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

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

Cutting Onions

simple way to prevent burning eyes--chew a piece of gum. Love this tip, why didn't I know about it sooner??

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!

Chicago-Style Deep Dish Pizza

The Crust
(You'll need an electric mixer or food processor with a dough hook for this--thank God for Kitchen-Aid's)

2 packages dry yeast ("Quick Rise")
2 cups tepid water (90 degrees F)
1/2 cup salad oil
4 Tbs. olive oil
1/2 cup cornmeal
5 1/2 cups flour

In the mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in the water. Add the salad oil, the olive oil, the cornmeal and 3 cups of the flour. Beat or process for 10 minutes. Add the dough hook and mix in the rest of the flour. Knead for 10 to 15 minutes. Put the dough onto a plastic countertop or a cutting board and cover it with a very large metal bowl. Allow dough to rise until double in bulk. Punch down and allow to rise again. Punch down again.

Oil two large round deep dish pans or cake pans. Divide dough between the pans. Put a little olive oil on your fingers and press and push the dough to the edge and up the sides of each pan. The dough should be 1/8 inch throughout.

The Filling

3/4 to 1 lb. sliced mozzarella cheese
1 28-oz. can of plum tomatoes, coarsely crushed
1 tsp. basil
1 tsp. oregano
2 to 4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed (according to taste)
salt
grated Parmesan cheese
3 Tbs. olive oil

Layer the mozzarella cheese all over the bottom of the pies. Next add the tomatoes, basil, oregano and garlic. Add salt to taste, and then, if you wish, add any or all of the following

Optional Additions to The Filling
crumbled sweet or hot Italian sausage
thin sliced Pepperoni
diced yellow onions
sliced mushrooms
slices of cored green pepper
sliced ripe black olives

Liberally sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese and drizzle the olive oil on top.

Bake the pizzas in a pre-heated 475 degree F oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until the top is golden and gooey and the crust is a light golden brown.


MY FAVOURITE TOPPINGS

lightly sautéed red onions
green bell pepper
artichoke hearts (in brine, not the marinated ones)
olives
fresh spinach

I don't layer it according to directions--i put a the tomatoes down, then spinach,cheese, then other toppings.

I think I make five or six 9-inch pizzas. the disposable foil cake pans work great--just make sure they're cake pans, not pie pans!