Stir Fried Tofu with Peppers

So I recently moved to a new apartment (well, university owned apartment-style housing, if you wanna get technical), so I thought I'd break in my stove with some good eats, especially since today is the last day before classes start and who knows when I'll be able to spend a lot of time in the kitchen and I needed to use up some leftover tofu. It's still super cold here in Knoxville so naturally my mind went to stew--one of my favorite staples. However, being the impatient girl that I am, halfway through sauteing the peppers I decided to go with a much speedier stir fry. (Italian-marinaded tofu in a stir fry---what??) Now, I don't have a wok, so the veggies came out a little squishier than I'd have liked. They were also quite oily, which was unfortunate. My mistake: thinking I could add the veggie broth  to an oily pan (fail) and then trying to cover up the oil taste with peanut butter and soy sauce (double fail.) Not surprisingly, Italian + Thai = no. Again, this dish would be awesome with rice or ramen noodles, but I haven't been grocery shopping yet, and not having a car nor being within walking distance of a decent grocery (Walgreens, in my opinion, doesn't count, and is too expensive for overly-processed food) kind of hinders what I can cook up for a while. So here it is, ghetto college kid stir fry:

Ingredients

Stir-fry:

• 8 oz Italian-marinated tofu
• 1 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 orange bell pepper, thinly sliced

Sauce:

• 1/2 c vegetable broth
  
• 1 tbsp peanut butter
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• Mrs. Dash Extra Spicy Seasoning, to taste

Saute peppers on high for 5 minutes in wok or large skillet. Add tofu, making sure that each side becomes golden brown. In a small bowl, whisk together vegetable broth, peanut butter, soy sauce, and seasoning. Add to wok/skillet, stirring until sauce is thickened and tofu in coated in sauce.

 

Veggie Medley with Pan-Fried Tofu

I've been experimenting a lot with cooking methods this break, and I think that this vegetable medley really takes the cake. It even got the omnivore stamp of approval from some Omnivores--my mom and my veggie-hating little sister :) Although, I think I might try this out next time with more tomatoes, because I think that the flavor of the tomatoes got overwhelmed by the amount of different types of veggies. I will say that I'm not a big fan of keeping track of my cooking times or measuring precisely when it comes to cooking (something I've resolved to do better, I swear! and baking is another matter. I'm quite the stickler for the rules in terms of baking...) so I usually judge the veggies on their done-ness by their color and texture.

They were still resistant to trying the tofu, though, which I thought was my best try yet. I love tofu. I think I've only ever seen one other vegetarian eat chunk straight from the packaging (after being drained, of course.) I love it baked for sandwiches, boiled in soup, breaded and fried...you name it, and I'll probably eat it. Admittedly, though, I haven't quite mastered the art of preparing tofu myself. After stumbling upon Vegan Dad's Ultimate BBQ recipe, I thought I'd give his method a whirl. Success! Is what I thought. I froze the tofu in Italian dressing, which gave it a meatier texture and allowed the marinade to soak in better.

I'd recommend this served over rice or polenta--I was a bit pressed for time so when I realized that a grain would be nice it was too late to start preparation :/

Ingredients

Tofu:

• 14 oz Extra firm tofu
  
• Italian dressing
• Juice of 1/2 a lemon
  
• Salt and pepper
  

Medley:

• 1 1/2 c button mushrooms, sliced
  
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
  
• 1 yellow pepper, chopped
  
• 1 orange pepper, chopped
  
• 1 zucchini, chopped
  
• 1 squash, chopped
  
• Salt and pepper
• Italian seasoning
• Italian dressing (which I completely forgot about until after publishing- see, I told you I didn't keep track of my ingredients!)

In a small bowl, mix Italian dressing and the juice of 1/2 a lemon. Add salt and pepper to taste. Slice tofu into rectangles. Place in a glass pan and cover in marinade mixture. Move to freezer while preparing vegetables.

Salt and pepper all vegetables. In a large skillet, fry mushrooms in 1 tbsp oil on high. Sautee until golden brown, adding in Italian seasoning. Add tomatoes to the pan and cook until golden brown. Reduce heat to medium and cover. Cook for 15 minutes or until wilted and squishy. Squish 'em up good! Add peppers, cooking them until tender--the color should be partially drained and the skins lightly browned. Stir in zucchini and squash, add a splash of Italian dressing, reduce heat to low and cover until tender.

In a small skillet, fry tofu slices in oil until golden brown. Serve over rice with veggies.