A Five-Ingredient Meal: And I Shall Call It ‘Quinoa Tofu Delicious’
This never happens to me. I was trying to come up with a quick and easy dinner, and I sort of invented something. Well, I actually kind of stole it from a previous quinoa recipe that called for chicken, but I substituted tofu and it was so simple it was bananas. Now, usually when I “invent” in the kitchen and don’t follow recipes, it ends badly. But this healthy dish would be tough to screw up. And it’s tasty! Even my husband approved wholeheartedly, which is saying something for a vegetarian dish.
I started out wanting to use some quinoa I had on hand. If you’ve never cooked with it, do. It’s easy and yummy, and I love the texture. And like rice or another grain, it’s a blank canvas for delicious. While the quinoa was going, I got some magic happening with garlic, onions and tofu. Then I jazzed things up with some grated parmesan and voila! Deliciousness. I have a feeling this will become a go-to recipe, as I do tend to love recipes that a) have ingredients I always have on hand and b) use five ingredients or less (olive oil doesn’t count as an ingredient).
Plus, cooking with tofu is great for kids because they can easily chop it with a butter knife and not worry about injury or meat-germs.
Quinoa Tofu Delicious Recipe
Ingredients
1 c quinoa
Olive oil, to coat the pan
Package of tofu, extra firm
1/2 red onion
2 cloves of garlic, minced
Generous sprinkle of parmesan, grated
Directions
1. Cook quinoa according to package directions, also known as boil water and simmer for 15 minutes.
2. In a skillet, get some olive oil really hot. Cook tofu until crispy. (This takes awhile, so be more patient than I was.)
3. Throw in red onion and garlic for a few minutes.
4. Throw cooked quinoa into the skillet; stir everything together.
5. Toss on some grated parmesan.
I planned for my daughter to steal much asparagus, which is why I started with a mountain of it.
Don’t be fooled by the bland look of this. You could easily add bell peppers for some color if you wanted to. Next time, I’ll definitely add way more onions and some peppers. I really wish I’d had some leftovers…
Have any favorite five-ingredient (or less!) meals? —Erin