Peanut Buttery Goodness

I've always had a thing for peanut butter - I always feel so bad for people with peanut allergies... they miss so much! Here's a yummy way to turn basic peanut butter into something far more exotic.

It does have quite a bit of fat from the peanut butter (20 g per serving according to the original recipe); however, only 3 grams of that are saturated fat so it's not so terrible! The protein content is fairly good and it's low sodium and calorie.

I had this with a salad - the recipe said to serve it with rice which would have upped the protein content even more but I ran out of time! Oh well, I think it would have been far too much food with a side of rice!

As far as I can tell, this is gluten-free. I'm trying to educate myself on gluten-free ingredients so I can start labeling more things. Actually, I'm a bit iffy on the GF status of the hot sauce! I always go for "better safe than sorry" so if you are on a GF diet, leave it out (unless of course you know better than me!)

Serves 2

Ingredients:
1/2 package extra-firm tofu, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices (squeeze the excess liquid from the tofu first) - superfood!
Small amount of vegetable oil
1/4 cup chopped onion (I used a red onion) - superfood!
1/6 cup tomatoes, chopped (the original recipe called for canned; I cut up some fresh grape tomatoes) - superfood!
1 tsp. tomato paste
1/2 tsp. hot sauce (the recipe wanted 1/2 tsp. of chili-garlic sauce.. I just mixed hot sauce and a small amount of garlic)
1/2 clove garlic, minced (superfood!)
1/8 tsp. dried thyme
1/6 cup creamy peanut butter (the organic stuff from Trader Joe's is cheap and yummy!) - nuts are a superfood! I wonder if PB counts? ;)
1/8 cup frozen cut green beans

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a baking dish with cooking spray and place the tofu in a single layer on the bottom of the dish.

2. Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Saute the onion in the oil for 5 minutes or until translucent. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, hot sauce, garlic, and thyme. Saute 1-2 minutes. Stir in the peanut butter, green beans, and 1/3 cup water. Bring the mixture to a simmer.

3. Pour the peanut sauce over the sliced tofu and cover the dish with foil. Bake 5-7 minutes. Remove the foil and bake 5 additional minutes or until heated through.

Reference:
I found this in the April 2008 issue of Vegetarian Times magazine - Baked Tofu with Peanut Sauce. Can't find the recipe on their website... :(