Tofu & Orecchiette Casserole

Tofu & Orecchiette Casserole... This was one of those odd meals that's not planned but sort of creates itself as the night of cooking unfolds. I had tofu in my fridge, as well as some mixed greens (collards, mustard greens, & spinach), some leftover homemade marinara sauce from pizza I made earlier in the week, shredded mozzarella, orecchiette pasta, and an onion.

It started with sauteing some onion and tofu and greens. Then I thought about adding the sauce. Once I added the homemade bit I had, I realized it could use some more and had half a jar in the fridge of store bought sauce so added that to the mixture. I let it simmer and started bring a pot of water to a boil because the little red devil on my left should kept whispering "I knowwww you want pasta". So here I had this tofu marinara mixture and al dente orecchiette. I mixed it all together in my saute pan, but it still just didn't feel finished. The mozz!!!

I transferred the yummy conglomerate into a Pyrex baking dish and smothered the top in the shredded mozzarella.  I popped it in the oven for about 5 minutes on broil until the cheese was bubbly and golden.

I took it out and served up a heaping scoop along side a simple salad of mixed greens, roasted beets, and TJ's balsamic vinaigrette.

                                      

It was so yummy and hearty and to be fair the only real bad parts were the pasta and cheese. You could easily have subbed whole wheat or gluten free pasta, even quinoa. To be honest you could even just skip the pasta altogether. Either way it was Dahlish and just happened. I love those kinds of meals!

Enjoy!