I'm Back...with Cheesy Eggplant Bake

It's been a while! This summer has been crazy. Baby J was born in June and with him, came family visiting. When that was all over, we moved. Then, I went on vacation. I am finally getting into a routine at home and cooking for my family again. I have been taking it easy and going with simple and quick recipes, because who knows how my kids will be acting when it is time to make dinner. I have quite a few recipes saved up, which I will be putting in here and there. I am going to take this slow for a while, but I am going to try to make at least one new thing each week.

Tonight I tried a recipe that I was actually a little skeptical about. I found it on a new cooking blog I found called Cheap Healthy Good. Here's the link to the recipe. I will reprint it below. The name does not do this recipe justice! I had never cooked with eggplant and I'm not sure I had ever even eaten it before. I had no idea how this recipe would taste, but the reviews were raving, so I decided to try it. It is mostly just a vegetables, but it makes the perfect main dish. I just served it with a side of French bread and it worked perfect. I followed the directions really closely and the only thing I did differently was not add the mushrooms (one of the few things that I just cannot stand). Try this! It is SO GOOD!

Cheesy Eggplant Bake


Ingredients:
1 medium eggplant, peeled
2 teaspoons salt
3/4 cup dry bread crumbs
1 tablespoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 egg + 2 egg whites
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 large green pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 (14.5 ounce) cans stewed tomatoes
6 ounces part skim mozzarella cheese, shredded

Directions:
1) Slice eggplant crosswise into 1/4-inch rounds. Arrange rounds in a colander in your sink and sprinkle salt all over them. Walk away for half an hour. When finished, "rinse under cold water and pat dry with paper towels."

2) While eggplant is sitting, combine bread crumbs, garlic salt, and pepper in a shallow bowl or on a plate. In a separate shallow bowl, whisk eggs. When eggplant is done, douse each slice in the egg mixture. Then dip in the bread crumb mixture to coat. Shake off any excess and/or drippy-ness.

3) In a large skillet, heat 1/2 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat. Cook a few rounds until browned, about 2 minutes per side. When finished, arrange in 13x9-inch baking dish. Repeat for second batch.

4) Preheat oven to 350°F.

5) Heat last 1 tablespoon oil in same skillet over medium-high heat. Add green pepper, onion, and mushrooms. Cook until onion is softening and pepper is crisp/tender, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Top eggplant with mixture. Add tomatoes on top of that, spreading evenly.

6) Cover with tin foil and bake 25 minutes. Remove from oven and take off tin foil. Sprinkle cheese on top and bake another 25 or 30 minutes, until cheese is melted and a little brown. Serve to applause.

ENJOY!

No-Bake Macaroni and Cheese

Who doesn't love Mac and Cheese? The stuff from the box is easy, but I prefer homemade. I found this recipe on Eating Well's website, here's the link. My husband isn't a big fan of broccoli, so I put in cauliflower instead. It tasted pretty good. If I try it again I might try to find something to spice it up a little, but it was a good basic recipe.

(sorry about the low quality picture!)

Tater Tot Casserole

This dish hit the spot. It is definitely a comfort food. After a really long day, this was really easy and tasty. I changed the traditional Tater Tot Casserole a bit, but the result was a success. Both Hubby and Little B ate it without complaints. There's not meat in this recipe, but could be easily added or could be used to replace the chili. Try it, let me know what you think.

TATER TOT CASSEROLE

Ingredients:

1 bag frozen tater tots
16 oz. frozen vegetable of choice (I used corn this time)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup shredded cheese

Meatless Chili -
1 can light red kidney beans, rinsed and coarsely mashed
1 can tomato paste + 1 can water
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon curry
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

Directions:
In medium bowl, mix together chili ingredients. Pour in bottom of greased 9x13 baking dish. Spread so it covers the bottom evenly. Spread cream of chicken soup evenly over chili. Sprinkle vegetables evenly over that and then place tater tots on top in a single layer. Bake in preheated 325 degree F oven for 45 minutes, or until cooked through. In last 10 minutes of baking, sprinkle cheese evenly over the top.

ENJOY!

Chicken Alfredo Pizza

We love pizza around here. I hate forking out the money to buy pizza, and so we usually just make it. I have to say that my pizza crust recipe is the best I have ever had. I originally got it from my friend Kim when we were in college and would get together and make pizza and watch chick flicks with our other friends. Ever since then, I haven't used anything else. I have made Chicken Alfredo pizza before, but never completely from scratch, and I have to say, it was one of the best chicken alfredo pizzas I have ever had. I had leftover cooked chicken and bacon from previous meals this week, so the preparation was really easy. Here is my recipe.

CHICKEN ALFREDO PIZZA


Ingredients:

Dough -
1 cup warm water
1/4 + 1/2 Tablespoon sugar, separated
1 Tablespoon yeast
1/2 Tablespoon olive oil
1/4 Tablespoon salt
about 2 1/2 cups flour

Sauce -
2 Tablespoons butter
1/8 teaspoon salt
dash ground black pepper
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Toppings -
1 cup chicken, cut in cubes, sprinkled with salt and pepper, and cooked.
1/2 cup bacon, cooked and chopped
1 large tomato, chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped
about 1 cup of your favorite cheese, grated
(plus whatever else you'd like to top it with)

Directions:
1. Prepare the dough - In medium bowl, mix warm water, 1/4 Tbsp. sugar, and yeast. Proof for 5 minutes. Add 1/2 Tbsp. sugar, oil, salt, and flour. Stir and knead until well blended, adding more flour if too sticky. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise for at least 30 minutes.

2. Prepare the sauce - Once the dough is about done rising, start to prepare the sauce. Melt butter in small saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in salt pepper and flour. Immediately add milk and whisk until mostly smooth. Add Parmesan cheese and stir until sufficiently melted.

3. Assemble the pizza - Roll out pizza dough to the appropriate size for your pizza pan. Place on greased pizza pan. Spread sauce evenly over dough, leaving about 1/4 inch around the edges. Sprinkle about 1/2 of cheese lightly over sauce. Sprinkle all the other toppings, ending with the remainder of the cheese. Note - if you like more cheese, add more. Bake in preheated oven at 450 degrees F for about 12 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbling, and/or the crust is a light brown.


My Little B loved it and picked all the toppings off before eating the crust.
ENJOY!