Thai-Inspired Tofu

A friend saw me at the grocery store and asked, “What are you making for dinner?” When I said tofu, he made a face. Not a yum face, but a yuck face. I really don’t understand that reaction. Tofu has NO taste. It does have an interesting texture. I like to freeze it first, then thaw it. That process makes it chewy.

So don’t yuck it, ‘til you try it. This recipe was inspired by Pad Thai, which in and of itself is a version of a Chinese dish. So I don’t even fool myself into calling this Thai food. But that is where the idea came from and it tastes great, sooooo it’s all good.

Thai-Inspired Tofu

Servings: 2-4

Time:  Prep: 15 minutes   Cooking:  15 minutes

Hardware:  A cutting board and knife, measuring spoons and cups, a small bowl, a large bowl, a fork, a zester, a whisk, 2 paper towel covered plates, extra paper towels, a deep skillet, and tongs

Ingredients:

• 7 ounces of extra firm tofu (I like Nasoya)*
• Oil to cover the bottom of the skillet-maybe more (I used sesame, any oil will do)
• 2 cups frozen broccoli florets
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 2 green onions
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 teaspoons cilantro
• 1 lime
• 1 tablespoon peanut butter
• 1 ½ cups very cold water
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• Salt
• 8 ounces cooked angel hair pasta
• 2 tablespoons peanuts for garnish

1. Cut the tofu into 1 inch by 1 inch squares.  Lay the squares on to the paper towel covered plate and allow some of the water to drain from the tofu.  You might want to change the paper towels a few times. 
2. While the tofu is draining, crush the garlic and slice the green onions. Separate the white part of the onion from the green and save both. Zest and juice the lime, setting zest and juice aside. Chop the cilantro. Place the corn starch into a bowl with the cold water and whisk until the corn starch dissolves. Measure everything else and set aside.
3. Heat the oil on medium high and add the broccoli florets and stir fry for 2-3 minutes.  Add the carrots, onion whites, garlic, cilantro and lime zest. Stir fry for 2-5 minutes.
4. Push the veggies to the side. You may need to add a little more oil to the skillet. Sauté the tofu until it is crispy, flipping so that it crisps up on every side. This should take another 5-7 minutes. Place everything in the large bowl.
5. Pour the cornstarch-y water, lime juice, peanut butter and brown sugar into the same skillet. Bring to a boil, whisking constantly. The sauce will thicken. Taste and adjust the salt. Return the tofu and the veggies to the sauce.
6. To plate,  put the pasta on a serving plate, top with the tofu stir-fry, and sprinkle with the onion greens and peanuts.

Tofu comes in 14 ounce containers. To keep the unused portion simply place it in an airtight container with fresh water.

Shrimp and Sausage over Polenta

This is a fun take on Shrimp and Grits. We went to Orlando for our anniversary last month and I had a dish very similar to this. The dish in Orlando also included a nice piece of poached fish, but I am not confident enough to poach fish. To plate ours, I placed creamy, sun-dried tomato polenta in a bowl. I then topped the polenta with a little wilted spinach and spooned the Shrimp and Sausage over everything. In Orlando, the cook used mustard greens instead of spinach, which was delicious. So, you could do that, too. I guess this is sort of a fusion of Italian and southern cuisine, which just happens to be my heritage.

This is really easy to make and so very yummy. You can have a restaurant quality meal on the table in around 30 minutes.

Shrimp and Sausage

Servings: 6-8

Time:    Prep: 10 minutes, Cook: 20 Minutes

Hardware:  measuring spoons and cups, a cutting board and knives, a large heavy-bottom skillet (I prefer a cast iron skillet), a slotted spoon, a large bowl, a small bowl, a fork, tongs, and a whisk

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ½ pound spicy Italian sausage
• 1-pound large shrimp (31-35 count) cleaned with tails removed
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 bell pepper (1 cup)
• 1 tablespoon fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon tomato sauce
• 1 teaspoon peanut butter
• 1 tablespoon corn starch
• Salt

I like to use yellow, orange, and red baby bells for added color

1.  Dice the garlic. Remove the seeds and white ribs from the pepper and dice it. Mince the oregano if using fresh. Remove the sausage from the casing. Measure everything else and set aside.
2. Heat the oil in the skillet on medium.  Brown the sausage with the garlic and pepper. Cook and crumble until it’s no longer pink. Make sure to break up the sausage while it is cooking. This should take about 7 minutes. Use the slotted spoon to remove everything to the large bowl.
3. Add the shrimp and oregano to the same skillet. Salt the shrimp. Sauté the shrimp for 2 minutes on each side or until just pink. Remove the shrimp to the bowl with the sausage.
4. Mix the tablespoon of corn starch with 2 tablespoons cold water and stir until dissolved. Set aside.
5. Add the broth, tomato sauce and peanut butter to the skillet. Bring to a low boil while whisking. Stir in the cornstarch-y water. Whisk until the sauce thickens.
6. Return everything to the skillet.  Simmer on low for 5 minutes. Taste and adjust the salt.
7.  Serve over grits or polenta.

Meatloaf

In these stressful times, we could all use a little comfort. Meatloaf is the ultimate comfort food.  This is a basic recipe.  You can add other spices or other veggies (mushrooms or tomatoes). You can substitute ground pork or turkey for ½ pound of the meat. BBQ sauce instead of the topping I've suggested here would be yummy.

Make meatloaf, mashed potatoes, gravy and green beans. Sit down with your family and enjoy a meal.

Servings: 4-6

Hardware:  Measuring spoons and cups, cutting board and knives, a wooden spoon, a mixing bowl, a small skillet, a baking sheet, aluminum foil, thermometer, a small bowl, a whisk

Time:  Prep:  10 minutes    Cooking: 1 ½ hours-1 hour 45 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ pounds ground chuck (20% fat)
• 1 small onion (1 cup)
• ½ small bell pepper (½ cup)
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
• ½ cup quick oats
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 egg
• ¼ cup beef broth
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• Olive oil for the bottom of the pan

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Topping

• ½ cup ketchup
• 1 tablespoon mustard
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 tablespoon honey or brown sugar
• Hot sauce to taste

Meatloaf is the ultimate comfort food

1. Pre-heat the oven to 325˚. Chop the onion. Chop and seed the pepper. Dice the garlic. Remove the thyme from the stems. Line the baking sheet with foil. Set aside.
2. Heat enough oil to cover the skillet on medium heat. Place the onions, pepper, garlic, and thyme into the pan. Sauté for 5-7 minutes or until the onions are translucent. Don’t allow anything to brown. Scrape everything into the mixing bowl.
3. Add everything to the mixing bowl but the meat and the oats. Whisk thoroughly. Mix in the oats and the meat.  Don’t mash the meat or the loaf will be tough.  Shape the meat into a loaf on the baking sheet.
4. Whisk the topping ingredients together and pour over the meatloaf.
5. Bake the meatloaf until the internal temperature is 165˚. This should take around an hour.  Allow the meatloaf to rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

Shrimp Enchiladas in a Cream Sauce

Creamy, cheesy, gooey, and delicious is the only way to describe these Shrimp Enchiladas. Really, really yummy. I often order these at restaurants and wanted to challenge myself to make them at home. Making enchiladas is always a little work, but this was so very worth it.

Servings: 6 enchiladas

Time:  Prep: 20 minutes; Cooking:  40 minutes

Hardware:  A cutting board and knives, measuring cups & spoons, a skillet, tongs, sauce pot, whisk, food prep gloves, paper towel covered plate, 8 x 11.5 glass baking dish

Ingredients

• 1 ½ pounds extra-large, cleaned shrimp (26-30 count)
• 1 large bell pepper (1 cup chopped)
• 8 ounces tomatoes
• 1 jalapeño
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tablespoon culantro or cilantro
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• Olive oil
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 3 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 1 ¼ cups sour cream
• 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack (or Pepper Jack) cheese
• Cooking spray
• 6-6 inch corn tortillas
• Salt
• Chopped tomatoes and green onions for garnish

Shrimp Enchiladas in a Cream Sauce

1. Cut the shrimp into bite sized pieces and liberally salt them. Seed and dice the bell pepper and the jalapeño. Remember to wear gloves when handling the hot pepper. Roll up the culantro and slice it into slivers. Crush the garlic. Slice and seed the tomatoes.  Set everything aside.
2. In the skillet, heat enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan on medium. Add the peppers, garlic, and tomatoes. Cook until the garlic becomes fragrant, about 2 minutes.  Add in the shrimp. Sprinkle on the cumin and culantro. Cook until the shrimp is just pink, about 1-2 minutes on each side. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
3. While the shrimp is cooling, heat the butter in the sauce pot over medium heat until it is completely melted.  Add the flour and chili powder and whisk constantly until there are no lumps and the flour is a toasted golden color.  This should take about 3-4 minutes. (This is called a roux.)
4. Slowly add the broth.  Whisk often, scrapping the sides and bottom of the pan. When the sauce is completely mixed together stir in the sour cream. Remove the sauce pan from the heat. Taste and adjust the salt.
5. Pre-heat the oven to 350°. Spray the baking dish with cooking spray.
6. Spread about 2 tablespoons of sauce in the bottom of the glass pan.
7. Place the tortillas on the plate and cover with a damp paper towel.  Heat these in the microwave for 30 seconds.
8. Put about 2 tablespoons of the shrimp mixture and about 1-2 tablespoons of cheese into each tortilla and roll up. Place rolled tortillas, seam side down, into the glass pan. If you have extra shrimp save them and  spoon over the  enchiladas before serving.
9. Pour the sauce over the enchiladas. Bake for 25 minutes.
10. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the enchiladas and cook for another 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted. If you want, you can turn on the broiler on for 1-2 minutes to brown the cheese.  Just make sure to watch the dish closely so nothing burns.
11. Serve warm topped with chopped tomatoes and green onions. I served the enchiladas with Spanish rice.

Cheesy Goodness