Easy Eggplant Parmigiana

I always think I hate eggplant.
I usually say it tastes like a sponge.
Now, there's a good reason for that, and it's because a lot of people prepare eggplant wrong and frankly, it can have a spongy texture.
Every time I'm hating on eggplant, my Mom points out that I DO like eggplant, because eggplant parmigiana used to be one of my favorite dishes as a kid.

So, what's a girl to do? Make Eggplant Parmigana!  This also endeared me to my husband, as he loves it. I'm glad to say, I was totally wrong, and this is a wonderful dish to make.  I've made it twice in the last couple weeks, it was quite popular and it tasted great reheated for lunches too.

The first time we made it (I had help in the kitchen) we used leftover spaghetti sauce, but canned marinara sauce, or even tomato sauce would work too.  My hubby helper always does the slicing on my mandolin, as it always scares me to death to use. I'm attached to my finger tips, you know?  He tried it 1/4 inch slices the first time, and 3/8 inch thick slices the second time.  I'm leaning towards 3/8 inch for future preparations.

I need to tell you I swapped out the shredded mozzarella for regiano parmesan instead! Also not pictured is Cavenders Greek Seasoning, but any seasoning salt would work.

Makes 4 servings
Ingredients

1 eggplant, sliced cross ways in 3/8 inch slices
1 cup marina sauce
2-3 oz of fresh mozzarella
1/2 cup of shredded Parmigiano reggiano
Olive oil
Salt/Pepper or seasoning salt

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Prepare a baking sheets with sides, as there is some moisture in the baking process!

Slice the eggplant, and season with salt and pepper, or a seasoning salt. Using a bit of olive oil, fry each side until a bit of color appears.  The eggplant does seem to soak up quite a bit of the oil, so be ready to add more as needed. Add the fried slices to the baking sheet.  Fry more slices until your sheet is full, or you have enough portions for your meal.

Top each fried round of eggplant with a couple tablespoons of sauce, adding mozzarella and parmigiano cheeses.  Bake at 400 for about 20 minutes. If the cheese isn't bubbly and brown yet, cook for another 5-8 minutes.  

*Don't be too worried if there is a lot of moisture on the pan in the beginning.  That will evaporate and dry off.

It makes a bit of a mess on your pan, but it comes clean easily!

Dinner is served... not the prettiest dish, but absolutely delicious.

Indian Spiced Chicken with Chickpeas and Spinach

Golden and fragrant, we loved the beautiful color and flavors of this dish.  This one is somewhat healthy too.  This one is a quick dinner to pull together, and reheats nicely too.
Inspired by this recipe, but simplified by me (because I am like that).

I usually have boneless, skinless chicken thighs in the freezer, canned chickpeas (garbanzo beans) on the pantry shelf and fresh spinach hanging around. We have made this with the yogurt addition at the end, and without, and frankly, both are delicious.  If you don't have the yogurt, skip it, but don't skip this recipe it's so tasty.  If you don't like spicy hot, omit the cayenne pepper, otherwise, curry powder and turmeric are not that spicy, just golden and fragrant.

One caution, be sure to put on an old shirt when cooking, and eating, this. If you don't, you're sure to have some yellow spots adorning your shirt. Ask me how I know...

Ingredients

Servings: 6

1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 Tbsp butter

6-8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

 Kosher salt

1 large onion, thinly sliced

4 garlic cloves, chopped

1 1/2 tablespoons grated peeled ginger

2 teaspoons ground curry powder

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons ground turmeric

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)

1 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed

1 cup (or more) chicken broth

5 ounces baby spinach (about 8 lightly packed cups)

1/4 cup Greek yogurt (optional)

1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves with tender stems

Heat oil in a large heavy pot over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt. Working in batches, cook chicken, reducing heat as needed to prevent over-browning, until golden brown on all sides, 8-10 minutes per batch. Transfer to a plate.

Add butter and onions to drippings in pot; season with salt. Cook, stirring often, until onions are soft and golden brown, 10-15 minutes.   Stir in garlic, ginger, curry powder, cumin, turmeric, and cayenne. Cook, stirring constantly, until spices are fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in chickpeas and 1 cup broth. Return chicken and any accumulated juices to pot. Add more broth if needed to cover chicken about three-fourths of the way up. Bring to a simmer. Cover pot and turn the heat to low, braise chicken until fork-tender, 45-55 minutes. Add spinach to pot, cook until spinach is wilted, 3-4 minutes. Turn off heat, stir yogurt into cooking liquid. Season with salt and sprinkle with cilantro. Spoon chicken mixture over white, or basmati, rice.

Chili Verde Turkey Meatloaf

I love verde anything.
Something about green chilies make me very happy, and green enchilada sauce is one of my favorite canned items.
I like to buy the lean ground turkey at Costco in the 4 pack.  It's much leaner (7% fat) than what I can usually find in the grocery store at 20% fat.  Usually I make turkey patties and barbecue them, or make Turkey Keema Curry.  
But I'd been thinking of a meatloaf... so here's my plan.
However... This is ugly food. 
Below is a picture of it the day after, after firming up in the the fridge. It won't win any beauty contests, but it made a terrific lunch.
 

Here it is at dinner time.
I may have gasped out loud when reviewing the pictures to add to my blog.  UGLY!
But tasty!

One note, it might make a firmer meatloaf if you used half turkey and half pork, or beef.   But this recipe is easy for using up the full package of turkey in the 20oz packs from Costco.

Serves 4 
Ingredients

20 oz fresh ground turkey
1/2 cup green enchilada sauce, divided into 2 1/4 cup portions.
1/2 onion, minced
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1 egg
1 tsp green hot sauce
1 tsp cumin
Sprinkle of chili powder
Salt & Pepper (but go easy the enchilada sauce can be salty)

Preheat the oven to 375
 
Combine all ingredients together (except half the enchilada sauce for the top) and mix well.

Shape into a loaf pan and pat down firmly.  Add the extra 1/4 cup enchilada sauce and sprinkle with a little chili powder, if desired.  Bake for about 1 hour until cooked through.

I got mine up to about 165-170 internal temperature using an instant thermometer.  That's the easiest way to see if something is cooked through.

Need some regular ideas?  "Like" my Facebook page

Indian Spinach and Cauliflower- Palak Gobi Sabzi

UGLY!
But tasty.

My hubby always says "Ugly food is good food".  
While I may not always agree with that, and I DO aspire to have my food look great, sometimes you just have to get over yourself on that.
Indian food is one of those cuisines that tastes SO great but often is in the UGLY category.

This one is no exception.  I got to tell you, you put this pureed spinach sauce on anything and it doesn't look so good.  Including your teeth, your table or your napkins.
But, wow, the spinach sauce has zip and flavor galore!  It would be great on potatoes, garbanzo beans or rice.

I have no idea if Palak Gobi Sabzi is right,  I Googled it and it came up as the Indian name for cauliflower and spinach.  Might not be right for the pureed spinach sauce... so if you know, please let me know!

Serves 6
Ingredients

1 big pack of spinach, fresh or frozen
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 inch fresh ginger, roughly chopped
1 lg onion, chopped
1 -2 green chilies (like jalapenos), chopped with seeds

4 tablespoons ghee or 4 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon garam masala (Indian mixed spice)
1 teaspoon turmeric or curry powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin 
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, minced 
1 large cauliflower, broken into flowerettes

Over medium high heat, saute the garlic, ginger, onions and green chili together in the butter until the onion started to brown. Add the spices  Stir for about a minute until the aroma starts to bring out the flavor. 

Then add the spinach and cook till it wilts. Puree in a blender or food processor, making a paste out of the onion, spinach mixture.  Add salt to taste.  Make sure the spinach puree is quite flavorful as the cauliflower is very mild.

Steam your cauliflower (to the doneness you like) and toss with the sauce. 
Serve at once.

I served it Indian Grilled "Yellow" Chicken.

 

Ground Beef Stuffed Zucchini Boats

I love zucchini!
Someone else at my house?  Not so much.
But here's a satisfying dish to serve that may not make your zucchini haters so hateful.
One thing I have noticed is that people who hate zucchini usually hate the squishy over cooked kind.  These zucchini boats are firm enough to hold a ton of tasty, spicy meat and get some lucious melted cheese on top.

A very satisfying dish for dinner.  It's quick and easy to do and low carb too.
We found this to be very tasty and filling. I may try this one again with ground lamb and feta to give it a Mediterranean flare.

Serves about 4-6
Ingredients

4 med zucchini, hollowed out, insides cooked and drained- mix with ground beef
1 1/2 lb. ground beef
1/2 cup grated cheese
1/2 onion, chopped
1-2 garlic, crushed and minced
1/2 cup chopped tomato
1/2 cup salsa
3-4 Tbsp chopped cilantro
1-2 jalapenos, seeds removed and minced
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
salt & pepper

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees
Cut zucchini in half lengthwise, scooping out the middle, leaving the sides.  

You could use a melon ball tool, or even a small cookie scoop, like I did.  
Bake the empty zucchini boats for 7-8 minutes while making the filling.
With the zucchini you scoop out, chop it into small pieces. 
  

Over medium high heat in a large fry pan, or dutch oven, saute the onions, garlic, zucchini and minced jalalpeno until the onions are softened, about 4-5 minutes.

Add the burger and stir to cook with the vegetable until there is no more pink, about 5 minutes.  If there is a lot of fat, or water from the meat, drain it off.
Add the salsa, the spices and the cilantro.  Cook for another 1-2 minutes. Taste and add salt and pepper. Add about half the cheese 1/2 to 3/4 cup and stir. Adding some of the cheese here helps to "glue" the mixture together.

Add the meat mixture carefully into the boats, top with cheese and return to the oven until the cheese is melted, about 3-4 more minutes. 

NOTE- I like my zucchini on the undercooked side, but if you like your zucchini softer then you may want to bake longer.

Spicy Country Sausage Gravy & Black Pepper Biscuits

I happen to think I make the best country gravy around.
I'm sorry, I just do.
Every time I order it some place, I'm so disappointed in what it is.
Frankly, it's too plain and boring.
Not mine, my recipe is exciting with lots of flavors.

But hey, if you like plain, go ahead and do it the basic way.
This one takes it up a notch.

Also, I'm sure some of you will comment on the fact I am using Bisquick.... yep, I got it, I'm cooking it.  While I DO make very nice biscuits on my own, nothing can beat the ease and consistency of Bisquick mix all ready to do. In your pantry, calling your name.

Also, for those who are Gluten Free, I have made this sausage gravy quite successfully using gluten free flour as a substitute, of course, you will have to make GF biscuits too.

This is our holiday treat breakfast, we don't do it that often, but it happens to be quite popular with the gang.

(The green onions are for garnish, and I didn't use the butter, but used the sausage oil instead.)

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

1 lb pork sausage, mild or hot

1/2 med onion, chopped small
1/2 cup celery, including leaves, chopped small
2-3 Tbsp flour

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (omit if using hot sausage)

1/2 tsp granulated garlic

2 cups milk
Salt & Pepper (if needed, I usually don't add it)


Before your start the sausage gravy, make your favorite recipe with about 1-2 tsp of fresh cracked black pepper. Make your biscuits.  I make mine in a square and cute into 9 pieces.  Saves a lot of time of rolling and rerolling the scraps with round biscuits. Just sayin.

 Cut the onions and celery into a small dice.

Fry up the sausage, breaking it into chunks as it cooks.  When it's almost cooked through, add the onions and celery and cook for another 3-4 minutes. NOTE- You should have 1-2 Tbsp of oil in the bottom, you can either drain it off and add butter to make a roux with the flour. Add the flour and stir to combine, cooking another 2-3 minutes. 

Slowly add the milk, stirring as you go.  Cook for about 2-3 more minutes until the sauce starts to thicken. 

See?  With square biscuits you get lots of nice corners and edges to get golden brown!

Kauai Local Food

I wasn't planning on blogging anything about a recent trip to Kauai.
It was just for rest and relaxation.
However, I keep thinking of some of the dishes we had and the experiences so I wanted to share a bit more about it.  Just in case you've got an upcoming trip.

First place, in Lihue, was Tip Top Cafe.  A real local place, we were some of the few tourists in this busy cafe.  Very no frills, a standard issue place with steotypical booths and no nonsense waitresses. Our friends had been before and swore by it, so off we went one morning.  Loco Moco is a Hawaiian favortie that can look a little disgusting to some of us.

Fried eggs topped with gravy.
Brown gravy. Kind of thick salty au jus, if you will.
Over rice, and a hamburger patty.
I wasn't convinced, until I had a bite of that big mess.
You'd think a couple of sliced green onions would improve the look of that dish, huh?

(In full disclosure, this Moco Loco photo was taken at Kountry Kitchen, not Tip Top Cafe)

 Well, I will try that at home when I make it.  Yes, I will try this at home. I will be sure to categorize it as "Ugly Food" on my blog, n'est-ce pas? 

Oh yes, yes please, keep that fork on autopilot, you simply cannot stop eating.
My friend and I share the loco moco and a macadamia pancake.
Seemed like the thing to do.

Tip Top's version has an option to have their famous fried rice instead of steamed rice on the Loco Moco, which we recommend.  However, their fried rice is SO good, and a tremendous bargain at $4.00 a plate, I may have to consider that next time I go back.

Our buddy had the oxtail soup with some clear noodles.. kind of a pho kind of dish, but served with chopped parsley and grated ginger.  Exceedingly delish.  I may have to think of that one too. Service was efficient and quick, everything we needed was on the waitresses cart that she wheeled around with her.  More napkins, chopsticks, extra plate, ice water, another glasses, carafe of coffee and condiments... right there, no waiting.  I liked it... not pretty, but no waiting was nice.

A couple of days later we were still dreaming of Loco Moco, so we Yelp'd breakfast places between Princeville, where we were staying, and Lihue (the airport).  It came up with Kountry Kafe.  Now normally, I avoid anything that substitute's "K" for a "C" in spelling.  Country with a "K" is not my style.  But we couldn't get past the great reviews and it was SO convienent on the main road back to Lihue.  We stopped, it was easy to spot the place as the people were spilling out onto the sidewalk waiting for a table. 

It looked kitschy inside, lots of rattans, bamboo wall coverings and rooster pictures.  The gals working were so nice and accommodating, and assured up the wait wouldn't be too long.  There were SO MANY choices on the menu it was a little hard to decide.  
I know... Loco Moco!



Hahaha, I really shouldn't have...
But their versions at Kountry Kafe included Kahlua Pig instead of a hamburger patty. 
Sold.  Yum.

Kahlua Pig is just a whole cooked pig in a underground BBQ pit that is frankly luscious with tender, flavorful, shredded bits of pork.  

We only ate half, but got "to go" boxes for the flight home. 
I know... that's goofy, but my hubby and I grinned to have our second half of this dish mid way across the Pacific Ocean when every one else was eating Alaska Airlines fruit & cheese platters, which are good, but not Loco Moco good!

 
Also, we did a fair amount of Mai Tai tasting while on Kauai.  
I mean, why not?  Everyone likes a tropical drink in paradise, right?
We also yelp'd that and found Tahiti Nui in Hanalei is considered the best on the island.  We all agreed it was wonderful... we all had two to make sure our research was thorough.  The place is rustic inside, and the service... well, a bit standoffish/hostile was the personality of the day for our bartender. Seems like a challenging way to make a living if you don't like tourists. I could rock being a bartender in Kauai, just saying.
If you like Mai Tai's, you should stop and have one.  The Descendents movie had a scene filmed here, which is kind of fun too. I did LOVE the bar pattern of orange Hawaiian print silk screened on the wood though...

Just across the street from the Tahiti Nui is a "mall" in Hanalei that includes a restaurant called "Hanalei Gourmet"  and a bunch of nice shops. A couple of days later, all relaxed and sandy from the beach, we popped in for a little lunch and of course, another Mai Tai or two.  The burgers were terrific, but we all loved the Mahi Mahi fish n' chips, best of all.  It's nice to travel with friends that share whatever is on their plate. 

Here's a couple of happy Mai Tai drinkers.
We are officially on day five of not wearing any makeup...
Now that is a sure sign of relaxation.

AloHA!







Here's some more recipes that might inspire a Hawaiian frame of mind at home:
Mai Tai's for a crowd
Maui Cookies 
Maui Tomato Ginger Soup- Mama's Fish House recipe
Kauai Pie
Kauai Banana Bread

Coming soon to my blog near you...
Loco Moco
Mango Bread
Mai Tai Deluxe (inspired from my taste tasting in Kauai)

Don't drink too many Mai Tai's or it might inspire you to do something crazy, like think the Princeville Fountain should be a photo opportunity.

Quinoa Mushroom Pilaf

A great little side dish, or main dish, with protein rich quinoa as the star.
Of course, I had the biggest Costco bag of quinoa lurking about the house, which is quite challenging to go through with two people in the house.
I added lots of mushrooms, onions, celery and red pepper.  The celery and red pepper are totally optional, but I think they added to the flavor and the beauty of the dish.

Speaking of beauty.... really, I do think this is an ugly dish, and you know how much I hate ugly food. Oh well, it was tasty and a great side dish with our dinner, and I think you might like to try it.

One thing... I did try this in the crockpot one Sunday and left it on low for 4 hours.  We came back to a yucky, stodgy mess that tasted quite nice.  However, just make this one on the stock top, it is much better that way.

Try it, and add a little of your own ideas to the mix.

 (disregard the crockpot in the background, that version didn't work out... LOL)

Serves about 6
Ingredients

1 1/2 cup quinoa
3 cups broth, vegetable or chicken
1 Tbsp olive oil
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
1 cup onion, minced
1 cup celery, minced
2 cup red pepper, minced
2 garlic, minced
1/2 tsp thyme, fresh or dried
1/2 tsp salt
Fresh pepper 
1/2 cup almonds, sliced and toasted
1/2 cup green onions, sliced

In a large saute pan (with a lid), heat the oil over medium high heat.  When hot, saute the onions and mushrooms until they start to brown, approx 5-7 minutes.  Don't add salt, as you don't want the mushrooms to release their water, you want them to brown/carmelize. You will add salt at the end.

Add the garlic, celery and red pepper, and saute until they soften, about 2-3 more minutes.  Add the dry quinoa and toast for another 1-2 minutes.  Add the broth, loosening any browned bits with a spatula.  Add salt, pepper and thyme.  Mix and bring to a boil.  Immediately reduce heat to medium low and cover, cooking for 18-20 minutes.   Stir occasionally.

Remove from heat, add almonds and green onions and mix.