Sweet Potato Pasta

Sometimes things don't work out the way you want them to, but… You just gotta push on and find the positives! That's kind of what I had to do with this meal. I really meant to make this a yummy, cheesy, healthy Mac n' Cheese, but it didn't turn out quite as creamy or cheesy as I'd anticipated. Despite this set back, it really was a tasty dish! Even though it didn't satisfy my Mac n' Cheese craving, I definitely liked it enough to make it again, which is why I'm choosing to share the recipe with you all!

A simple meal filled with tons of Vitamin A (thank you, sweet potatoes!), various veggies, and tri-color brown rice pasta for an extra splash of color. 

Ingredients:

• 2 cups uncooked brown rice pasta
• 1 cup mashed sweet potato
• 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1/4 cup chopped red onion
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp Earth Balance natural buttery spread
• 5-6 grape tomatoes, halved

Directions:

1. To make the mashed sweet potato, I first bought a medium sweet potato from the store. Peel the sweet potato and then cut it into large chunks. Fill a pot with water and place the sweet potato chunks inside. Bring the water to a boil and let the sweet potato sit in boiling water until softened (able to easily poke a fork through the center). Once the sweet potato is all cooked, turn off the heat and pour the sweet potato chunks into a strainer.
2. While sweet potato is boiling, you may begin cooking the pasta. First, bring a separate pot filled with water to a boil. Once water has started boiling, pour uncooked pasta into boiling water and cook according to directions on package.
3. On a cutting board or plate, chop onion. Heat a small pan over medium heat for a couple minutes. Place 1 tbsp Earth Balance butter spread onto heated pan, moving it around to help coat the pan. Transfer chopped onion onto pan and stir in with melted spread. Cook until onion pieces are slightly translucent. 
4. Place softened sweet potatoes into a bowl or blender. Using a spoon or the blender, mix and mash until sweet potatoes have turned into a mush with as few chunks as possible. 
5. Heat oven to 350F. 
6. Pour pasta into a medium to large bowl. Combine mashed sweet potato, 2 tbsp nutritional yeast, and sauteed onion into bowl and mix until ingredients are evenly distributed. 
7. Scoop pasta mixture into a oven-safe baking dish (I used a glass dish, approximately 8x13). Top with sliced tomatoes, scattering them throughout the pasta. Sprinkle remaining one tablespoon nutritional yeast over entire dish.
8.  Once oven has heated to proper temperature, place pasta dish into the oven for about 15-20 minutes.
9. Remove pasta bake from the oven and let sit for about 5 minutes before serving.