macaroni

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Vegan Spinach and Artichoke Mac and Cheese (The Lori Mac)

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It helps to have friends that are genius, like my vegan friend Lori!

Lori is great for a multitude of reasons, including rodent rescue and release. She even took in, and raised, a baby mouse we found in our house, and was able to release it into the wild (and before you say, ewwwww, let me tell you, a baby mouse no bigger than you thumb nail is literally the cutest thing.)

She is GREAT, and has the biggest heart for all animals. Lori also apparently has some mad culinary skills, because not too long ago I saw her post on Facebook that she was going to make spinach and artichoke mac and cheese!!

WHAT!?!? Why had my brain not gone there yet? So we quickly whipped up a batch of our vegan spinach and artichoke dip and mixed into some noodles with a little extra cheese and, WOW!

Lori was not wrong with this one!!! So thank you Lori for being all around awesome and genius, and thanks for always saving all the little critters nobody else wants to save! We are your biggest fans and so are our stomachs!

INGREDIENTS:

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

  1. Boil noodles according to package instructions. Drain and set aside.

  2. Make Spinach and Artichoke dip according to recipe instructions.

  3. Mix in 1 cup of mozzarella shreds into the dip.

  4. Pour dip into a 9x13 casserole dish and sprinkle the top with the remaining 1 cup of mozzarella.

  5. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Just long enough to heat through and melt the cheese on top.

If you like this recipe, try these:

Nut free Vegan Mac n Cheese

Vegan Buffalo Chicken Mac n Cheese

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Easy Vegan Macaroni Salad

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I never ate at lot of macaroni salad growing up.

My dad would sometimes buy it from the deli, and on the rare occasion I did eat it, I loved it.

It’s sweet, creamy, tangy, and savory all at the same time! Crunchy veggies, and macaroni noodles, mayo, vinegar, and a little sugar.

One day my neighbor was talking about wising he had some vegan macaroni salad and suddenly I was craving it too. So I went home and recreated the macaroni salad of my childhood.

Now days, I make this side all of the time. Its quick, easy and crowd pleaser. All of my kids love it and that is a win as far as I am concerned.

I would like to think this kind of dish originated in the south, but I actually looked it up and you can thank the New England states for this tasty side.

My guess is it was the south that decided to add sugar. Just like ice tea, the south believes sugar makes most things better.

Regardless of where macaroni salad came from, I’m just glad it did, because this classic side dish is now one of my favorites, and is so easy to make!!

INGREDIENTS:

  • 16 oz package elbow macaroni

  • 1/2 red bell pepper

  • 1/2 small yellow onion

  • 1 carrot

  • 2 stalks celery

  • 1 cup vegan mayo

  • 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

  • 1/4 cup sugar, or 2 tablespoons agave

  • 1 teaspoons salt

  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper

  • optional: dried parsley for garish

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Boil noodles according to package instructions. Drain, rinse, and set aside.

  2. Finley dice the onion, pepper and celery. Grate the carrot on a box grater or finely dice it as well.

  3. Toss the noodles and diced veggies together in a large bowl.

  4. In a small bowl mix together the mayo, sugar, vinegar, salt and pepper.

  5. Pour the mayo mixture over the noddles and stir until everything is well combined.

  6. Serve room temp or chilled.

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