Vegan Butternut Squash Mac and Cheeze

It's no secret that I love the vegan recipes from Oh She Glows. I've reposted a number of them on here, but never fail to give credit where credit is due. Angela is a cooking machine, and her kitchen produces some of the best healthy recipes I've ever tasted. This is just another one of those, perfect for fall, and a perfect comfort food without all the "bad for you" things we typically find in mac and cheese.

Butternut Squash Mac n' Cheeze

Ingredients:
1 fresh butternut squash (peeled and chopped)
Extra virgin olive oil
Dash of salt and pepper
1 tbsp Earth Balance (or butter if you choose, but will no longer be vegan)
3/4 cup unsweetend and unflavored almond milk
1 tbsp cornstarch
6 tbsp nutritional yeast, or more to taste
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2-3/4 tsp kosher salt (or to taste) & ground black pepper, to taste
8oz whole wheat or brown rice pasta of your choice
Mix-ins of choice (I used spinach and leftover chunks of roasted butternut squash)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425F. Spray a casserole dish with PAM. Mix chopped squash with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast for about 40 minutes, uncovered, or until tender.
2. Meanwhile, prepare the cheeze sauce in a pot on the stove top. Add Earth balance/butter over low-medium heat. In a bowl, whisk together milk and cornstarch until clumps are gone. Add into pot and whisk. Stir in remaining ingredients (nutritional yeast, Dijon, garlic, salt and pepper) and whisk over low heat until thickened (about 5-7 minutes or so).
3. Cook your pasta according to package directions. The sauce makes enough to cover 4 servings of pasta.
4. In a blender, blend the sauce with one cup of roasted squash.
5. Add cooked, drained, and rinsed macaroni into pot, along with cheeze sauce & mix-ins. Heat and serve.

Question of the Day:

Does the idea of eating a vegan meal scare you/turn you off? If so, why?