac and cheese”? I think yes!
This was so delicious and also perfect the next day reheated! Great for a quick lunch option or a side dish to dinner. Or It could be a dinner within itself ๐ You may not be able to stop eating it. I had this three days straight it was so good!
The only thing I did not do was add ketchup! Hm….I may have to test that out ๐ Then we will really be talkin’!
So tell me:
Were you a macaroni and cheese lover as a kid?
Ketchup? Yay or Nay?
*Recipe linking up for the week! WIAW, Allergy Free Wednesdays, #RecipeFridays, #RecipeOfTheWeek, Ricki Hellerโs Wellness Weekend, #StrangeButGood, Gluten-Free Wednesdays, Healthy Vegan Fridays, Real Food Friday, Gluten-Free Fridays, Tasty Tuesdays, Whole Food Fridays!*
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