Tempeh Helper
- Minutes to Prepare:
- Minutes to Cook:
- Number of Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 1 box of Annie's (or other boxed cheese pasta); a cheddar flavor- 1/4 cup powdered cheddar cheese (additional to what comes in Annie's)- 1/2 cup milk or milk substitute- 8oz of tempeh- 2TBSP of oil (I used garlic-flavored)- misc. seasonings (I used dashes of Adobo, Mrs. Dash, & black pepper)- food-safe sandwich bag (ie. Ziplock)
Put the sandwich bag in the fridge or freezer. This will prevent hot food from melting the sides later.
FIRST: Steam the tempeh.
This opens up all the tempeh pores to get the tasty stuff in. Also, it makes its raw taste much less sharp. I usually do it for about 10 minutes using a small stovetop steamer. If you've never steamed tempeh before, it's helpful to break it up. Usually by dividing it into eighths or small wedges.
Meanwhile, dump the oil and seasonings in the bag. Swish it around a bit and up the sides.
When the tempeh is done, carefully place it in the bag. Seal it up good. If the tempeh is too hot to handle, put on some oven mits for this next bit. Now squish the bag over and over with your fingers to divide up the tempeh into small chunks resembling ground beef. Once all the big chunks are little chunks abandon the bag on a counter to marinate while you do other things.
Tip: If you see that the oil and seasonings have collected in one area, tip the bag so that area is on top, encouraging that collection to run through the rest of the tempeh.
SECOND: Prepare pasta.
The most advisable thing is to just follow the instructions (sans cheese). Me, I like to microwave it. Put pasta in a big bowl, cover with water, 5min on high in a powerful microwave, stir, then 4 more minutes. Either way, don't do anything else but stir cheese while you're preparing the pasta. One, this reduces the chances of mishaps. Two, this gives time for the tempeh to marinate a bit.
THIRD: Meat & Sauce
Once the pasta is done, and you feel the marinate has at least coated all the tempeh, if not penetrated, heat up a pan on the stove to about medium-hot. Dump the bag contents into the pan. If you feel it needs it, you can add some extra seasoning about now, maybe a splash of olive oil.
Now, if you're me, you're just going to constantly stir this thing if you don't have something else to do, which makes it take longer to cook. So go make the sauce.
The cheese packet is approx 1/4 cup. So I added another 1/4 cup of powdered cheese. If you can't find powdered cheese, just steal the packet from another box and save the pasta for a non-cheesy dinner. Also, my box says to use 1/4 cup milk for the amount of cheese included, so I used 1/2 cup hemp milk (there's enough dairy in this recipe already). If your box says to use a different amount or to use oil or butter, just do it as the box says but double it.
Now mix up that cheese! I like to use a glass cup (no grooves to lose cheese in) and a flimsy plastic fork (works better than a whisk for things like this). Use whatever is on hand.
Back to the stove. Turn some stuff about. See if it's as cooked as you want it. Keep on if it's not. You definitely want everything stuck on the tempeh. If there's oil or soy sauce or seasoning collecting at the bottom of the pan, keep cooking until it's all in or on the tempeh.
FINISH: When the tempeh is done, go add the cheese to the pasta. Stir it in really well until everything is covered. Next stir in the tempeh. You can eat it now, or, if the cheese a bit runny for you, you can chill it in the fridge for a bit.
Serving Size: Approx 4 1-cup servings
Number of Servings: 4
Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user NAPOLEANA.
FIRST: Steam the tempeh.
This opens up all the tempeh pores to get the tasty stuff in. Also, it makes its raw taste much less sharp. I usually do it for about 10 minutes using a small stovetop steamer. If you've never steamed tempeh before, it's helpful to break it up. Usually by dividing it into eighths or small wedges.
Meanwhile, dump the oil and seasonings in the bag. Swish it around a bit and up the sides.
When the tempeh is done, carefully place it in the bag. Seal it up good. If the tempeh is too hot to handle, put on some oven mits for this next bit. Now squish the bag over and over with your fingers to divide up the tempeh into small chunks resembling ground beef. Once all the big chunks are little chunks abandon the bag on a counter to marinate while you do other things.
Tip: If you see that the oil and seasonings have collected in one area, tip the bag so that area is on top, encouraging that collection to run through the rest of the tempeh.
SECOND: Prepare pasta.
The most advisable thing is to just follow the instructions (sans cheese). Me, I like to microwave it. Put pasta in a big bowl, cover with water, 5min on high in a powerful microwave, stir, then 4 more minutes. Either way, don't do anything else but stir cheese while you're preparing the pasta. One, this reduces the chances of mishaps. Two, this gives time for the tempeh to marinate a bit.
THIRD: Meat & Sauce
Once the pasta is done, and you feel the marinate has at least coated all the tempeh, if not penetrated, heat up a pan on the stove to about medium-hot. Dump the bag contents into the pan. If you feel it needs it, you can add some extra seasoning about now, maybe a splash of olive oil.
Now, if you're me, you're just going to constantly stir this thing if you don't have something else to do, which makes it take longer to cook. So go make the sauce.
The cheese packet is approx 1/4 cup. So I added another 1/4 cup of powdered cheese. If you can't find powdered cheese, just steal the packet from another box and save the pasta for a non-cheesy dinner. Also, my box says to use 1/4 cup milk for the amount of cheese included, so I used 1/2 cup hemp milk (there's enough dairy in this recipe already). If your box says to use a different amount or to use oil or butter, just do it as the box says but double it.
Now mix up that cheese! I like to use a glass cup (no grooves to lose cheese in) and a flimsy plastic fork (works better than a whisk for things like this). Use whatever is on hand.
Back to the stove. Turn some stuff about. See if it's as cooked as you want it. Keep on if it's not. You definitely want everything stuck on the tempeh. If there's oil or soy sauce or seasoning collecting at the bottom of the pan, keep cooking until it's all in or on the tempeh.
FINISH: When the tempeh is done, go add the cheese to the pasta. Stir it in really well until everything is covered. Next stir in the tempeh. You can eat it now, or, if the cheese a bit runny for you, you can chill it in the fridge for a bit.
Serving Size: Approx 4 1-cup servings
Number of Servings: 4
Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user NAPOLEANA.
Nutritional Info Amount Per Serving
- Calories: 382.8
- Total Fat: 52.3 g
- Cholesterol: 14.9 mg
- Sodium: 916.5 mg
- Total Carbs: 37.1 g
- Dietary Fiber: 5.9 g
- Protein: 16.5 g
Member Reviews