What's for Dinner? Oven Fried Tofu

Any tofu lovers out there? I first fell in love with this stuff after eating fried tofu in authentic Chinese restaurants. I used to fry it at home until I saw a recipe for an oven roasted version. It pretty much fries in the oven without all the splatter. Splatter me no likey.

I prep my tofu by wrapping it in multiple layers of paper towels, setting on a cutting board, and placing my cast iron skillet on top of it for at least 30 minutes. You want to press out a lot of that extra moisture.




I cube my tofu into bite size pieces when I'm tossing it into a stir-fry. The little cubes get generously sprayed with oil spray and generously sprinkled with salt and pepper on both sides.




Roast your perfect little cubes at 450 degrees for about 30 minutes. You can turn yours over half way through for even browning and crispiness. I find that way too much work, so I just let it get really crispy on one side. It tastes just as good.




For this particular dinner I put my tofu into a simple cabbage stir-fry. I didn't have stir-fry sauce on hand and have been trying to cut down on sugar anyway so I used toasted sesame seed oil, red pepper flakes, fresh ginger, garlic, onions, and soy sauce for flavor.




If you've read my post on stir-frying you'll remember that you barely want to cook your veggies. You want them to retain a good amount of crunch. This cabbage is perfectomundo right here.




Toss in your "fried" tofu and you're good to go. You can serve as is for a low carb dinner or over a small bed of rice or noodles. For extra deliciousness, stir fry cooked noodles in a little bit of toasted sesame oil with red pepper flakes and garlic.

Oven Fried Tofu & 

Stir-fried Cabbage

INGREDIENTS
1 lb firm or extra firm tofu (use 2 lbs for a big family)
olive oil spray
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
1 Tbsp toasted sesame seed oil
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 head of cabbage, sliced
1 large onion, sliced
3 or 4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
2 Tbsp soy sauce

DIRECTIONS
1. Wrap tofu in several layers of paper towels, place on a cutting board, and put a heavy skillet on top. Leave for at least 30 minutes to get some of the moisture out.
2. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
3. Line a large baking sheet with foil and spray generously with oil spray.
4. Cube tofu and lay cubes on your sheet pan. Spray generously with oil spray and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Turn cubes over and repeat.
5. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes until desired color and crispiness. Check after 20 minutes. You can turn your cubes over at the half way point for even browning and crispiness, if you desire.
6. Heat sesame oil on high heat in a large skillet or wok until screaming hot.
7. Add red pepper flakes and cook for a few seconds. Then dump in the rest of your ingredients and cook for a few minutes. You want the veggies to remain fairly crisp.
8. Sprinkle in soy sauce and toss in tofu, stirring to combine.
9. Serve with extra soy sauce and sriracha sauce.

What's for Dinner? Soyrizo Hash & Baked Egg Skillet

Quick Dinner Queen here. I wouldn't say I'm the ultimate master of quick dinners so much as I'm the ultimate lover of quick dinners. They mean so much to me these days. I love good home cooked food, so when I can produce something fast and easy and delicious, I am just giddy. Don't underestimate the power of good 'ol fashioned Hamburger Helper though. Am I grossing some of you out with that one? I apologize - sort of.



This skillet dinner can be done all in one skillet starting at the stove and finishing off in the oven. I, however, despise frying potatoes in a pan. I have never conquered that task. They always burn on me or take F-O-R-E-V-E-R to cook. I can't waste my life that way so I add in an extra step and roast them before I toss them in with the soyrizo.



Just make sure you chop them small. You want them the right size for hash. Also, they only take about 20 minutes to roast that way.



By the way, pork or beef chorizo is totally great in this dish as well. I prefer soy because it doesn't have those little bits of hard to chew somethings that I don't want to think about. The flavor of real meat chorizo is totally superior though, so pick your poison.



Also, if you have Cotija cheese, add a tablespoon or two with your cheddar. Trust me.

Soyrizo Hash & Baked Egg Skillet

INGREDIENTS

About 2 lbs red potatoes, chopped small and patted dry
olive oil to coat

8 oz soyrizo

6 eggs

salt & pepper to taste

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar
2 Tbsp grated Cotija (optional, but preferable)

¼ cup chopped green onions

¼ cup chopped cilantro
olive oil spray
sour cream and Tapatio hot sauce for serving

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

2. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with oil spray.

3. Toss dry chopped potatoes with salt & pepper and a drizzle of olive oil in a medium bowl. Dump out onto baking sheet and roast about 20 to 23 minutes until golden brown and cooked through. Remove potatoes and reduce oven temp to 425 degrees.

4. Heat a large skillet generously sprayed with oil spray over medium-high heat until hot. “Brown” chorizo about 3 minutes. Toss in cooked potatoes and coat. Turn off heat.

5. Make six little wells for the eggs. Spray each well with cooking spray and break an egg into each. Work quickly.

6. Sprinkle skillet with cheddar and bake about 10 minutes or until eggs are done to your liking.

7. Sprinkle with green onions and cilantro.

8. Serve with sour cream and Tapatio hot sauce.

What's for Dinner? One Skillet Turkey Pot Pie

Easy dinners on the brain over here. We've had a lot of events and appointments, on top of our already busy schedule, to keep us extra busy lately. That means Mama's been making a lot of one pan meals and easy casseroles. Not to mention frozen pizza and Taco Bell 12 pack taco box dinners.



This one-skillet dinner starts off on the stovetop and finishes off in the oven with a tater tot topping. The ingredients are short cuts too. I use turkey gravy from the jar, frozen mixed veggies in one of those bags you steam in the microwave, and a topping of tater tots.



Not all jars of gravy are created equally, so make sure to taste your pot pie mixture and add salt and pepper to taste.



If you want a more traditional pot pie you could always use a store bought roll-out pie crust. In that case adjust your oven temp to 375.

Skillet Turkey Pot Pie

INGREDIENTS

1 Tbsp butter

1 lb ground turkey

1 12 oz bag Steam Fresh frozen mixed veggies

1 small onion, diced

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

2 12 oz jars, or cans, turkey gravy

¼ tsp salt or to taste

fresh cracked pepper

1 32 oz package frozen tater tots

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Cook frozen veggies in microwave according to package directions.

3. Heat butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add celery and onion and saute until translucent.

4. Add turkey and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Brown meat and cook through.

5. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute.

6. Dump in mixed veggies and gravy. Cook a few minutes. Taste for salt and pepper. I added about ¼ tsp more salt.

7. Turn off heat and top with tater tots.

8. Place in oven and bake 30 to 40 minutes until tater tots are crisp and golden brown and casserole is bubbling.