Staples

Ok. It's been a lean month - I'm broke till payday (friday) which meant no grocery shopping today. Next tuesday (hopefully!) But, since I need some leftovers to bring with for lunch at work, I had to scrape some things together from what I had in the fridge. I had two 8ounce containers of baby portabellos, soy milk, a 7oz bag of Veggie Shreds Cheddar Cheese, oleo, soy chorizo, and, of course, [tho not in the fridge] six boxes of pasta.

A quick note about pasta: Pasta is pasta. Keep an eye out for the sales - 10 for $10, 3 for $5 - and then stock up. Also, pay attention to the net ounces. But only the 16oz boxes, that way you're really getting the best value for your dollar.

One of my ol' standbys is [a vegan version of] mac-n-cheese. 99.9% of the time, I use a block cheese ~ Soya Kaas usually. But, since I don't have any right now - and it's getting harder to find, btw, which makes no sense considering veggie and healthy eating continues to grow in popularity . . . I had to use the shredded cheese. Rarely do I ever make just plain mac-n-cheese, so . . .

Here goes : tonight's mac-n-cheese:
1 8oz package of baby portabellos, diced
1/2 12oz tube of soy chorizo (Yves, Melissa's,and there's a third brand I've found. they're all good)
2 tbsp oleo
1 7oz bag Veggie Shreds (tonight happened to be cheddar. When I use block cheese, it's approximately 1/3 of the block, diced)
1 to 2 cups soy milk
1 16oz box of pasta (tonight was ziti)

Boil water for the pasta. Then cook according to the instructions.
In a large iron skillet, melt 2 tbsp oleo over med-high heat. Add the diced mushrooms, sautee. Add half of a 12oz tube of soy chorizo. Mix well. Add the soy milk. Add the shredded (or diced) soy cheese. Mix together. Stir periodically. If if starts to boil, turn heat down. If it is too thick for taste, then add more soy milk, slowly, mixing well.

Once the pasta is cooked and drained, and the cheese mixture is melted, combine the two well. I usually get one meal and 3 or 4 leftover meals out of this.

Variations to try are half a medium red onion, diced and sauteed with the mushrooms. Also, instead of chorizo, a can of diced tomatoes. Rotel (tho smaller cans) is a good brand to try.

Well, that's all I have for now. I might have a date this weekend. We'll see. . . .

in any case . .

Slainte . . .

Mulu :>}