Eggplant Parmesan

If you've been reading my blog for any amount of time, you probably already know that my husband is a "man's man" who dislikes meat-free main dishes. In his mind, No meat = Not a meal.

There are two notable exceptions to his No Meat rule though.

(Source)

Pizza (specifically Margarita style) and...

Eggplant Parmesan.


Why are these exceptions? Well I honestly don't know, but I have a feeling it has to do with the copious amounts of cheese.

Eggplant Parmesan has always been one of Hubs' favorite things to order at an Italian restaurant, but surprisingly enough I had never made it at home for him.

Until now.

And now, I think I've created a monster.

Because he could. not. stop. talking about how good this was and how it was "the best eggplant parmesan he has ever had".

I have to agree. It IS really, really, really good. But what I like even better is that this "healthified" version is just as good, if not better, than the "real" thing.

Usually Eggplant Parmesan involves deep frying slices of eggplant and then covering them in tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese. This version lightens things up a bit by oven-baking the eggplant and then still topping with tomato sauce & cheese.
So. Stinkin'. Good. You must make this!

FYI it's a bit more labor intensive of a dinner than I typically go for, but it is SO worth every extra minute of effort!

Eggplant Parmesan
Source: adapted from Cooking Light

• YIELD: 8 servings

Ingredients

• 2 (1-pound) eggplants, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch slices
• 1/4 cup water
• 3 egg whites, lightly beaten
• 1 1/4 cups Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs (or use plain and add Italian seasoning)
  
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• Vegetable cooking spray
• 1 jar spaghetti sauce* (I used Emeril's Eggplant & Gaaahlic)
  
• 3 cups (12 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese OR sliced fresh mozzarella (which is what I used)
  
• Fresh basil, chopped (optional)

Preparation

Place eggplant in a large bowl; add water to cover, and let stand 30 minutes. Drain well; blot dry with paper towels. Combine 1/4 cup water and egg whites in a shallow bowl. Combine breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese; stir well. Dip eggplant in egg white mixture, and dredge in breadcrumb mixture.

Place half of eggplant on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray, and broil 5 minutes on each side or until browned. Repeat procedure with remaining eggplant. Set eggplant aside.

Spread half of tomato sauce in bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange half of eggplant over sauce; top with half of mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers with remaining sauce, eggplant, and cheese.

Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until bubbly. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with fresh basil, if desired.

*NOTES: The original recipe called for you to make your own tomato sauce, but I went the easy way out and used store-bought sauce. I used Emeril's Eggplant & Gaaahlic sauce and it was DELICIOUS! Highly recommend.

Roast Chicken, Take 2

Apparently I am doomed to never actually take good photos of roast chicken, as evidenced by my last post on roast chicken and as evidenced by this post that you're about to see. It's a tragedy really, because roast chicken DESERVES great photos to do it justice. But alas, the curse continues.

You may be wondering why I decided to try a new recipe for roast chicken, when I had a perfectly good one already. I'm bored easily. That's really the only explanation I have. That and I like to try new takes on the same thing. So sue me!

Hence, a new roast chicken recipe was found on Cooking Light that involved dried sage and LOTS of garlic, and I was sold! So I roasted my little heart out and ended up with this:
It may not look good, but it sure does taste good! I think this recipe was even easier than the other one I made, and easier is always a bonus for me.

I also tried something new and used my broiler pan instead of my roasting pan. I did this because I wanted to roast the potatoes alongside the chicken but I didn't want them to end up covered in all the chicken fat drippings (to save a few calories). I actually really loved doing it this way!! All the chicken fat dripped down into the bottom part of the pan and not onto my veggies.


I served my chicken & potatoes on top of a bed of spring mix lettuce to get some extra greens.


And I most definitely did NOT "discard the skin" as the recipe suggests to cut calories. Some calories are just worth it, and crispy chicken skin happens to be one of those things.

Roast Chicken with Potatoes & Butternut Squash

Source: Cooking Light

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons minced garlic, divided
• 1 teaspoon salt, divided
• 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rubbed sage
• 1 (3 1/2-pound) roasting chicken
• Cooking spray
• 12 ounces red potatoes, cut into wedges
• 1 1/2 cups cubed peeled butternut squash (about 8 ounces)
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°.

2. Combine 1 1/2 tablespoons garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and sage in a small bowl. Remove and discard giblets and neck from chicken. Starting at neck cavity, loosen skin from breast and drumsticks by inserting fingers, gently pushing between skin and meat. Lift wing tips up and over back; tuck under chicken. Rub garlic mixture under loosened skin. Place chicken, breast side up, on rack of a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Place rack in broiler pan.

3. Combine potatoes, squash, butter, 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Arrange vegetable mixture around chicken. Bake at 400° for 1 hour or until a thermometer inserted into meaty part of thigh registers 165° (my chicken was at least 4.5 pounds so it took about an hour and a half to cook). Let stand 10 minutes. Discard skin.

Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken Pot Pie is and always will be one of my ultimate comfort foods. I just love it.

Something about the creamy sauce, tender veggies & chicken and the flaky pastry crust just makes me swoon.

I hadn't made a good homemade chicken pot pie in far too long, so I decided that now was the time to do it (before it gets to be hot as hades and comfort food doesn't sound as appealing)!

I loosely based my recipe off of Alton's Curry Chicken Pot Pie. I really wanted to try the curry pot pie version but that was unfortunately nixed by the husband, who happens to be a curry-hater. :::sad face:::

So instead I just winged it and vaguely followed Alton's method. I tried to make my version very veggie-heavy to increase the nutrition a bit. I think even a veggie-hater would love this dish since the veggies are smothered in a creamy sauce!


It turned out really well so I think I'll file this one away for future reference when a pot pie craving hits. :)

Chicken Pot Pie
source: loosely based on this recipe

Serves 4-6 people, depending on portion sizes

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1/2 cup carrot, chopped
1 baking potato, peeled and chopped
1 cup frozen mixed vegetables (peas, carrots, green beans, corn)
1/2 packet of Ranch dressing mix
3 Tbsp flour
1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup milk (I used 1%)
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp ground oregano
1 tsp poultry seasoning
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 cups cooked chicken, shredded or cubed (*see notes below)
1 sheet packaged puff pastry, thawed

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat.

Add onion, celery, carrot and potato and cook for about 10 minutes, until the veggies soften. Add in the frozen veggies and continue to cook until they are thawed and heated through.

Stir in the Ranch dressing and the flour and continue to stir while it cooks, about 1-2 minutes. Pour in the chicken broth and the milk and stir frequently until the mixture thickens a bit (about 3-5 minutes).

Stir in the rest of the ingredients, except for the puff pastry, and cook until everything is heated through (about 2 minutes).

Pour the mixture into a square baking pan that has been coated with cooking spray. Place the sheet of puff pastry on top of the mixture.

Cook at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until the puff pastry has browned and the mixture looks bubbly.

*Notes: I didn't have any leftover cooked chicken to use for this recipe so I just cooked 3 chicken breasts with about 1/2 cup of chicken broth in a slow cooker on low for 7 hours. Works every time for perfect, tender chicken!

Feel free to increase, decrease or substitute the veggies to your liking!