MEAT-FREE FRIDAY

How surprising to discover that tofu is just as delicious as any meat I've prepared. It doesn't feel like much of a sacrifice to eat tofu instead of meat.

First find tofu. You may have to ask your grocer because it was well hidden at our local store. But we found it in the produce section.  I cubed it, soaked it in a brine of hot water and salt, then drained and pressed it gently between paper towels.

Toss the dried cubes in a mixture of:

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/2  teaspoon onion powder

1/2  teaspoon garlic powder

1/4  teaspoon ginger

1/4  teaspoon powdered mustard

Heat oven to 400 degrees and preheat a 9x13 oven safe pan with approximately 2 tablespoons of oil distributed over the bottom of the pan. Carefully place tofu cubes in the preheated pan.  Bake for 15 minutes, turn the tofu cubes over and bake 15 more minutes or until golden brown. 

The cubes were tasty and crunchy. I served them with a pan of fresh stir fried vegetables over rice with a dressing of Kikoman sweet and sour sauce. 

Thanks to the tutelage of my son Joel jr., I feel confident to prepare tofu. If I can do it, so can you!

It was a very tasty, meat free dinner!

PASTA SAUCE

I am so thankful to be blessed with a bountiful garden this year. We have been gathering fresh tomatoes, peppers, onions, green beans  and more! There is nothing better than the taste of a tomato fresh off the vine still warm from the sun! But even I can't eat all those tomatoes! How wonderful to be able to make something we need and want from that bounty - pasta sauce! 

Use fresh ingredients

If you want to put up some of your own sauce, first make sure all your vegetables are clean. Then cut out any bad spots and the stems of course. I use a food processor for the chopping. I have a pulse option and that helps a lot.  

Chop and measure

After two hours of simmering  and stirring, followed by 40 minutes of a boiling water bath, we have the finished product! The recipe made six quarts of really delicious pasta sauce! Of course I've already given a jar to my Dahling Daughter Dayna.  But have no fear. You too may enjoy this delicacy.  I am sharing the recipe here so you may try your hand at this too! If you don't have a garden, surely you can find a farmer's market for the best ingredients! Or...make a midnight run on my garden.  Ha! Ha! Ha!

The finished product waiting for my next meal!

I have to thank my sister-in-law Lynn for her authentic Italian family recipe! Here is the recipe if you would like to make some of your own!

Lynn's Family Recipe

If you can't read the fine print, let me know and I'll email the recipe to you.  Always follow safe food handling precautions when canning. Note that her recipe says you can freeze this sauce if you don't have a pot for processing your jars.

WHY ME LORD?

I am so blessed! Why me Lord? I ask that all the time.  I have so much and am so grateful! Days like yesterday, give me pause to give thanks! We are settling into our new home, we have all we need, and the sun is shining! Thank you, Lord!

It was so much fun to enjoy cooking dinner with Dayna last night too! She can easily get here after work and we chatted the hours away! Then she took a plate of food for Travis’ dinner too! 

Yesterday, I saw a FB post about baking garlic biscuits in a ring and they looked like the perfect accompaniment for our baked chicken, potato casserole and green bean dinner (aren't you hungry now?)  The recipe I saw called for canned biscuits and a bundt cake pan, but since I didn't have access to either of those (I don’t keep canned biscuits around and the bundt cake pan is still in a box), we improvised!  I do keep Bisquick baking mix, and Dayna showed me how to use a round cake pan with an inverted bowl in the center for a make-do bundt-ish type pan.  The results were just great!  Next time, I think we'll also mix in a cup of grated cheddar cheese. I need the calcium!

Mixing ingredients

We used the Bisquick recipe for family-sized biscuits, rolled that into a log, and sliced eight biscuits. Then we melted 4 tablespoons of butter and mixed in 1 teaspoon of onion powder, and 1 teaspoon of chopped garlic. She used Pam to spray the baking dish, then dipped each biscuit, and placed them in the pan. 

Clever use of inverted bowl inside the pan to make a ring of biscuits!

 Then she scooped the rest of the garlic and butter over the top of the biscuits.  She put the pan in the oven to bake for 15 minutes and came out beautifully delicious! 

Golden and delicious!

See what I mean? Why me Lord? I get to enjoy dinner while watching the sunset in my new house with my sweet hubby and my dahling daughter, Dayna.  A perfect way to end the day. Thank you Lord!