Eggplant Parmesan



photo from http://recipes.terra-organics.com/2010/09/eggplants/



1large eggplant
a few Tbsp floor
1/4 cup butter
salt
pepper
1 or 2 cups mozzarella cheese
1 or 2 cups spaghetti sauce
2/3 pound spaghetti (the whole box is usually too much for my family of 6)

Slice your eggplant  into 1/4 inch pieces. I dipped mine in melted butter quickly and then dipped them in a plate of flour with some salt and pepper mixed into it. After covering them all in the flour mixture, I fried them in some olive oil until they were slightly browned on each side. This made them very soft in the center.
Lay the fried pieces in the bottom of a casserole dish, fitting them in like a puzzle. Spoon spaghetti sauce over the top of all the pieces.
Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over the top.
Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 40 minutes.
Serve with cooked spaghetti noodles tossed in about 1/2 a Tbsp of butter.

As a kid I couldn't stand eggplant. My poor mother tried heroically to disguise it in every way possible, but inevitably one of us 8 kids would suddenly exclaim, "There's EGGPLANT in here!" with disgust!
I know it's weird, but last week at the grocery store I had a sudden urge to give it another try. It wasn't on my shopping list, but I came home that day with a beautiful shiny purple eggplant.
This is a recipe from my mom for chicken parmesan that I tweaked for eggplant.
I can honestly report that I loved it, even the next day for lunch (which is what the photo is from-- I didn't get a picture the first day). I did overcook mine, as you can see from the darkly colored cheese! But it was even good that way. I will be adding eggplant to my diet!

Mini Molten Chocolate Cakes

from Better Homes and Gardens New Baking Book
(found on thisweekfordinner.com), pic from this link

INGREDIENTS:
3/4 C butter (1 1/2 sticks)
6 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped (we used a cup of chocolate chips)
Granulated sugar to dust the little custard cups
3 eggs
3 egg yolks
1/3 C sifted powdered sugar
1 1/2 t. vanilla
1/4 C flour
2 T unsweetened cocoa powder

1. In heavy saucepan, combine butter and chopped chocolate; melt over low heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; cool. Grease six 1-cup souffle dishes/ramekins or 6-oz custard cups with butter. Coat with granulated sugar.

2. Beat eggs, egg yolks, powdered sugar and vanilla with an electric mixer on high speed about 5 mins or until thick and pale yellow. Beat in chocolate mixture on medium speed. Sift flour and cocoa over chocolate mixture; beat on low speed just until blended. Spoon into prepared dishes.

3. Bake in a 400 degree oven 12-14 mins or until cakes rise slightly and feel firm at edges and softer in the center when pressed gently. Cool in dishes 5 minutes. Invert with pot holders onto plates. Cool 15 mins before serving. Can sprinkle with sifted powdered sugar and top with spiral garnishes and raspberries.

We didn't let them cool for 15 minutes before eating. My favorite part was the gooey insides-- tasted like melted chocolate chips!

Baked Lemon Pasta

Recipe from the Pioneer Woman website: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/05/baked-lemon-pasta/

1 pound thin spaghetti

4 Tbsp salted butter
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2  lemons
2 cups sour cream
½ tsp kosher salt
fresh grated parmesan cheese
flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cook spaghetti until al dente.

In a skillet, melt butter with olive oil over LOW HEAT. When butter is melted, add minced garlic. Squeeze lemon juice into the pan. Turn off heat.

Add sour cream and stir mixture together. Add lemon zest and salt. Taste, then add more salt if necessary. Pour mixture over drained spaghetti and stir together, then pour spaghetti into an oven safe dish.

Bake, covered, for 15 minutes. Then remove foil and bake for an additional 7 to 10 minutes. (Don’t bake too long or the pasta will dry out.)

When you remove it from the oven, squeeze a little more lemon juice over the top. Top generously with Parmesan cheese, then chopped parsley. Give it a final squeeze of lemon juice at the end.

Soooo not healthy, but really yummy and smells amazing!

Grape Jelly Meatballs

Recipe from "Essential Mormon Celebrations" Cookbook, page 23

1 pound ground beef
1 tsp salt
1/2 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup milk

Combine all ingredients, except sauce (below), in a large bowl. Form into balls. Place on greased baking sheet and cook at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes or until cooked through. Meanwhile, heat up sauce:

Sauce:
1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup grape jelly

Mix ketchup and grape jelly in a small saucepan. Warm briefly over medium heat. Pour sauce over cooked meatballs and serve with rice.

White Chili with Chicken Soup

I got this recipe from my mother in law Janet-- I'm not sure where it originally came from!

15 oz can white beans
1/2 Tbsp veg oil
1/2 medium onion diced
1 1/2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb chicken diced
8 oz can white corn
1 tps cumin
1/4 tsp oregano
1/2 can (2 oz) green chilies
1/2 cup chicken broth
juice of half a lime
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Place white beans in a large pot; set over low heat.
Saute onion and garlic in oil until golden. Add diced chicken, saute until nicely browned. Add to beans along with corn, cumin, oregano, chilies, and chicken broth. Simmer uncovered for 20 minutes. Just before serving, stir in lime and cilantro. Sometimes I need to add more water.
We serve with chips and garnish with sour cream, cheddar cheese, and lime wedges.

Spaghetti Squash with Tomatoes

From Betty Crocker's New Cookbook. Even Justin the squash-hater likes this dish!

1 spagghetti squash (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 small green pepper, chopped
1 parge clove garlic, finely chopped
2 Tbsp olive oil
4 medium tomatoes, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp fennel seed (never actually added this-- I'm not a big fan)
1/8 tsp pepper
2 Tbsp margarine or butter
1/4 cup parmesan cheese

Place spaghetti squash (whole) in 375 degree oven for about 45 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook onion, green pepper, and garlic in olive oil over medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onion is tender. Stir in tomatoes, salt, oregano, basil, fennel, and pepper. Simmer uncovered, stirring occasionaly, for about 5 minutes.
When squash is done (you can easily pierce it with a paring knife), cut it in half lengthwise, remove the seeds and fibrous strings. Then use two forks to seperate the squash strands. I like to leave them in the squash shell and serve it this way. Toss strands with margarine and cheese. Spoon tomato mixture over the top. Maybe add a little extra parmesan and salt and pepper for looks!

Greek Rice and Lemon Soup

I can NOT remember where on the internet I found this recipe!
I found this picture that looks just like the soup I made, although I can't take credit for taking the pretty picture!

2 Tbsp butter
1/3 cup minced green onions
6 cups chicken stock
2/3 cup uncooked white rice
4 eggs
Juice of 1 lemon
1/8 tsp pepper


Melt butter in a 3 quart saucepan over medium heat. Add green onions. Cook and stir about 3 minutes or until onions are tender.
Stir in chicken broth and rice. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low; simmer, covered, for 20-25 minutes or until rice is tender.
Beat eggs in medium bowl with wire whisk until well beaten. Add lemon juice and 1/2 cup of the broth mixture to bowl. Gradually return egg mixture to broth mixture in saucepan, stirring constantly. Cook and stir over low heat for 2-3 minutes, or until broth mixture thickens enough to lightly coat a spoon. Do not boil.
Stir in pepper if desired. Garnish with fresh mint and lemon peel if desired.
Serve with pita bread and hummus and feta.

Fettuccine Alfredo with Asparagus (pretty much the easiest alfredo ever)

recipe (and picture) from www.delish.com

I just tried this new recipe out last night, and it was really good! I'll definitely do it again. In fact I had a hard time saving the leftovers for Justin...
I'm not pretending this is a HEALTHY dish, but it is delicious!

1 pound asparagus
3/4 pound fettucine noodles
4 Tbsp butter, cut into pieces
1 cup heavy cream (I didn't have any cream, but I've heard that you can substitute 3/4 cup milk plus 1/3 cup butter, so I did that. Yes, that adds up to a lot of butter!)
1 pinch nutmeg
3/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp fresh ground pepper
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, plus more for serving

Snap the tough ends off the asparagus and discard them. Cut the washed asparagus spears into 1 inch pieces.
In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the fettucine until almost done, about 8 minutes. Add the asparagus and cook until it and the pasta are just done, about 4 minutes longer.
Drain the pasta and asparagus. Toss with the butter, cream, nutmeg, salt, pepper, and parmesan. Yep, just throw it all in and stir.
Now, at this stage, (maybe because of my cream substitution??) mine was very liquid-y. So I just turned the heat back on while I was stirring everything up. Eventually (after a minute or so) it thickened up and I had a delicious pasta with no liquid in the bottom of the pan. Tada.
Serve with additional parmesan on top.

Zuppa Toscana

(Like Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana)

taken from several different recipes found on the internet

3/4 pound ground Italian sausage (I don't care for the spicy kind, but you might)
1 large diced white onion
1/2 pound bacon
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
10 cups water
5 cubes chicken bouillon
1 cup heavy cream
3 large russet potatoes, scrubbed clean and cubed (not too big, not too small)
1/4 of a bunch of kale, washed and chopped

Saute the Italian sausage in a frying pan. Drain excess fat and refrigerate while you prepare other ingredients.
Saute bacon, onions, and garlic for approximately 15 minutes or until the onions are soft. Drain off excess fat.
In a large soup pot, mix together the chicken bouillon and water, then add the cubed potatoes and half the bacon mixture. Bring to a boil, and then simmer over medium heat until potatoes are tender (about 1/2 hour).
Add in remaining bacon mixture, and sausage.
Add heavy cream and cook until heated through. Add kale just before serving.
At Olive Garden we've let them add freshly grated parmesan, but at home I just can't bring myself to do it. And trust me, you don't need it!

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Recipe, originally called Hershey Banana Bread, came from my sister in law Amy

1 cup mashed bananas (3 small)

1/2 cup shortening or APPLESAUCE

2 eggs

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 cup sugar

2 cups flour

1 cup chocolate chips

Grease bottoms only of two loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Remove from pans to wire rack. Cool completely.

Wright's Apricot Chicken

I got this recipe from my mother in law Janet, who uses her own homemade apricot jam, which makes this amazing!

1 cup apricot jam
1/3 cup orange juice concentrate
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup brown sugar

4 chicken breasts
white rice

Combine jam, orange juice, soy sauce and brown sugar in a bowl. Pour over chicken breasts in a baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until chicken is well done. Serve with rice. Also great on the barbeque!

HOMEMADE PIZZA: MARGHERITA STYLE

Recipe originated from Erin Russell

DOUGH:
2 tsp yeast
1/2 cup very warm water
2 tsp sugar
Let sit a few minutes until foamy. Add:
1 1/2 cups more warm water
2 tsp salt
5-6 cups flour
Cover and let raise for a couple hours. It's so much better it you do this, so start your dough mid afternoon when you want pizza for dinner!

SAUCE:
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
3-4 cloves garlic, chopped coarsely
Basil, some oregano, 1 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp sugar
Heat in small saucepan while mashing with a potato masher. Cook over medium high heat for about 10 minutes.
(Or use any good bottled sauce)

Preheat your pizza stone in 500 degree oven.
Cut your ball of dough in half (save other half for a second pizza or breadsticks).
If you have a pizza peel, sprinkle it with cornmeal so you'll easily be able to slide the pizza onto your pizza stone when you're ready to bake it.

Shape one of the halves into a disc then roll into a large flat circle and place it on the pizza peel.
Brush the dough lightly with olive oil.
Spread some of your sauce around. Lay thin slices of mozzarella cheese (or shredded is fine) over your entire pizza. Sprinkle basil (chopped fresh is AMAZINGly good) and a little salt and pepper over the pizza. Lay thinly sliced fresh tomatoes around your pizza. You can add a little more basil and salt and pepper if desired. Then I like to grate a little fresh parmesan cheese over the top of the whole thing.
Carefully slide the whole unbaked pizza from the peel onto your preheated pizza stone. Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes, until the cheese slightly starts to brown.
When you pull it out, let it sit for a minute before cutting into it. Careful, it's really hot!!!


(pictured is a miniature version I made once from leftover dough)

Ginger Squash Soup

Recipe from Elaine at WVC

1 medium Butternut squash
1 large sweet onion
1 piece ginger about an inch long

3 carrots
5 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup cream or half and half
salt and pepper to taste
Sour cream
Cilantro for garnish

Halve the squash and scoop out the seeds, then roast in the oven (covered w/foil so it doesn't brown) until very tender.

While squash is cooking, take a soup pot and melt a little butter in it. Roughly chop and add onion, carrot, and peeled ginger. Saute this for 5 to 7 minutes (make sure it doesn't brown). Add the chicken stock and simmer until very tender.

When the squash is done, scoop out the flesh and add to the pot. Using a food processor or blender, process the soup in batches until all is smooth- place back in soup pot. Add the cream and warm to serving temperature. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Serve with a dollop of sour cream and chopped cilantro sprinkled on top.

You can make this sweeter by using more carrots or less so by more squash. Also works great with cooked pumpkin!

Kentucky Browns

Justin found this on the food network. It takes some work to get everything together but it is delicious!
I'll try to make the directions simple:

Cook up some chicken in a frying pan. Make some french toast in another frying pan (cinnamon is good). In another frying pan, start some bacon cooking. In a saucepan, make a white cheese sauce starting from a rue and adding milk, mozeralla cheese, parmesan, even some cheddar is fine. Slice up some tomates, slice the chicken up a little, turn the oven on to broil and get ready to assemble. It goes like this:

Place a piece of french toast on an oven proof plate. Put a dab of cheese sauce on top. Then place some chicken slices, tomato slices, and top with some bacon slices. Ladle some cheese sauce over the top of everything, and broil in the oven just slightly until you see the cheese sauce slightly brown.
DELICIOUS! Careful though, it's hot!

More detailed instructions can be found at http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_37222,00.html

World's Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

Thanks to my sister Kathryn for finding this new recipe online somewhere. I like it better than the recipe that was my favorite for years! Be sure to add PLENTY of chocolate chips!

3/4 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup butter (not margarine) slightly softened

1 Tbsp vanilla

2 large eggs slightly beaten

3 cups flour

3/4 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

3 cups chocolate chips

Drop onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in 350 degree preheated oven for 10-12 minutes. The trick is to take them out slightly before you think they're done, and let them sit on the hot pan for a minute before taking them off.

Tonkatsu Chicken

This is a fun and easy dinner that we like a lot at our house. It's kind of the designated last-minute meal at our house: it's fancy enough but doesn't take much time or effort. This is how I make it:

White Rice done in the rice cooker

Tonkatsu Sauce- made by Kikkoman and found near sweet n sour sauce in the oriental isle.

Frozen chicken breasts- as many as you need

Place frozen chicken in a frying pan with a little oil, on medium high. Season with a little salt and pepper or garlic powder, or italian seasoning. Brown on both sides, then immediately put the lid on and turn the heat down to low. After about 15 minutes check to see if chicken is nearly cooked through the middle. When it is, remove the lid, turn the heat back up to med high and cook most of the liquid off (you can slice the chicken up first if you want it that way).

Serve with a little Tonkatsu Sauce over the chicken and rice. Also serve a vegetable like broccoli and/or a salad.

Herb Roasted Pork Loin

from the internet

This is probably my family's all-time favorite meal. It makes everyone happy and it's very easy!

5 lbs boneless pork loin
1 tsp rubbed sage
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 clove garlic, crushed

Combine above in bowl. Rub thoroughly all over pork. Place pork in an uncovered roasting pan on the middle oven rack. Bake at 325 degrees for about 3 hours. I actually put it in the crockpot on high for 4 hours, or on low for 8 hours.

In about the last hour of cooking the roast, place the following in a small saucepan:
1 c sugar
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1/2 cup vinegar
1/2 cup water
4 Tbsp soy sauce

Heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture begins to bubble and thicken slightly. Brush roast with glaze 3 or 4 times during the last 1/2 hour of cooking. Pour remaining glaze over roast, and serve. We usually have rice too, with some glaze over the top.