Mac and Cheese

I was home this past weekend with the fam in the Poconos and my mom made mac and cheese the first night we arrived. It takes a while to make but luckily we weren't starving. The house began to smell delish and when we took the crockpots out of the oven, the mac was crispy and just perfect. My mom made a vegan version and a non vegan version.

As we dug in we noticed a sweet taste and a very sweet smell. I had coconut milk in mine so I thought that was it but my mom (who used cow's milk) was tasting sweetness too; she didn't put any sweet spices into either dish. We finally figured out it was the tomatoes giving off the sweetness. They were my mom's home grown giant red tomatoes giving off the sweetness; I've never tasted such sweet toms before and they gave the dish an awesome finish. Here is the vegan version of the dish. I used Daiya cheddar cheese but I've also used the block of vegan gourmet cheddar and I LOVE Go Veggie cheese. Use more or less ingredients depending on how many people will be around your table. My mom made two medium casserole dishes of mac and cheese.

6 big tomatoes, chopped
1 cup of non dairy milk
A box of elbow macaroni
1/2-1 whole package of vegan cheese
Oregano, basil, sea salt for added flavor

Boil the pasta according to the package. Pour the cooked macaroni into a casserole dish and add the chopped tomatoes and cheese. Add your spices. Pour in enough milk so that you can see the milk around the sides of the casserole dish. Put the dish in the oven at 425 degrees for 45-55 minutes. The macaroni on top will be brown and crisp.

What are you making for meatfree Monday??