I love getting recipe ideas from other people. The other day I happened to be heating up my dinner at work when one of the young ladies tipped me off to cheesy tofu stuffed shells. I wanted to give it another try.
I sent my hubby out to the grocery store to purchase the ingredients – tofu, jumbo shells, tomato sauce, fat free ricotta cheese, fat-free cheddar, reduced fat mozzarella, garlic, Mrs. Dash, 2 egg whites.
Cook jumbo shells and set aside. In a large skillet on medium heat, combine the 12 oz package of tofu (firm texture) with 1 cup of cheddar cheese, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, 2 egg whites, and half the container of fat free ricotta cheese. Season the mixture with garlic and Mrs. Dash (or whatever seasoning you choose). Tofu does’t have much flavor. The trick is to add as much seasoning as you can. Since Princess and Baby O would be having some, I couldn’t really go too heavy on the spices.
Cook the tofu and cheese mixture for about 15 minutes. It should look like this:
I know it doesn’t look that appetizing. But, we’re not done yet. Grab a large rectangular casserole dish. Line with foil (for easy clean up later), pour 1/2 cup tomato sauce in the bottom of dish. With a tablespoon, scoop a small amount of the tofu and cheese mix, and stuff each shell. Then place each stuffed shell side by side in the container.
Empty the rest of tomato sauce onto shells, and top off with as much mozzarella as you’d like. I like to make sure it’s completely covered with cheese.
Cover with foil and bake cheesy tofu stuffed shells at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until cheese is completely melted. This is what it should look like:
It took about 45 minutes total – including preparation and baking time. As a busy mom, I don’t have time to slave over a stove. Most of the cooking was done in the oven, which allowed me to have some flexibility with the kids. By the way, they loved it!
