Vegan Fettuccini Alfredo With Sun Dried Tomatoes

I don't know what it is for my love affair with cold weather but I crave for pastas along with soups.  I haven't had a cheesy fettucini alfredo in the longest time.  The best part of fettucini alfredo is munching on the chewy strips of sun dried tomatoes.  My mom never took a liking to any dishes with a creamy cheesy sauce but thank goodness my hub loves it and it gives me an excuse to make a batch.  I prefer to make a larger batch and stick the leftovers in the fridge.  Our microwave oven has been broken for quite some time and I think it's a blessing.  I will add a tablespoon or two of rice milk when I heat a cold serving of the leftovers on the stove. 

Every time I think of fettucini alfredo, I'm reminded of Michael Scott from The Office.  It was the episode where Michael had this wonderful idea of raising some moola for rabies awareness.  Dwight Schrute offered a bowl of carbs (fettucini alfredo) to Michael before running in the marathon to raise money for rabies awareness.Those of you who are fans of The Office will know what I'm talking about. 

Hubs came home for 30 minutes before playing basketball at the local park. Jase said he was hungry and I heated up the fettucini alfredo for him. I know y'all think it might sound crazy to eat anything too heavy but it's not! A small serving of this vegan fettucini alfredo will not leave your stomach feeling heavy and I promise you'll be up and running around the track for a few miles after an hour of consuming this creamy goodness.  This one is for you, Michael Scott!

Vegan Fettucini Alfredo With Sun Dried Tomatoes

Ingredients

• Brown rice fettucini (boil dry pasta for under a minute or two of the time listed on the package because it's best served al dente)
• 2 teaspoons of olive oil
• 2 teaspoons of minced garlic
• 1/2 cup of chopped onions
• 1/2 cup of chopped yellow bell peppers
• 1 cup of cashews (roasted and unsalted)
• 2 teaspoons of vegan bouillon powder
• 3 tablespoons of nutritional yeast flakes
• 1/2 cup of non dairy sour creme (I use Tofutti)
• 1 cup of rice milk
• 2 tablespoons of lime juice
• 10 ounces of seitan (tear or cut into one inch peices)
• 5 ounces of slice crimini mushrooms
• 3 handfuls of spinach
• 2 tablespoons of sliced sun dried tomatoes

1. Prepare the fettucini and set aside.  I used brown rice fettucini but you can use whole wheat if you prefer.
2. In a heated skillet, add oil, minced garlic, chopped onions and bell pepper.  Stir fry over heat for 3 minutes or until onions are translucent.
3. Add cashew in a food processor and pulse the nuts until they are broken up into a powder form. 
4. Add onion and bell pepper mixture to cashews along with vegan bouillon powder, nutritional yeast flakes, sour creme, rice milk and lime juice.  Blend until you have a creamy texture.
5. In a heated skillet, add oil and seitan.  Pan fry seitan for 5 to 7 minutes until it is lightly browned.
6. Add mushrooms, spinach, sun dried tomatoes and stir fry for about 2 minutes.
7. Pour cashew mixture over the seitan and vegetables.  Stir 3 minutes.
8. Toss fettucini into the pan and coat noodles with sauce for about 2 minutes.  Plate, serve and sprinkle chopped green onions if you like.