Baked Green Chile & Pumpkin Mac

This is one of those recipes that I completely winged (wung?) and it came out great on the first try. This doesn't always happen, FYI. I'm a big fan of cooking creatively with trial and error, and sometimes this means that things don't go how I had hoped. However, some of the best recipes have come from total shots in the dark, and this is one of them! 

We are building a garage and I made this for the guys digging up our yard, along with some hot cocoa, as it was a brutally windy and chilly day. Most people around here don't know about green chile, but this girl is from Colorado so she loooves the stuff. We used this brand of jarred green chile. Of course it's not *as good* as the real, fresh roasted chilies from the farmers market, but it's still delicious and fun to infuse meals with - from smothering burritos, to breakfast scrambles, to mac and cheese casserole. 

I also used fresh roasted pumpkin flesh to make the cheese sauce, however, you could use canned pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling) - I'm sure it would be good too. This made a large casserole that we were able to eat off of for a few days, and I believe it would freeze well too! Hope you enjoy!

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Green Chile Pumpkin Baked Mac & Cheese - vegan

16 oz. bag macaroni or pasta of choice (I used Tinkyada brown rice fusili)
1 TBSP coconut or avocado oil
1/2 white onion, diced
1.5 cups cooked squash/pumpkin (I simply roasted it and scooped out the flesh, but you can use canned pumpkin puree)
2.5 cups non-dairy milk
5 cloves garlic
1 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
2 TBSP arrowroot powder (or cornstarch)
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 cup hatch green chiles (fresh, canned, or jarred)
1 cup shredded vegan cheese
1/2 cup breadcrumbs (can sub almond meal for gluten-free)

Preheat the oven to 400 F.
Cook the pasta according to package instructions.
Grease a casserole dish (I used this 12.5" x 8.5") with oil, and add the diced onions. Place in the oven for about 8-10 minutes.
In a high speed blender, add the squash/pumpkin, milk, garlic, mustard, nutritional yeast, arrowroot powder, paprika, salt, and pepper and blend until smooth.
In the casserole dish with the onions, add the cooked pasta, the pumpkin sauce, vegan cheese, and green chile. Mix it all together and sprinkle the breadcrumbs on top. Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly and the top is turning golden brown. 

Let cool for at least 5 minutes, then serve hot. Top with avocado and cilantro. Makes 8-12 servings.
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