Meal Ideas Part 1 — Simple Saturday
Cheezy Chips Nachos and Garlic Rosemary Tofu or Shrimp.
Inspiration for lunch or dinner from my happy table to yours. I’ve made these many times and count on them to please taste buds and nourish the body.
Cheezy Chips Nachos
Corn tortillas, non-dairy cheeze (I like Chao Mexican-Style Shreds, available at Sprouts and Natural Grocers) or your favorite shredded cheese, Quorn meatless pieces (or your favorite meatless or meat choice, cut into cubes), cooked in salsa. Each cheezey chip nacho can be topped with sliced onion, diced tomatoes, avocado slices, or anything else you like.
Plan 4 tortillas for each person as a meal. Start to finish should take about 20 minutes. The toaster oven/air fryer cooks while you prepare the fresh toppings.
Bake the corn tortillas at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about 5 minutes or until they start to crisp on the top oven rack. Turn them over. Sprinkle cheeze on top. Continue baking until chips are crispy and cheeze is melted, about 4 minutes.
Mix Quorn pieces with enough salsa to saturate the pieces. If you have a toaster oven/air fryer combo, spoon the Quorn/salsa mixture onto the baking sheet. Place under the baking rack holding the tortillas. Stir every three minutes until it smells so good you can’t wait to eat it. Take out a piece to taste. Repeat these steps until meatless pieces are ready to top the cheesy chips.
Slice the onion. Dice the tomato. Slice the avocado. Place on a plate so others can make each cheesy chip the way they want. Add any toppings you want to your fixings plate.
Mangia!
Garlic Rosemary Tofu or Shrimp
Serves 3 and should take 20 minutes or less of hands-on prep and cooking time.
Tofu
Sprouted organic tofu from Trader Joe’s is my favorite. Cut a block in half lengthwise, and then cut each half into four pieces, for a total of eight pieces. Spread three cloves of minced garlic over the top of the tofu. If you like less garlic, use less. If you like more, use more. Tofu is not fussy about how much garlic is on it. Toss tofu pieces to coat all of them in garlic. I use frozen garlic from Dorot, available at Trader Joe’s. If you like spice, sprinkle habanero hot sauce, chili oil, chili flakes, or powered chili and mix it in. You notice this is all to taste and I’m purposely not giving measurements because you’re eating this and should make it how you like it. Place fresh rosemary on top of the garlic tofu and let the flavors combine in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours, but not less than three hours.
You can prep the tofu in the morning and cook it when you get home at night.
When you’re ready to cook, remove the rosemary and preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. It smells amazing. Spray the tofu pieces lightly with avocado oil (I use a Misto, available at Target). Place all the pieces on a baking pan. I like the toaster oven/air fryer because it doesn’t heat the house. You can choose which to use because both work well. Traditional ovens and stovetops also work well. Use what you have and prefer. In any case, cook tofu until its hot and the garlic is fragrant.
Shrimp
Rosemary is your skewer. Thread raw, peeled shrimp onto the fresh rosemary sprig. Coat the rosemary shrimp skewers with garlic. Sprinkle habanero hot sauce, chili oil, chili flakes, or powered chili if you like it spicy and mix it in. Let the flavors combine in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours but not less than three hours.
You can prep the tofu in the morning and cook it when you get home at night.
When you’re ready to cook, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. It smells amazing. Spray the skewers lightly with avocado oil (I use a Misto, available at Target). Place all the pieces on a baking pan. I like the toaster oven/air fryer because it doesn’t heat the house. You can choose which to use because both work well. Traditional ovens and stovetops also work well. Use what you have and prefer. In any case, cook shrimp until it reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees Fahrenheit. Serve the shrimp on the rosemary sprigs for a fancy touch.
Serve with a green salad.
I make a tray of tofu and a tray of shrimp so everyone can eat this delicious protein-rich meal.
Mangia!
If you have questions about any of these ingredients or steps, please ask.
Your inspired friend,
Gina
