Tofu Stir-Fry

Surprisingly enough, I made this 4 or 5 times before I was able to nab a picture of it. Why? Probably because I eat it so quickly.

So, the cool thing about stir fries is that they are really easy to make and you can use basically any protein (I dumpster tofu most often) and any vegetables that you have on hand or froze.  It's especially good for mixing frozen veggies with fresh, since it hides the freezer taste that sometimes accompanies veggies that have been in the freezer a little too long. It's a dumpster diver's paradise.  The stir fry below features marinated tofu, previously frozen green beans, orange bell pepper, corn, zucchini, and red onion.

TOFU (or meat) MARINADE

<u>Ingredients:</u>
- 1 block extra-firm tofu - best when previously frozen, thawed, and then pressed to get out all the liquid with paper towels (I'll cut it up first and then squeeze it to get out even more moisture before marinating it)
- 4 Tbsp soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp Mirin (find it in the Asian section of your supermarket - it's pretty much a dumpster chupacabra.  Don't hold your breath for this ingredient)
- 2 Tbsp Rice vinegar (same as the mirin)
- 1 Tbsp honey (vegans can use agave nectar or some other sweetener)
- 2 Tbsp grated ginger
- 2 tsp toasted sesame oil (I've dumpstered this once)
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1/2 cup onion, chopped
- 1 tsp sririacha sauce (or other hot chili sauce you have - more or less depending on how spicy you want it)
- Scallions (optional)

Thoroughly mix all these ingredients, then fold the tofu into it so it's liberally covered with everything.  Let it sit for a minimum of 20 minutes (time to cut your veggies) or overnight in the fridge.

ACTUAL STIR-FRY

<u>Ingredients:</u>
- 2 tbsp canola, safflower, or vegetable oil (I like using veggie oil the best)
- VEGGIES

Put oil in a pan or wok.
Get your pan or wok super-hot.
Put in your marinated tofu - you want a browning sear on the outside, but you don't want it to burn.  Stir fry for about 2 minutes, making sure each side gets browned (otherwise the tofu is in danger of falling apart).  Then, push it up to the side of the wok (if you're using a pan, just shift it to the outside edge). 
Add your veggies in the order of which take the longest to cook (carrots, mushrooms, peppers, bok choy stems, etc.) to whichever take the shortest (frozen pre-cooked veggies, corn, bok choy leaves, etc.). 
Once they cook up a bit, add the remainder of your marinade for extra flavor.  Keep cooking until the veggies are cooked, but still have a bit of crunch (taste testing is a great way to tell if they're ready).

You can eat a stir-fry straight (I do this), or make it last a little longer by putting it over rice or pasta.  It's a large initial investment of buying ingredients from the grocery store, but once you buy those basics (which are all pretty cheap), they last you MANY, MANY more meals, so it's worth it.

Items not dumpstered or donated: Ginger, garlic, sesame oil, mirin, rice vinegar, vegetable oil

Broccoli Cheddar Bake

So, I've always had this idea in my head from childhood that broccoli and cheddar cheese taste good together. Yet, I usually just steam broccoli, throw some butter and salt on it and call it a day (which is essentially the first step of this recipe, so if you want to do that, you can).

I'm usually very anti-anything-remotely-resembling-casserole since it reminds me of '50s housewives (gross) and overly processed leftovers (double gross). Still, I decided to try my own rendition of one, which turned out pretty tasty. It's not as healthy as I'd like, but I think it's definitely better than the very (surprisingly) popular cheese-whiz/onion powder/frozen broccoli versions I found online. It was kind of an experiment, but for a pretty minimal amount of effort I came out with enough food to last me for a week's worth of lunches. Plus, I was right - broccoli and cheddar do taste great together.

BROCCOLI CHEDDAR BAKE

Ingredients:

- 3 heads of broccoli, cut into small florets (use the stem too) (you can use previously dumpstered and frozen broccoli too, but it may not taste as good as the fresh stuff)
- 1 small white onion, diced
- 2 long stalks celery, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary and/or thyme (optional)
- 1 cup mayonaise (bonus if home-made)
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 2 cups uncooked rice
- 1 stick unsalted butter, melted
- 1.5 cups Italian-spiced bread crumbs (extra points if home-made from dumpstered bread) - you can also use crushed up crackers like ritz crackers, which will give it a different but good flavor.
- 1 can or 2 cups leftover cooked chicken (optional - I didn't use this, but it could add some extra protein)
- Salt & pepper to taste

Normally, people use cream cheese or a can of condensed cream of mushroom (or chicken) soup instead of my sour cream/mayo combination, but they were the only ingredients I had on hand and I was hungry.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Step One: Steam your broccoli

Put a weird thingy that looks like this (called a steamer?) in the bottom of a pot with enough water underneath so it barely shows:
Throw your broccoli on top. Turn the stove to medium-high, then cover the pot (be careful that the water doesn't all evaporate or the bottom of your pot will burn). Steam until broccoli is bright green and a fork goes through pretty easily. If you're lazy, you can just throw your cheddar cheese (or butter with some salt) on top and call it a day. This makes a great side dish by itself.

If you're bold enough to continue into the land of house-wifery, then continue to...

Step Two: Put it all together

While you're waiting for the broccoli to steam, mix the onion, celery, garlic, sour cream, rosemary, and mayonnaise in a bowl.
Once the broccoli is finished, dump it onto the bottom of a glass or pyrex baking pan (9"x12" works well).
Evenly cover it in the sour cream/veggie mixture.
Sprinkle your shredded cheddar over the top.
In a separate bowl, mix your melted butter and bread crumbs into a thicker mixture. Sprinkle this on top as well.

Step Three: Wait and make your rice

Throw it in the oven for 30 minutes while you make some rice (it's pretty easy - just read the side of the bag or box of rice - give yourself about 40-50 minutes for it to turn out well, so maybe start boiling your water around when your broccoli is done steaming so everything is done at the same time).

When it comes out, it'll look kind of like this:
Serve the bake by itself or for some added heartiness, put a few scoops of rice underneath! I used brown rice to make the dish last EVEN LONGER.

Items not donated or dumpstered: Butter, sour cream, mayonnaise, garlic, rosemary (from garden), salt, pepper