This month for the Improv Cooking Challenge our hostess Kristen of Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker challenged the participating bloggers to make any recipe of their choosing using the specified ingredients of pasta & cheese! Sounds simple enough but this was a tough one for me but shoot I wasn’t going to miss this month and break my posting streak. The reason that this month was difficult was, I haven’t been eating pasta in any form, nor have I been eating cheese or any of it’s fake versions, Maisie has her allergies and only eats non-wheat pastas and non-dairy cheese and Eammon, well he eats pasta but doesn’t care for cheese at all. Then I got to thinking about it and before we found out about Maisie’s allergies, one of her favorite foods was good old mac & cheese. Well right then and there I decided it was time to make an old favorite for my girl in a Maisie “safe” version so that’s exactly how this recipe came about. I added one of her new favorites to the dish for some added protein, sweet Italian sausage. This dish was made exclusively for my Maisie and she just adored it, delighted to have an old and new favorite meal all in one bowl.
- 8 oz. gluten free pasta, elbows, shells or small penne
- 1 1/2 cups unsweetened almond milk
- 2 cups Daiya Cheddar Style Shreds, divided
- 3 TBS. non-dairy margarine
- 3 TBS. golden flax seed
- 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- salt & pepper, to taste
- sweet Italian sausage, grilled and sliced
Prepare pasta according to box directions. Once the pasta is tender, drain. In the now empty pot melt the margarine and whisk in the flax seed, mustard and garlic powder until you have a thick paste. Whisk in the almond milk until the sauce is smooth and creamy. Stir in 1 1/2 cups of the Daiya and stir until completely melted. This may take a while as Daiya cheese takes a lot longer to melt compared to real cheese. Stir in the pasta and coat with the sauce. Stir in the remaining 1/2 cup of Dayia and stir to incorporate. Add salt & fresh ground pepper to taste. Add sliced grilled sweet Italian sausage and serve.
Enjoy!
My previous Improv Cooking Challenge entries:
August 2013 Vanilla & Chocolate: Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Krispy Treats with Vanilla Coconut Frosting
July 2013 Peaches & Herbs: Peachy Cola Ribs
June 2013 Fish & Chips: Salt & Vinegar Crab Cakes
May 2013 Cinnamon & Sugar: Cinnamon Bun Cookie Bars
April 2013 Bacon & Eggs: Mini Bacon & Swiss Quiche Cups
March 2013 Carrots & Peas: Mom’s Beef Vegetable Soup
February 2013 Hearts & Flours: Three Ingredient Fudgy Nutella Brownie Bites
January 2013 Bananas & Nutmeg: Baked Bananas
December 2012 Chocolate & Marshmallows: White Chocolate Marshmallow Cranberry Cashew Bark
November 2012 Sweet Potatoes & honey: Sweet Potato Glass Noodles with Honey Garlic Lime Shrimp
October 2012 Oatmeal & Raisins: S’mores Granola Bars
September 2012 Zucchini & Brown Sugar: Zucchini with Onion & Brown Sugar
August 2012 Tomatoes & Peppers: French Fries Hash Browns
July 2012 Corn & Butter: Fritos Crusted Pollock
June 2012 Cherries & Almonds: Dried Cherry Almond Tart
May 2012 Strawberries & Cream: Strawberry Soup
April 2012 Peanut butter & Jelly: Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars
March 2012 Potato & Cheese: Loaded Potato & Buffalo Chicken Casserole
February 2012 Ginger & Carrots: Shrimp & Avocado Salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing
January 2012 Lemon & Sour Cream: Ponderosa Lemon & Sour Cream Tart
December 2011 Eggnog & Cranberries: Eggnog Popovers with Cranberry Butter
November 2011 Pumpkin & Cream Cheese: Praline Pumpkin Cheesecake
October 2011 Caramel & Apples: Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies
Love the GRILLED!!! sweet Italian sausage sliced up into your yummy looking un-boxed mac & cheese. I also like the addition of mustard because I think it "brightens up" the flavor so much.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad you were able to come up with a delicious alternative for your daughter.
ReplyDeleteYum, reminds me so much of a classic childhood dish. Sounds good.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds wonderful! Love that you were able to come up with creative alternatives for this challenge. It looks so creamy and delicious.
ReplyDelete