Tofu and Noodles in Peanut-Tomato Sauce

Tofu is one of those things I've been eating for a long time but never attempted working with at home. I'm not so sure what I was afraid of. I can't tell you how many times I've had it in my hands at the grocery, only to chicken out, put it back down, and then... go buy some chicken.

The other day, I stood over the tofu, took a deep breath, tossed it into my cart and quickly walked away before I could change my mind. (Okay, that might be a little more dramatic than how it really went down.) Point is, I made it home with tofu and needed to find the perfect recipe with it. This was actually the hard part.

Most of the recipes I kept finding were Thai dishes, and while I had all of the stuff on hand to make many of those dishes, I've never been able to make an authentic Thai dish at home that I really loved. While I'm not giving up on that challenge, I didn't want to combine that with my first at-home tofu experience. But then I thought of a dish I've had lots of success with, Peanut Butter Chicken. Since its already one of Sage's favorite dinners, I thought it would be a great one to use.

Since it was my first time, I wanted to cook the tofu separately, and baking it seemed easiest. I made a few other changes to my standard recipe- I used green beans instead of bell peppers (since I'd used all of my peppers in these awesome fajitas the night before.) I always think recipes that have peanut sauces with noodles sound so yummy, so I went with that instead of our usual rice. The result was a great dinner we all enjoyed. I think from now on, tofu will be making more appearances in my shopping cart.

Tofu and Noodles in Peanut-Tomato Sauce, serves 4
1 (14 oz.) pkg firm tofu, pressed and cut in 3/4 inch cubes
1 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
7 oz. uncooked multi-grain or whole wheat spaghetti
1 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1/3 lb. green beans, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
4 oz. sliced cremini mushrooms
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
sea salt and fresh ground pepper
1 (15 oz.) can tomatoes with mild green chilies
1 cup vegetable stock
1/2 cup natural peanut butter
juice from 1/2 a lime (mine wasn't very juicy so I used the entire lime)

Toss cubed tofu gently in tamari/soy to coat. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.

Spread tofu onto a baking sheet coated with cooking spray and place into oven preheated to 375. Bake for about 35 minutes, flipping tofu a few times through cooking process.

Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions. Set aside.

Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and green beans and cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Add mushrooms, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper, and continue cooking for about 5 minutes.

Add tomatoes with their juices and stock. Cover, and without reducing heat, simmer for about 10 minutes, or until green beans are tender. Uncover and stir in peanut butter until sauce is relatively smooth and begins to thicken, about 2 minutes.

Toss sauce with cooked noodles, tofu and lime juice.