Creamy Vegan Casserole

I originally got this recipe from www.vegweb.com maybe a little over a year ago. Since then, I have been making this recipe about once a week with some adaptations and variations of my own. I finally have it pretty close to perfect so I thought I'd share this week-night favorite.

Ingredients

Serves about 6

1 medium onion, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

10 0z. baby bella mushrooms, sliced

4 tbsp. Earth Balance

2 tsp. soy sauce

1/4 cup flour

1 1/2 cup vegetable broth OR 1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes* + 1/2 cup vegetable broth
1 1/2 cup soy milk

1 cup frozen peas

4 tbsp. nutritional yeast

2 tbsp. marsala or red cooking wine

1 tbsp. garlic powder

2 tsp. herbes de provence

1 tsp. dried basil

1 tsp. salt

Dash of black pepper

2 tsp. lemon juice

1 14.5 oz. can of chickpeas, rinsed and mashed with the back of a fork

1 cup French Fried Onions

8 oz. pasta of your choice (I like to use little shells)

1. Preheat oven to 350*. Spray a 9x13" glass baking dish with oil.

2. Boil water and cook pasta until al dente.

3. Meanwhile, heat 1 tbsp. Earth Balance in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and mushrooms and saute for a few minutes. Add the soy sauce and saute for a few more minutes, until vegetables are tender. Set aside.

4. In a large stock pot, heat remaining 3 tbsp. of Earth Balance over medium-high heat. Add the flour, soy milk, and vegetable broth or can of tomatoes. Whisk for about 7 minutes, or until sauce begins to thicken. Add the nutritional yeast, marsala, lemon juice, garlic powder, herbes de provence, basil, salt, and pepper. Continue to whisk to combine.

5. Add the chickpeas, sauteed vegetables, peas, and cooked pasta. Combine.

6. Pour mixture into the prepared baking dish. Tightly cover with aluminum foil and bake for 15 minutes.

7. Uncover and sprinkle the French Fried Onions over the top. Bake for 5 minutes, or until the top of the casserole is golden brown.

* I think the can of tomatoes is great in this recipe. It creates a light tomato-cream sauce for the casserole. However, the casserole tastes great with just the plain ol' vegetable broth as well. I just go by what I happen to have in my pantry. I've also used vegetable broth and then thrown in a chopped up tomato which is just as good. This recipe is very easy to adapt!

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