TVP stands for tasty

Every heard of TVP? It stands for textured vegetable protein.

Sounds kinda weird and maybe gross right? But give it a chance! In this economy a seriously cheep high protein substitute is a good thing right?? It's under $3 a bag, and the bag could feed a large family for at least 2 full dinners if not more. Plus it's tasty!

It looks like some kind of dehydrated grain... then when you hydrate it... it looks like light tan ground beef... I'm making you want to try it right? Hmmm marketing skills not kicking in... Ok how about a picture of it in action?

whole wheat gnochi with TVP red sauce and portobellos

Hmmm that's not the best picture I took... is it? Darn, guess it is... well, you'll just have to believe me on this one... It's super tasty. Crazy healthy. Protein packed. Low fat. And when mixed with red sauce and pasta... you'd think you were having ground meet... not TVP. We made this up last friday (it's Lent, so no meat). Gnocchi cooks in 4 minutes so this whole thing was ready to go in about 15 minutes. Seriously I know! I love fast food don't you?

Portobello Pasta with "meat" TVP sauce
recipe by me. (Feeds John and me, that means three normal people, with sauce left over)

1 package whole wheat gnocchi
1 bottle (1 lb 8 oz) Diavola Red Sauce from Wegmans (or your favorite go to sauce)
1 cup TVP (I use Bob's Red Mill TVP)
1 cup boiling water (to hydrate TVP)
3 large portobello mushrooms sliced
2 tsp chopped garlic
olive oil spray
cottage cheese (if you are John or if you like to mix it into your pasta too)

Boil water for gnocchi.

Microwave 1 cup water in a medium size bowl or large pyrex cup for 2-3 minutes. Remove and add 1 cup TVP, let soak for 5 minutes or until water is absorbed. Set aside.

Spray a wok, or large sauce pan, with olive oil, saute garlic until brown. Add mushrooms and cook through, flipping after a minute or two to cook the other side. Add jar of sauce and TVP. Simmer until heated through.

Once water boils, add gnocchi and cook according to package directions (4 minutes). Drain, and immediatly divide between 2 or 3 bowls, top with sauce, stir in cottage cheese if desired. Serve.

Chow!