Since BGS is trying to eat healthier - again - he found some tofu recipes for us to try. This one sounded like the "easiest" and also the one that was the mostly likely to please his anti-tofu palette. So I made Tofu Stuffed Shells, which is mildly impressive since I've never made stuffed anything before, let alone stuffed shells! I tried to get him to agree to using whole-grain pasta shells, but that was a no-go. I figured I would let it slide since he was inviting tofu back into his life :) What goes better with pasta than bread to sop up the sauce? Homemade sauce at that! That's where the second part of our meal comes in.... I made yeast bread for the first time ever!! I made salad, too, but that's I've made it tons of times before. BGS' latest diet suggests, logically, that he should eat a medium-large salad before starting his entree. It's been about a week since starting this latest urge to lose weight and so far I think I have seen him follow the "rules" a grand total of once....1/7....not the best ratio, but I suppose everything takes time...that's what my doctors keep telling me at least.
Speaking of doctors, I've already consulted mine about adding more leafy greens and soy/tofu to my diet so they can adjust my meds accordingly. As long as I eat a consistent amount of the vitamin K foods - consistent from one week to the next - I shouldn't have any problems. I will be checking more often as I gradually increase the quantity back into my diet. Ok, enough with the verbiage! On with the food!!
I actually started making this meal Friday night...yes Friday. I knew I wanted to make bread on Sunday, so I wanted plenty of time to work through that learning process rather try and do two new things all in one day.
Today's players for the stuffed shells: whole milk ricotta, zucchini, carrot, onion, tofu, Monterey Jack cheese
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add your shells and cook 8-10 minutes until al dente and drain. While those are cooking ...
Let's start the filling:
1/2 cup whole milk ricotta
1/3 cup shredded carrot
1/4 cup shredded zucchini
3 Tbsp chopped onion
8 oz container firm tofu
1/2 cup shredded Colby-Monterey Jack cheese*
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 egg white
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 cup Italian breadcrumbs
3. In a small saucepan mix the carrot, zucchini, and onion. Pour in just enough water to cover the veggies and cook over medium heat until tender. Once cooked, drain.
4. In a large bowl, mash the tofu with a fork. You want it to have the same texture/size as cottage cheese or ricotta cheese. Stir in the drained carrot-zucchini-onion mix, Monterey Jack, 1/2 cup mozzarella, ricotta cheese, egg white, salt, pepper ,1/2 tsp dried oregano, 1/2 tsp dried basil flakes, 1 tsp minced garlic. Mix well and set aside
Now the ingredients for the sauce:
2 (8 oz) cans diced tomatoes
1/3 cup tomato paste
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp minced garlic
5. Mix these ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring the sauce to a boil then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.
6. Scoop 1 Tbsp of the filling into each of your cooked shells and place them in an un greased 2 qt casserole. I ended up with 2 layers in my CorningWare French White 2-1/2-Quart Oval Dish
, so I spooned about 4 tbsp of the sauce on top of the first layer. After placing the second layer of shells, pour the remaining sauce over the shells.
7. Mix the breadcrumbs and remaining 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella and sprinkle over the top of the sauce.
8. Cover and bake 25 minutes or until heated through.
I cooled the finished dish on the stovetop to avoid extra condensation when I put it in the refrigerator
Flash forward to Sunday. Bread day!
Today's Players: - this dough can be made in a bread maker or in a stand mixer with the bread hook attachment, which is what I did.
1 cup warm water
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups bread flour
2 teaspoons granulated sugar (yes, it does come ungranulated)
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp active dry yeast - I used 1 whole packet of Fleischmann's yeast, which is
cornmeal for dusting the bread stone
1 egg white, slightly beaten
1. Add flour, oil, water, sugar, salt, oregano and yeast to your work bowl - set your bread machine to the dough setting or turn your stand mixer on low
2. Mix until a dough ball forms around the hook or until your bread machine stops mixing
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
4. Sprinkle cornflour/cornmeal onto a baking sheet
5. Punch the dough down and form into an oval or long loaf
6. Cover with a tea/clean kitchen towel and cover for 25 minutes
7. After the 25 minutes are over, the dough should be doubled - mine wasn't, so I left for another 25 minutes....still nothing :(
I looked at the yeast packet and it said if the room was below 85 degrees (my house is never above 73 degrees) to place the dough on a cookie sheet and place a pan of 85+ degree water underneath the cookie sheet.....I did.... I even covered the setup with 2 tea towels to keep the steam in....left for abt 10 minutes....came back and the dough was dripping/falling through the cookie sheet into the pan of water *sigh*...extract the oozing dough from the cookie sheet/water and put it on a different with tiny squares instead of slats...recover and walk away for 15 minutes.....still nothing...*sigh*
I give up....I put the bread in the oven and set the timer for 30 minutes.
You are supposed to bake it until you hear a hollow sound when you knock on the bottom....I was too hungry to knock, so I pulled the bread and sliced it. It tasted good. A bit doughy, but still tasty.
Round out the meal with a salad and you have a tasty homemade Italian supper.
*the recipe said shredded Monterey, but I couldn't find it on it's own and was too lazy to shred it myself;)
Speaking of doctors, I've already consulted mine about adding more leafy greens and soy/tofu to my diet so they can adjust my meds accordingly. As long as I eat a consistent amount of the vitamin K foods - consistent from one week to the next - I shouldn't have any problems. I will be checking more often as I gradually increase the quantity back into my diet. Ok, enough with the verbiage! On with the food!!
I actually started making this meal Friday night...yes Friday. I knew I wanted to make bread on Sunday, so I wanted plenty of time to work through that learning process rather try and do two new things all in one day.
Today's players for the stuffed shells: whole milk ricotta, zucchini, carrot, onion, tofu, Monterey Jack cheese
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add your shells and cook 8-10 minutes until al dente and drain. While those are cooking ...
Let's start the filling:1/2 cup whole milk ricotta
1/3 cup shredded carrot
1/4 cup shredded zucchini
3 Tbsp chopped onion
8 oz container firm tofu
1/2 cup shredded Colby-Monterey Jack cheese*
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 egg white
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 cup Italian breadcrumbs
3. In a small saucepan mix the carrot, zucchini, and onion. Pour in just enough water to cover the veggies and cook over medium heat until tender. Once cooked, drain.
 |
| Sorry for the blur - the camera couldn't decide what to focus on |
 |
| Pre-bake |
Now the ingredients for the sauce:
2 (8 oz) cans diced tomatoes
1/3 cup tomato paste
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp minced garlic
5. Mix these ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring the sauce to a boil then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.
6. Scoop 1 Tbsp of the filling into each of your cooked shells and place them in an un greased 2 qt casserole. I ended up with 2 layers in my CorningWare French White 2-1/2-Quart Oval Dish
, so I spooned about 4 tbsp of the sauce on top of the first layer. After placing the second layer of shells, pour the remaining sauce over the shells.
7. Mix the breadcrumbs and remaining 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella and sprinkle over the top of the sauce.8. Cover and bake 25 minutes or until heated through.
I cooled the finished dish on the stovetop to avoid extra condensation when I put it in the refrigerator
Flash forward to Sunday. Bread day!
Today's Players: - this dough can be made in a bread maker or in a stand mixer with the bread hook attachment, which is what I did.
1 cup warm water
2 tablespoons olive oil3 cups bread flour
2 teaspoons granulated sugar (yes, it does come ungranulated)
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp active dry yeast - I used 1 whole packet of Fleischmann's yeast, which is
cornmeal for dusting the bread stone
1 egg white, slightly beaten
1. Add flour, oil, water, sugar, salt, oregano and yeast to your work bowl - set your bread machine to the dough setting or turn your stand mixer on low
2. Mix until a dough ball forms around the hook or until your bread machine stops mixing
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
4. Sprinkle cornflour/cornmeal onto a baking sheet
5. Punch the dough down and form into an oval or long loaf
6. Cover with a tea/clean kitchen towel and cover for 25 minutes
7. After the 25 minutes are over, the dough should be doubled - mine wasn't, so I left for another 25 minutes....still nothing :(
I looked at the yeast packet and it said if the room was below 85 degrees (my house is never above 73 degrees) to place the dough on a cookie sheet and place a pan of 85+ degree water underneath the cookie sheet.....I did.... I even covered the setup with 2 tea towels to keep the steam in....left for abt 10 minutes....came back and the dough was dripping/falling through the cookie sheet into the pan of water *sigh*...extract the oozing dough from the cookie sheet/water and put it on a different with tiny squares instead of slats...recover and walk away for 15 minutes.....still nothing...*sigh*
I give up....I put the bread in the oven and set the timer for 30 minutes.
You are supposed to bake it until you hear a hollow sound when you knock on the bottom....I was too hungry to knock, so I pulled the bread and sliced it. It tasted good. A bit doughy, but still tasty.
*the recipe said shredded Monterey, but I couldn't find it on it's own and was too lazy to shred it myself;)
No comments:
Post a Comment