What We Ate Wednesday--Roasted Sweet Potato with Macaroni Cheese and Savoury Kale

 Hello lovelies! Times are busy and I am tired (Working retail is no joke in the run up to Christmas!) so I wanted a meal that I could do without a recipe to follow--one I knew how to do all the parts off by heart. Plus one that didn't require extra shopping. 

We had 2 sweet potatoes and a red onion--I knew how to roast those in the oven.

We had kale--I knew how to sauté it with a splash of tamari/soy sauce. 

I had just made cheese power using THIS RECIPE and so we could have Macaroni Cheese. This sauce is great--you make ahead so always have cheese powder ready for action. The ratio is 1/3 cup powder to 1 cup milk per person (also 1 cup pasta per person, but sometimes we just make it as a cheese sauce for nachos) 

Dinner is sorted.

Roasted Sweet Potato with Macaroni Cheese and Savoury Kale

1 large or 2 smaller sweet potatoes (about 400 grams), cubed

1 red onion, cut into large chunks

1 TB olive oil

100g kale (3 big handfuls)

splash tamari or soy sauce

2 cups macaroni (or other) pasta--use GF pasta if you need to

2/3 cups cheese powder--just make THIS RECIPE and you have instant cheesy sauce at your fingertips

2 cups unsweetened plant based milk--we used soya

1 TB lemon juice--bottled is fine

1 tsp wholegrain mustard (optional, but nice)

1 TB vegan buttery spread (optional to make it richer)

Preheat your oven to 200C/400F

1. Put your chopped sweet potatoes and red onion in a big roasting tin and drizzle on the TB of oil. Stir to coat. Roast in the oven for 15 minutes, then take it out and stir and roast again for another 15 minutes. 

2. Meanwhile, in a medium sized pan boil your macaroni according to package directions then drain and set aside. While your macaroni is boiling, in a large pot sauté your kale on medium high with a splash or two of water until it wilts and softens. Then add a splash of tamari or soy sauce and stir to coat your greens. Then take off the heat. Put on a lid and set aside. 

 3. In the same pot you cooked the macaroni, add the TB of vegan butter if you wish and let it melt then add the 2 cups milk, 2/3 cups cheese powder and the TB lemon juice and mustard (if using.) Whisk together and continue to whisk until the cheese sauce thickens. Add back in the pasta and stir to coat.

4. By this time the roasted sweet potatoes should be done. Remove from the oven. Mix the hot macaroni cheese with the kale you set aside and then spoon into two bowls and top with roasted sweet potatoes. 

5. Nom nom nom while putting your feet up.