Tofu Parm with Spinach and Mushrooms

As you probably know by now, whenever Jon is away, I cook things he'd never eat. What's the number one thing on his "do not eat" list? Tofu.

I make a lot of Asian inspired tofu dishes, but was craving Italian flavors and red sauce tonight. I looked for inspiration on the cooking board I frequent, and the girls had a lot of great suggestions. I'm bookmarking all of them for future use as I was too lazy to go to the market to get the ingredients I didn't have on hand.

So instead of following a recipe, I did what I love best - created as I cooked. I pulled out a few things I had, and just started cooking. I came up with a delicious tofu Parmesan style dish with sauteed mushrooms and spinach.

Ingredients (amounts are approximate)

• 1 block extra firm tofu
• 1/2 c bread crumbs mixed with the following spices:
• Spices: salt, pepper, garlic powder, oregano, onion powder, red pepper flakes
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 c marinara; I used Trader Joe's Roasted Garlic Marinara.....sooo good for a jar sauce!
• 4 oz fresh spinach
• 1/2 c chopped fresh mushrooms
• 1/2 c shredded cheese; I used a mix of mozzarella, asiago, and Parmesan

Directions

• Cut a block of tofu into 12 squares
• Heat oil in a non-stick saute pan over medium heat
• Dip tofu in egg, then coat in bread crumbs
• Add tofu to pan and fry until golden-brown, about 2 minutes per side.

Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels. This could have been eaten as is just dipped in some marinara sauce!

• Pour half of the sauce in the bottom of a baking dish
• Add tofu in a single layer, and top each piece with a bit of the sauce and cheese.
• Clean out pan and add 1/2 tbsp oil
• Saute mushrooms 4-5 minutes. Sprinkle over tofu into baking dish.
• Saute spinach until wilted. Spread over the tofu.

• Top everything with more cheese.
• Bake on 375, covered, for 20 minutes.

If you haven't eaten tofu yet, this may be the way to try it. There were so many flavors from the spices in the bread crumbs, and great textures from the crunch breadcrumbs, mushrooms, spinach, and cheese.

The great thing about a tofu dish like this is that it is full of protein, so it is filling - no need to fill up on pasta.