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!