Toad food for dinner

I really want to like tofu or, as my son called it, toad food. I want my kids to like it, too. It's cheap, healthy and easy to fix.

The problem?

So far, I have only one recipe that seems promising. And here it is:

1 pound firm tofu
1/4 to 1/2 cup of corn starch
1/4 to 1/2 cup of oil (I used canola)

Cut the tofu into cubes and roll it in the corn starch. Fry it in oil over medium-high heat until golden brown on all sides. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels. Wipe the wok clean and add more oil. Add cut vegetables. I used 2 small heads of broccoli and a handful of baby carrots, sliced on a diagonal. 

Sauce
1/2 cup orange juice
1 teaspoon Chinese Five Spice (You can find this in the Asian section.)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon corn starch

Stir until blended. Add to the vegetables and fold in the tofu. The sauce should thicken almost immediately. Serve over rice.

Voila. Dinner. I was certain the kids would have none of it. I was certain the husband would bring a box of crackers to the table -- his not-so-subtle hint that my dinner creation just wasn't enough.

I was wrong.

The baby was shoveling broccoli and tofu into his mouth.  I finally just gave him the entire pan and he was happy. My son cleaned his plate and sucked and licked the sauce-coated broccoli like it was an ice cream cone. My daughter and husband also cleaned their plates. No leftovers. (Darn.)

I offered the man a turkey sub that was still in the fridge from Sunday if he needed any meat. He declined.

And he cleaned the kitchen right away.

The sure sign of a keeper recipe -- clean plates and a husband-cleaned kitchen.

(Oh, and if anyone has any good tofu recipes, please point me to them. Thanks!)