Eggplant Parm.. My Way

This may look a hot mess.

And boy oh boy it is.

A delicious hot mess.

I got this idea last Saturday while watching Giada make a veggie parm. I rushed right out, bought an organic eggplant and got to work! I sliced and salted the eggplant to drain the bitterness. Let me tell you that it makes all the difference in the world with tenderness. The salting created that beautiful eggplant texture I used to get at Maggiano’s..

There’s not really much of a recipe, just a basic idea. If you don’t like eggplant, swap it for some other yummy squash or even some sliced potatoes! Perhaps I’ll try that next..

What I used:
*1 large organic eggplant; sliced, salted, drained and roasted according to Veganomicon’s instruction
*2 cups kale leaves, chopped and sauteed in canola oil with salt, pepper and crushed red pepper
*3-3 1/2 cups homemade marinara (mine had lots of mushrooms, garlic, sauteed onions and crushed red pepper in it)
*1 recipe cheese “sauce” from Lulu’s Mac and Cheese (found here)
*Daiya cheese (Mozz flavor)

I oiled my big glass baking dish and spread some sauce on the bottom. Then I layered in 3 slices of eggplant (they were HUGE) followed by some kale, half of the cheese “sauce”, a sprinkling of Daiya and some sauce. I repeated that process once more and finished off the last layer of sauce with an additional sprinkling of Daiya. I baked the whole thing in a 350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes.

Kyle and I had to restrain ourselves from eating the whole pan in one sitting. I finally know how to cure my eggplant parm craving and still treat my body right.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday!

Spend time with those you love and I’ll see you back here soon!

Beetsa Pie

Crab Pizza

I haven’t made many pizza doughs from scratch.  I’m usually in too much of a hurry and just end up buying the pre-made stuff.  Well today, in honor of Kyle’s fantasy football draft, I decided to make homemade pizza with homemade dough!  I was planning on making a plain old whole wheat type dough until I got an email from one of my many food blog subscriptions; the awesome people of (never home)maker.  Now this wasn’t the first time I’d seen a recipe for beet pizza dough. I’d seen it before over at The Cooking Photographer but I’d forgotten about it!  I got so excited I could hardly stand to wait until today to make it!

Roast Beef Pizza

I ended up following the general recipe from (never home)maker but changing a few ingredients.  It was so incredibly easy and SO tasty!  I know most people would be put off by pink pizza crust, but Kyle and I were all for it!  The recipe makes enough for 3 smallish pizzas.  I chose to make two and stick one in the freezer for the next time we want to make pizza.  Hey all I’ve gotta do is remember to take it out of the freezer right?  Sounds.. simple enough.. we’ll see I guess!  Anyway, after a coating of garlic spiked olive oil for each pizza and a quick 5 minute tour of the oven, they were topped with yumminess.  Onto one went some roast beef, sweated Vidalia onion, sweet red peppers, hot giardiniera and low-fat mozzarella.  Onto another went a beet puree with chopped sun-dried tomato and garlic, sweated Vidalia onion, sweet red peppers, imitation crab meat, danish blue cheese and a bit of low-fat mozzarella.  Both very different but both deliciously devoured!

Hey, don’t just take my word for it, whip up a batch of dough and try it for yourself.  Maybe make some garlic knots out of the leftover dough while you’re at it.  It’s a yummy warm snack for a cool evening.  Welcome fall!

Beet Pizza Dough
1 packet active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
1/2 cup beet puree (unsalted canned beets pureed with enough liquid to make an applesauce consistency)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

In a medium bowl, sprinkle yeast over water, mix with fingers and allow to sit for 5 minutes to bubble up. After the 5 minutes are up, add in the beet puree, olive oil and honey, stirring with a wooden spoon until well combined. In a large bowl combine flours and salt, making an indentation large enough to pour the beet mixture inside. After the beet mixture is poured in, mix it all up!

Mix me, mix me!!

Now its time to get your hands dirty! (I hate that part – dough sticking to my fingers is so nasty! But so rewarding…) Knead that dough until its nice and elastic, then coat it with a bit of olive oil and cover it with a wet towel. Now you have to let it sit for 2 hours. But hey, after that you get to roll it out, bake it quick-like at 425 degrees for 5 minutes, top it and finish it off! Then try not to eat it all in one sitting!

Hot Enough to Melt Cheese

It is mind numbingly hot here. Now I’m not talking about outside; I’m talking about inside this very apartment. I mean, you know its hot when you’re standing there washing dishes with sweat pouring down your face. No more attics converted into apartments for me!

Over the weekend I had a family reunion for my Grandma’s side of the family. Our color was yellow – my favorite! It was a ton of fun to hang out with my family to eat, drink and be merry!

Kyle and I with Grams

Uncle Johnny and I

My 5-year-old cousin recently discovered Kool Aid’s new Fun Fizz drink tablets… he must have had 6 or 7 little bottles of them. He even shared! I have one in my purse right now!

After the reunion, my cousin Steve invited us over to his house to hang with he and his awesome girlfriend, Stephanie!  We drank some UV Blue and Lemonade and made some homemade pizzas!  We chopped up artichoke hearts, scallions, sun-dried tomatoes and added some browned italian sausage along with some garlic powder, pepperoncini and hot giardiniera.

Choppin' up the veggies!

We were really excited to eat it!

Stephanie with the first pizza!

Steve waiting patiently..

Yum, yum!

It was delicious!!  Mmm… pizza. Mmm… cheese. It’s so hot in here I think I could melt cheese on the counter.

Hey speaking of cheese, I threw together this awesome pasta dish tonight on a whim!  It was pretty tasty!

Mmm.. alfredoey!

It’s not going to cure that craving for homemade pizza I know you have now, but it will bring back the delicious taste of fettucini alfredo from your childhood!  And on a more figure friendly scale!  ;)  Enjoy!

Asiago Onion Pasta
2 ounces pasta (I used GF corn pasta I bought ages ago)
1/4 cup plain greek yogurt
2 ounces asiago cheese, grated
1/4 vidalia onion, diced
Fresh basil to taste
Salt, garlic powder and pepper to taste

Cook pasta until al dente in salted water. While the pasta is cooking, sautee the onions in a small, dry pan until they just start to brown. In a separate bowl, mix together yogurt, cheese, basil and spices; set aside. Drain noodles but do not rinse. You want the noodles hot so they’ll melt the cheese! Return the noodles to the hot pot. Pour yogurt mixture over the noodles and the onions on top of that. Mix well with a wooden spoon, garnish with crushed red pepper and serve!

LIMEY! It’s Tuna!

So I must take a quick time out from this crazy Friday-before-a-holiday-weekend Bank Day and brag about my lunch. A lunch I was way too excited to eat to take a picture of!

It’ll sound pretty strange, I know, but the combination was outright divine!

I dug into my refrigerator this morning and pulled out:
Goat Cheese
Greek Yogurt
Red Grapes
A Lime

I added these luscious ingredients to a plain ol’ ordinary can of tuna and POW! I feel just like Emeril!

I ate my yummy tuna salad with my favorite crackers, Kellog’s All Bran crackers – original flavor. Yumaliciously refreshing!

If you’d like my exact measurements, they’re listed below!

Limey! It’s Tuna
1 ounce plain goat cheese
1 tablespoon plain greek yogurt
1/2 cup seedless red grapes, halved
1/2 teaspoon lime zest
1 3-ounce can tuna, rinsed

Mix together all ingredients, making extra sure to blend the goat cheese into the yogurt. Serve with your favorite crackers or on whatever “vehicle” of transport you prefer! Cucumbers, pepper slices, toast or even a spoon!

Fifty!!

Huzzah to Post Number 50! And what a perfect way to hit 50 it is!

My momma needs some cheering up. What do I do? Make her cupcakes! Cupcakes always cheer people up, right?

That’s what I thought! It’ll turn her frown upside down!

I just knew that the recipe I spotted from Cupcake Project for Black Bottom Cupcakes with Goat Cheese would be the perfect thing! I added some cinnamon to the goat cheese mixture and cut the recipe in half so I wouldn’t be swimming in cupcakes.

Hmm… synchronized cupcake swimming… Think it’ll catch on?

Black Bottom Cupcakes with Goat Cheese
1 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup greek yogurt
1/2 teaspoons almond extract
3 tablespoons milk
2 1/2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, melted

4 ounces goat cheese
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Half a beaten egg
Handful of chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, mix together flour, baking soda and baking powder. In a kitchen aid mixer bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add in eggs, yogurt, extract and milk. Beat in chocolate, then slowly add in flour mixture until well mixed. Fill cupcake liners until 2/3 full. Clean mixer bowl and beater, then return to mixer. Beat together goat cheese, egg, sugar and cinnamon until well combined, then toss in chocolate chips. Top each cupcake with a heaping tablespoon of the mixture. Bake for 30 minutes.

Challah Swirl

Happy long weekend to you all! I love this time of year. Everyone fires up their grills and cooks up some awesome grub, Bobby Flay style! I love Bobby Flay, he’s so fun to watch. I caught his story on that “Behind the Chef” thing on the Food Network one day, such an amazing story, too. You should try to watch it sometime!

Sadly I don’t own a grill. I know enough people that do have one to sustain me for a while I believe. =) Such as my parents with their awesome grilled quesadillas!

My recipe has nothing to do with grills or meat, however. Oooh I just got an idea. When I get my own grill I could bake it in there! Perhaps it would first be a better idea to learn to not burn a hot dog on the grill as my first outdoor chef-ing experience..

I’ve been searching for a bread recipe that doesn’t seem too complicated for my novice bread-making hands to conquer. After getting an email about 55 Knives, a blogging cookbook that was put together and just came out for download, I noticed one contribution was from a blog named Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy. I giggled at the name and browsed around her site. I stumbled upon a post for Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Challah. Now I’ve never had challah before. That I can remember. But it looked so good… this was my ticket!

I mixed up the ingredients and leaving it to rise while I watched my Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles dvds (the original tv series, mind you) and had an unfortunate little mishap. Despite the 90 degree weather we’ve been having, the one day I decide to make bread the temperature decides to drop to the 60s. Two hours later when I checked on the dough, it had definitely not doubled in size. I moved it to sit on my dinky little warm oven where it promptly rose the way a nice yeast bread should. Good little bread **pat, pat**. I didn’t have time for the rolling process until today, but the recipe said I could leave the dough in the fridge for up to 5 days before I’d have to freeze it.

Now as far as the filling goes, I used three different options. Since I made only half of the recipe, I made some mini loaves. One with goat cheese and a jalapeno-peach “jam” I made up on the stove, one with cinnamon and coffee, and one cinnamon raisin. I had a few problems with the centers of the last loaves baking through, but humidity is a killer. Next time I’ll just have to have the air on!

Challah Swirl Bread
(half recipe: makes 2 regular sized loaves)
1/2 cup plus 6 tablespoons lukewarm water
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 large eggs, whisked
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup melted butter (or canola oil)
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour

From here I just followed the directions posted on Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy (I linked the page a little earlier). She has great step by step instructions written up!

Fiesta in a Casserole Dish

“Can you help me search for a recipe? I want to make a vegetarian dish to bring to the lock-in,” Kyle says to me Friday afternoon.

Not one to turn down a recipe search, I accepted the challenge.

My first, and as it turned out, final, stop was the vegetarian section of Simply Recipes. I’ve followed Elise’s blog for years. Everything I’ve ever made from her website has turned out beautifully. Whenever someone asks me for a recipe reference, I point them in the direction of her site. So when Kyle asked me for a vegetarian recipe, I linked him her Polenta Casserole recipe. Little did I know that this would spark my own creative juices flowing.

Once I started digging through my pantry and fridge, I realized I didn’t have half of her listed ingredients. Never fear! Its in my DNA to substitute everything and anything in a recipe. Really, my mom does it, my Grandma does it… we’ve been trying for years upon years to recreate Grandma’s spaghetti sauce recipe. We still haven’t figured it out.

Mom says she spits in her sauce… I’ll bet that’s the secret…

Anyway, I pinched here, tweaked there, added some sauteed pork and came out with a Mexican inspired casserole recipe. Deliciouso!

Mexican Grits Casserole
1 pork chop, seared in a hot pan with celery salt and pepper and chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 vidalia onion, chopped
1 large pablano pepper, chopped
1/2 cup kale, chopped
1/2 cup chopped mushrooms (I used dried shitake, since that’s all I had on hand)
4 garlic cloves, minced and divided in half
1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
3 cups water
1 cup grits
1 cup grated cheese (just use your favorite, I used Mexican melting cheese)
Celery salt and pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan on medium heat and saute onion, kale, pablano and mushrooms, seasoned with celery salt and pepper, until onion starts to turn clear and kale starts to shrink down. Add in tomatoes, pork and 2 garlic cloves. Simmer for about 5 minutes, remove from heat and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, brush an 8×8 glass baking dish with canola oil and set aside.

In a large saucepan, bring water to a boil. Add in garlic and a pinch of celery salt. Reduce heat to low, whisk in grits and cook until thick and cooked through. Be sure to wear socks during this step of the recipe… I burnt my foot from the spluttering grits!!

In prepared baking dish, spread 1/3 of the tomato mixture. Pour half the grits mixture on top of the tomato mixture, smoothing into corners. Sprinkle the grits layer with cheese. Repeat this process again, then top with the last bit of tomato sauce. I had a little cheese leftover, so I just piled it on top of the last layer.

Bake about 25 to 30 minutes and let cool about 15 minutes before serving. Like real live lasagna, this dish tastes delicious after sitting for a few days in the fridge.

Brown Rice Flour Pancakes with Strawberry Sauce

I just returned from my Clemson, SC vacation! Don’t get too excited, though it was very sunny and pleasant.. it was COLD! While there I was determined to use up Kyle’s brown rice flour and in turn created a delicious pancake recipe for our Valentine’s Day lunch! The flavor for the pancakes was inspired by an awesome strawberry, onion, and spinach salad my mom served last summer. Kyle said they reminded him of potato latkes. The combination of ingredients was downright delightful! I whipped up a strawberry sauce, that, while tasty, was not the right consistency. I’m still working on my syrups! It did include freshly sliced strawberries simmered in a pot with sugar and water. Anyhow, without further ado, I give you..

Brown Rice Flour Pancakes
1 1/2 cups brown rice flour
1 egg
1 cup milk (I used skim)
2 green onions, minced
3 generous handfuls shredded cheese (I used a parmesan-asiago blend)
salt and pepper to taste

In a medium mixing bowl, pour milk over the brown rice flour and set aside for 5 minutes. Whisk the egg and add, along with remaining ingredients, to the bowl. Mix until batter is just coming together and allow it to rest for another 5 minutes. Melt some butter on a hot griddle before ladeling batter on. Allow to cook for a few minutes on each side, until the pancake is lightly browned, before flipping. Serve with freshly sliced strawberries or a strawberry syrup.