Monday, March 1, 2010

Mostly Meatless Monday

In an attempt to include more vegetarian meals I've borrowed an idea I've seen on other blogs and went with a Meatless Monday. I decided to make a white chicken chili and substitute tofu for the chicken. I started with extra firm tofu (they don't seem to be carrying the local stuff at the commissary any more), a small onion, and a potato that needed to be used.

I cubed all of those items, put them in a pan I had sprayed with olive oil Pam, sprinkled them with garlic powder and cayenne, and baked it all at 425F for about 45 minutes.

I did this part before work. Since Chris beat me home, he started putting the soup together. We used the spice packet (doubling the water amount it calls for), pinto beans, corn, and ro-tel. I've made it with northern beans before and both are good. The northern beans make it more of the traditional white chili while the pinto beans make it more like a tortilla soup.

After adding everything to the pot, you just bring it to a boil and let it simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

You wind up with a hearty dinner that tastes even better with a little shredded sharp cheddar and a dollop of sour cream.

So, why is the post's title "Mostly Meatless Monday"? Because upon closer inspection I realized that the spice pack actually contains chicken broth. Oops! Live and learn, but either way it really is delicious.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

How many Mondays will we be there? Not sure Brian or Andrew will be big on tofu but we could feed it to them without telling them what it is and they might be OK with it. . .
Monica

moodycate said...

Yum! I've often wondered about that Chili seasoning mix. I usually use the tofu crumbles in my chili, but I'll have to try your baked cubes the next time.

Unknown said...

Just a little tip. Never try smoked tofu. It's disgusting. Normal is fine but when it's smoked something happens to it. It's not often you hear me say an item of food is where I won't eat it.

Courtney said...

Ha...oops!!! At least you didn't eat some big chunks of meat or anything!!!! I have been seeing lots of chicken chili recipes lately and I think I need to jump on the bandwagon...I love that you added potatoes!!!! Yummy.
Courtney
adventures in tri-ing
ps...my dogs agree with you, they ABSOLUTELY need their own human size bed. :>

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