Amazing Eggplant Parm

soooooo I am on a total eggplant thing. I've been eating it about 4-5 times a week. Tonight I made Eggplant Parmigiana for the first time. I am eating it now!!

 Here's what you need:
1 lg eggplant, sliced somewhat thin (think thinner than your pinky nail is long)
2 eggs, scrambled
~ 2 c Italian-style bread crumbs*
2 c pasta sauce
~1 c ricotta cheese
~12 oz (by weight) shredded mozzarella

salt the eggplant slices and place in a colander for 15 min or more. rinse them off, let sit till mostly dry. 

Preheat oven to 350.

dip each slice of eggplant in egg, then coat completely in bread crumbs. spray cookie sheet with pam, then place each slice on baking sheet. spray the tops of the slices with pam as well. bake for about 10 min on each side, until bread crumbs are slightly crispy.

 pour some marinara in the bottom of a baking dish. should be about 1/4 c. layer eggplant slices on the bottom, as many as can be fit. spread a thin layer of ricotta over each slice, then sprinkle mozzarella. add another layer of pasta sauce then repeat with eggplant and cheeses.

one dish ended up with 2 layers, one with 3. add some sauce around the edges, cover the dish with foil, then bake 30-45 min, until eggplant is tender and cheese is melted. let rest for 15 min after removing from the oven.

enjoy!! super yummy!


 *bread crumbs: because Gma is gluten free, I made some eggplant so she could eat it. because I could not find gluten-free bread crumbs (and who needs nasty hydrogenated oils anyway?), I made my own. For a half recipe, I used 4 slices of gluten free bread, sprayed with pam, and baked at 250 until dried out (about 15 min each side). Then I threw em in the food processor with dried chopped onion, basil, oregano, garlic powder, and black pepper. Would definitely recommend this method even if you are not gluten free. It's just a little time-consuming. :D

Cranberry Chicken

1 Can cranberry sauce (whole berry)
1 packet onion soup mix
2-3 chicken breasts

mix cranberry sauce and onion soup mix. arrange the breasts in a glass baking dish, and cover with sauce. Make sure they are well covered (to prevent drying)

Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes or until fully cooked.  

Serves well over brown rice with a green vegetable (Asparagus was amazing with it!)


[NOTE: Onion soup mix typically contains gluten. This post is marked gluten-free because there is an easy substitution here http://www.food.com/recipe/copycat-liptons-onion-soup-mix-24952]

Asparagus

Pick a bunch of asparagus that looks good. I prefer thin to medium stems.

Wash, snap off the ends

Place in a 12 inch skillet with about a few Tablespoons of water.  Cover and place over medium heat.  Let the asparagus steam until it's bright green.

Drain the water

Add a small amount of EVOO (and small amount of butter for flavour if you wish), minced garlic, minced red onions, and a TBSP of balsamic vinegar. Sauté until the vinegar is mostly absorbed. Super delicious, sweet, healthy, and easy! Great with fresh grated Parmesan cheese

Laundry Detergent

Ok, so I know this is not edible, but it IS still a recipe. . .

Save up those detergent bottles, and when you run out, try making your own detergent. Here is what I did:

grate (finely) 1 bar of Fels-Naptha soap ($0.97 at Wal-Mart). Other lightly scented soap can also be used (body or laundry--another laundry soap I saw is Zote)

1.5 c Sodium Carbonate (pH plus or Washing Soda. Cannot find Washing Soda, so I used pH plus from the pool chemical section. It is 98% Sodium Carbonate and 2% Water. $5.97 at Wal-Mart)

1.5 c Borax. ( I believe it was $3.97 at Wal-Mart)


boil 3 c water in a large saucepan. add grated soap, whisk well. add sodium carbonate. mix; add borax, mix again. pour into a bucket and add about a gallon of water (more if you want it thinner, less if you want it concentrated. I simply did this amount because it was the combined capacity of my bottles). If you add about a gallon, use one ounce per load. It must be shaken before each use, as it will separate almost immediately.


I figured out that this costs about $4 for 120 loads. a lot less than you pay for Tide

Roasted Chicken, Squash, and Potatoes

a.k.a, Vitamin A and Protein.

So, I wanted some of my favourite veggies--sweet potatoes and butternut squash.

Had some chicken breast tenderloins in the freezer, and the urge to cook.

In a 9x13ish dish (woot-Pyrex, or your LeCreuset), place:

a drizzle of olive oil
a few chicken tenderloins (I did under a pound cuz that's what I had, and I like more veggies)
1 medium cubed/peeled butternut squash
1 huge or 2 small cubed yams/sweet potatoes
1 purple onion, cut up into 1 inch-ish pieces (mincing isn't as cool!)
a handful of pine nuts
a few tablespoons of chopped garlic
some fresh chopped herbs (I've used sage, thyme, rosemary, cardamom and cumin in varying combinations)
fresh ground pepper
a dash of sea salt
more olive oil


here's what it looked like, just before going in the oven. sorry, low-Q cell pic.
bake at 400 F for about an hour and 15 minutes. I covered it in foil for the last 30 mins the 3rd time I made it, which helped keep it moist.


This is SO delicious, and easy. . .and. . .it was my first time cooking butternut squash! hooray!

I think maybe even a 2nd onion would be good for some more colour!

Southwestern "Eggrolls"

Tonight I was thinking about how to get rid of some egg roll wrappers left over from when I made cream cheese wontons.
Soooooooo, I decided to do a southwest veggie egg roll.

In the food processor, I 'processed':

About 4oz frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and drained
the leaves of 10-15 stems of cilantro
1 jalepen, ribs removed, most seeds left (remove seeds if you don't like some heat)
About half an onion
About a third of a zucchini
1/4 cup green onion
2 cloves garlic

Place in a large bowl.

Process one can of diced tomatoes, drained. Don't go overboard, you don't want a puree, just smaller pieces

add to other ingredients

Add
1 can corn, drained
1 can black beans, drained
About a tsp cumin
About 1/2 tsp chipotle
Red pepper flakes to taste
Black pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together.
(also get some shredded cheese if desired)

Lay a wrapper out in a diamond shape, and put some filling in it, about 2/3 of the way down, leaving spaces on the side. It's great with a little shredded mexican cheese blend. Start to roll it up, tuck in left/right corners (think an envelope), then wet the top inch or so of the wrapper (a bowl of water to dip fingers in works great), and seal it up. Yeah, terrible instructions, the package should have a diagram, so you can look at that.

(this should give you a good idea of how much to put in)

Fry them in oil over medium heat until desired crispness.

Place on a paper towel-lined plate, tilting upward to aid oil drainage. Flip em over so the other side can drain too.

They're GREAT dipped in greek yogurt. I added some more cumin to my yogurt. . .it's one of my fave spices!

Pizza-Pretz's

So, I found this really cool idea while getting lost on cyber trails.
It's pretty simple, and reminds me of those little pizza bites, but in the shape of a pretzel.
Here's what you need:1 can refrigerated pizza dough (like biscuits, but for pizza)1 jar pizza sauce
some pepperoni, cut into stripssome shredded cheese. I used a 'mexican' shredded cheese blend; my dairy-sensitive partner in crime used Trader Joe's yogurt cheese chopped into small bits.
1 egg white

flour
italian seasonings

Directions:
roll out the pizza dough on a floured surface; cut into 4 strips lengthwise. actually, we think 3 might be better, our pretzels kinda fell apart.

spoon some pizza sauce onto the dough; add cheese and pepperoni. Make sure to leave space to roll the dough up. we had some trouble with the liquid from the pizza sauce--it likes to leak out.

roll 'em up! try and get it well sealed.

place each roll in the shape of an upside down U, grab the ends, twist once, and fold them over so they look like pretzels. This article is helpful.

whip up that egg white really well with some seasonings. I used oregano, basil, pepper, powdered onion, garlic powder, and black pepper. brush over the pretzels.

Easy Lasagna

Ingredients:

• 8 oz package lasagna pasta
• 2-15oz jars spaghetti sauce
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 16 oz ricotta cheese
• 10 oz package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp salt
• couple dashes pepper
• 3/4 tsp oregano
• 3/4 tsp basil

Directions:

Combine all ingredients except sauce, pasta, and mozarella

Spread 1/2 cup sauce in a 9x13 pan. Cover with 1/3 of the noodles. Top with half of the cheese mixture. Repeat layers. Top with remaining noodles, sauce and mozarella.

Pour one cup of water around the edges, cover with foil, and bake at 350 for 1 hour and 15 mins. Let sit for 15 min.

You can also add 3/4 to 1lb of ground beef if you want

Peppermint Oreo bark

This treat is named 'Peppermint Oreo Bark' for 2 reasons: it looks like an Oreo and has a peppermint flavour and it contains Cool Mint Creme Doublestuf Oreos.

Here's what you'll need:
16 oz (1pkg) chocolate flavoured Candiquik/bark/dipping chocolate
12 oz (12 squares, or 3/4 pkg) white chocolate Candiquik &tc.
1/2 c crushed candy canes/starlight mints
8 crushed Mint Oreos
Peppermint oil (don't use water based flavourings!)

This recipe should fill a 9x13 pan (I used a 9 inch cake pan for about a third of this amount and it didn't quite fill it) . A cookie sheet will also work

Line the pan with wax paper

Melt half the chocolate according to the directions (just use a microwave!)
Mix in half the crushed Oreos, spead in a thin layer on the pan. Place in fridge until hardened (5-10 min)
Melt the white chocolate, stir in crushed candy canes, and a few drops of peppermint oil (a chopstick works well to catch a single drop at a time) and spread directly over the chocolate. Place in fridge until hardedned. Melt the remaining chocolate, mix in oreos, and spread across the white chocolate. Place in fridge till hardened, the break apart into small pieces.