Butternut Squash Macaroni & Cheeze (mind blowing)

I've been curious about a butternut squash mac & cheese for awhile and finally had time to go for it the other day. My mind was blown. The texture and flavors were very impressive.

Ingredients like arrowroot and nutritional yeast caused me to be quite hesitant but then I realized I could bike over to whole foods and buy only the exact amount I need from their bulk food bins. I tend to forget that they have so so many options for grains and interesting spices that you can buy exactly the amount you want. It makes it really fun to just try it out without any real money or taste commitment past the few tbs you purchase. So what I'm really saying is don't be deterred by the ingredients and also this recipe would be totally worth it anyways!

Added bonus it's vegan & gluten free so it's a very acceptable option to make if your dinner guests happen to be vegan and to still please everyone else.

(Update I made this recently for Josh's birthday party with some guests that had dietary restrictions and everyone LOVED IT! Our gluten free friend just had 3 servings of it instead of cake!)

Butternut Squash Macaroni & Cheeze:
recipe adapted from here

1 1/2 cups butternut squash
1 cup pumpkin puree
(you can do any combination of the two or just use butternut but I loved the color the pumpkin gave it, also you can make your own puree by roasting the squash and tossing it through a food processor)
2 tbs non-dairy butter such as Earth Balance - or if not cooking for vegans normal butter
1 1/2 cup plain unsweetened almond milk
2 tbs arrowroot powder (or you can use cornstarch)
12 tbs nutritional yeast
4 tsp Dijon or spicy brown mustard
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
juice from 1 lemon
1 tsp salt
16 oz brown rice macaroni

I cooked up some jalapenos for me and pancetta for Joshua's mix-ins

1   in a large pot melt butter
2   bring another large pot of water to boil and make macaroni
3   whisk almond milk and arrowroot together in small bowl until dissolved
4   pour into pot and set heat to medium-low
5   whisk in nutritional yeast, mustard, onion and garlic powders, lemon juice, and salt
6   stir continuously until the mixture has thickened 4-6 minutes
stir in squash and pumpkin, b
7   strain pasta and mix in with cheeze mixture
8   add in the mix ins or set them out in little bowls and let people decide for themselves