I exaggerated a lil bit when I said I hadn’t cooked at all last week.
I did, in fact, make this dish, for which I had zero expectations. I didn’t take pics with my real camera because of such (sorry, iPhone blah). But then I was so surprised (in a good way) that I decided to share the recipe. It’s very Sandra Lee so I don’t think I deserve a parade or anything (yet). It’s another “supermom recipe” candidate. The kind you can throw together with minimal effort, in negative minutes, while simultaneously doing laundry and keeping your child from falling over and bonking his head. Or at least the laundry.
I’m really going to make a tab for those kinds of recipes. Soon. I promise.
Here are the ingredients. Boxed soup, frozen veg, noodles, and tofu. Unpictured produce (read afterthoughts) included spinach and green onions.
Cooking noodles in soup makes for a pretty awesome sauce, and a nice change up from the other pantry stuff I’d normally grab (marinara, olive oil).
Trader Joe’s sweet potato bisque is so-so on it’s own, but makes a great pasta sauce. It’s creamy but dairy free. And unlike almost every other soup on the planet, it doesn’t have onions or garlic in it. Sadly, it’s not vegan due to the honey (also a FODMAP FYI).
Tofu noodles with sweet potato sauce [vegetarian, dairy free, gluten free]
Ingredients:
- 1 32 oz boxed soup (Trader Joe’s and Imagine make a ton of yummy ones like butternut squash, carrot ginger, creamy corn and roasted pepper, etc.)
- 14 oz extra firm / firm tofu, drained of liquid & cubed
- 1 cup corn (I used frozen)
- 14 oz noodles (I used Asian rice noodles)
- 1 cup water
- 2-3 large fists of spinach
- 2 green onions, chopped (green parts only for FODMAPs people)
- 1 tbsp oil
- 3 tbsp tamari
- salt & pepper (to taste)
Directions:
In a large pan, add oil and tamari. Once pan is hot add cubed tofu. Let the tofu cook on each side so it gets uniformly bronzed. You may reduce the heat so it doesn’t burn, but it’s good to let it sear a bit.
If you’re using the white parts of the green onions, add those and cook until translucent.
Next add the corn followed by the soup.
Once the soup is warm, add the noodles (I recommend breaking them up a bit) and the water. Place a lid on top and let the noodles cook and absorb the soup.
Finish it off by tossing in spinach (it will wilt after it gets tucked into the hot noodles) and the green part of the green onions.
Serve!
Boom!
Gotta love the cheater soup recipes huh.
This was born out of necessity. We seriously had a bare bones fridge/pantry sitch going on. It’s just proof that you can truly make something out of nothing as long as you have a carb and protein. Just had to find a way to make it flavorful. Yay soup!
yum! I’ve never thought of using a soup as a sauce… I can’t wait to experiment!
This looks great, very creative use for the soup!
Looks yummy!!! Thanks for sharing.
I will totally be trying this. I’m always hesitant about the taste of non-traditional (read not tomato/veggie/chicken noodle) soups. Non-moms love quick meals too for those nights when you get stuck at work waaay too late and want more than PB&J for dinner.
This sounds fantastic and SUPER easy to make..my favorite kind of recipe! 😉 I’ll definitely be trying this one out.
This looks good! So hungry 🙂
Using soup as sauce is brilliant! I’ve been coming to your blog multiple times a week lately for lazy girl/time efficient recipes and every single one has turned out delicious. THANK YOU.
This recipe (which I’m probably going to attempt tonight with tempeh since it’s what I have) and your spinach & greek yogurt strata are next on my list!
So glad you blogged this! These kinds of meals are really helpful. And whatever, who cares if they’re iphone photos? (Um, more like who uses a real camera anymore?? 😉
I often buy TJ’s tomato soup and doctor it up for a quick meal, or i have used it to cook quinoa before. The butternut version is not my fav as a bowlful like you said but using it as a sauce is brilliant!
Pingback: Me and P
Thanks for the tip – I have a box TJs soup in the pantry that I sampled and bought this past weekend. I am always looking for weight watcher, vegetarian and/or vegan friendly ideas for doctoring them up…hmmm…I wonder how this recipe will work with spaghetti squash?
Glad I found your blog! I am out of pasta sauce and was idly thinking, “I wonder if anyone has ever used TJ’s sweet potato bisque!” Nice to know I’m not the only out of the (soup) box thinker here! Though, the pasta I have is penne, so we’ll see out it turns out!