Dinner Plate #72

 

One of what has turned out to be several clear-the-fridge meals before I head to the store: Roasted butternut squash, a rice and veggie casserole, snow peas with carrots (roughly based on a beloved and easily veganized recipe from Taste of Home), and ketchup-glazed tofu (recipe from A Virtual Vegan).

You know that broccoli soup you saw in my last random meals post? (I had mixed it with leftover Kaizen and ate it with blue corn chips and Tabasco sauce.) I used that as the basis for this veggie rice casserole, which was actually what my intention was to use it for when I made the soup (but I had to get through that Kaizen). I chopped up a bunch of veggies I had in my fridge--celery, red onion, yellow bell pepper, and carrots--and cooked that in a skillet while the rice was in the rice cooker. Then I mixed in the soup, put it in a casserole dish, and topped it with bread crumbs mixed with some melted vegan butter. I stuck that in the oven with the tofu and the squash.

I have made the snow peas recipe before, but I didn't have shallots or sherry this time, so red onion and rice wine stood in for that. I don't know if I needed the rice wine, actually; it was kind of impulsive to add it. But it tasted fine anyway so there you are!

The ketchup-glazed tofu is so, so good. And since winter is winding down, I know I won't be able to make as many of these oven-heavy recipes after a few months, so I am seizing the moment. As it was, I had to open my windows, because our giant snowfalls and frigid temperatures gave way to unseasonable warmth. But I digress: This was really great! I loved it before, and I love it now. It's easy and pretty cheap, both of which are important in these challenging times.

There are plenty of exciting things to do with butternut squash, but since I had the oven on and it really needed to be used, I just stuck it in there with everything else. And it was delightful, as expected.