Going Vegan

What an amazing life. I've had 30+ (well maybe a little high on the +) years of eating whatever I wanted whenever I wanted. I am officially a fast food junkie. Now, not so much. My husband was diagnosed with needing a quadruple bypass about a month ago. Our whole lives have changed. I am trying a new vegan recipe as often as I can and will share them as I come across one that is sufficient. So far .... Not so good. Only spaghetti has made it through. I've made ... hmmm let's see .... veggie burgers, tofu sushi, barley soup with soy creamer, seitan (but I totally messed that one up) ...
Today, I made butternut squash Mac and Cheese. Yummy! I didn't have the kids running, spitting it out in the garbage or saying "oh mommy can we just make a pb & j?

Here it is ... Thank you so much manifestvegan.com!!

Smokey Butternut Mac and Cheese

• 16 ounces brown rice pasta, macaroni, penne, fusili, shells all work well
• 2 cups cashews, soaked in water at least 3 hours and drained
• 1  1/2 to 2 cups almond milk, to thin
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 2 cups cooked butternut squash
• 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 5 cups chopped (and de-stemmed) kale - I used one bag of spinach instead
• 1/2 tablespoon coconut or olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika

Cook the pasta according to package directions, undercooking just slightly by a minute or so. Drain well and rinse completely with cold water to remove any starch.
Transfer the pasta back to the pot and set aside. I like to stir in a drizzle of olive oil at this point to keep the pasta slick, but it’s not necessary.
Place the soaked and drained cashews, 1 cup almond milk, lemon juice, lemon zest, cooked butternut squash, nutritional yeast, garlic, and 1  1/4 teaspoons salt into a food processor. Blend very well, at least 7 minutes, until completely smooth and silky, scraping down the sides as necessary. Add about 1/2 cup more almond milk until thinned, pulsing between each addition. Add the sauce to the pasta in the pot, and then stir in the remaining almond milk to thin. Warm up gently over medium-low heat, stirring often until desired temperature is reached. Sprinkle on the smoked paprika and fold just to combine.