Basil Alfredo with Sun Dried Tomatoes and Mushrooms over Whole Wheat Pasta and Spinach

Yum! yum! yum! All the creaminess of the Original with 1/3 the Calories, way less fat and did I mention YUMMMY! I forgot to take a picture :-( so I'll have to make it again and take one! :-D In the mean time I borrowed this photo that I got from a google search at the Cooking Channel.

Cashew nuts (at least 1cup more if you like more sauce, best if soaked over night in water)

Almond milk (or any other vegan milk)

Nutmeg (ground, start with a dash or two)

Nutritional Yeast (start with 2 Tbs)

Lemon Juice (start with 1/2 a lemons worth)

Salt (start with 1/4 tsp)

Pepper (start with 1/4 - 1/2 tsp)

Basil (one bunch chopped)

Sun dried Tomatoes (start with 5 chopped, more or less if you like)

Olive Oil

Mushrooms (sliced or chopped,  mix any kind you like)

Garlic (powder or fresh chopped)

Onion (powder or fresh chopped)

White Wine

Whole Wheat Pasta (I love the spiral kind, they soak up the sauce)

Bacon Bits (vegan or vegetarian kind of coarse!)

1. Blend first 7 ingredients with enough almond milk to keep blender blending. Blend until smooth. Add more milk to reach the consistency you prefer. Taste and re-season. Add Basil and blend a couple seconds. Add sun dried tomatoes and pulse the blender a couple times. Taste and re-season if needed. You don't need to heat this if you are going to use on hot pasta. Or you can put in a sauce pan on very low heat. 

CATION: too much heat or heating too long, will over thicken your sauce. Be sure to stir often and add additional milk as need.

2. In a pan on medium heat add your olive oil, mushrooms, garlic, onion, salt and pepper. Saute until veggies are tender and golden. Add wine a splash or two of wine and continue stirring until liked is almost gone. Remove from heat.

3. Cook pasta according to package. Drain and drizzle with olive oil to keep pasta from sticking. Pour sauce over hot cooked pasta. Top with mushrooms. Sprinkle with Bacon Bits. If you have a little extra Basil it would be amazing on top. Try not to eat it all before you even get to the table.