Pretzel Crusted Tofu Dino Dunkers

The other day I asked Mark if there was anything he wanted for dinner. He responded with "tofu". Shortly after I asked him if there was anything in particular he wanted me to do with the tofu, "it's really good breaded and fried" was his no-hesitation answer.

I chuckled a little on the inside...

...but I didn't completely disregard his suggestion, just the fried part.

Breaded tofu sounded appealing, but no bread crumbs were to be found in the cupboards. I then remembered that we had pretzels (my addiction du semaine). Perfect, problem solved!

Baked tofu breaded with crushed pretzels it was and I don't even think he noticed it wasn't fried ;)

"Pressing" tofu in the Foreman

Ready to bread the marinated tofu

Dig in

Pretzel Crusted Tofu Dino Dunkers
Prezel breading adapted slightly from here

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1/2 block extra firm tofu

12 mini pretzel snaps (I used Snyder's of Hanover)

1 tablespoon grated parmesan, romano, or pecorino

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon smoked sweet paprika

Dash of both salt & pepper

1 tablespoon honey mustard*

1/8 cup milk (I used almond)

Directions:

Start by pressing tofu. If you don't have a tofu press like me just find something to squish the liquid out of the tofu for about an hour. I use our George Foreman Lean Mean Fat Grilling Machine :)

After an hour, cut tofu into shapes of choice (ours became dinosaur shaped by coincidence, hence the name).

Next, in a medium sized tupperware mix together the honey mustard and milk.

Place shaped tofu into tupperware, secure lid, and shake around to coat.

Put tofu mixture in the refrigerator for at least an hour (the longer the better), shaking every once in awhile.

When you are actually ready to bake the tofu, preheat oven to 400 degrees Farhenheit.

Chop pretzels in a small food processor until they resemble bread crumbs and place in a bowl.

Add the cheese, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt & pepper to bowl with pretzels and mix.

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and lightly spray with cooking spray.

Remove tofu from refrigerator.

Dip tofu pieces into pretzel mix and place on baking sheet.

Bake for 20-25 minutes flipping halfway through.

Serve with barbecue or honey mustard sauce.

Enjoy :)

Notes:

*Don't have any honey mustard? No problem! Mix 1 part honey to 1 part dijon mustard for a quick fix.