Crispy Fried Eggplant

My husband cannot get enough of these!  Special thanks to Amber for telling me how to properly prepare an eggplant!

Ingredients:

1 eggplant
4 eggs, beaten
3-4 cups Italian breadcrumbs
Cooking oil
Kosher salt
(optional) Alfredo Sauce (jarred is okay)

Using a paring knife remove the end of the eggplant, and then remove the skin.  Cut into 1/2 in rounds.  Place on a cookie sheet and salt one side.  Let sit for 45-60 minutes.   Gently squeeze the juice out and rinse the eggplant off.  Pat dry.  This step is incredibly important otherwise your eggplant will be bitter!  Heat cooking oil in an electric frying pan to 350 degrees (you can also use a regular frying pan, but I'm terrible at frying things on the stove, usually resulting in the smoke detector sounding).  Dip eggplant in egg, then in breadcrumbs, then in egg again, and in breadcrumbs again.  Fry for about 2-3 minutes on each side until medium brown.  Remove from oil and put on plate covered with paper towels to let grease drain off.  Sprinkle lightly with salt.  Eat by themselves or dip in Alfredo sauce.

Garlic Accordion Potatoes

These potatoes are the best of both worlds.  Crispy on the outside, baked potato on the inside.

Ingredients:

4 medium Russet potatoes
2 Tbsp. minced garlic (I use the stuff in the jar, it's easier)
2-3 Tbsp. butter sliced into thin slivers
Olive oil
Kosher salt
(optional) dill (fresh or freeze dried)

Wash potatoes thoroughly.  Starting at the one end cut almost through to the bottom of the potato, making cuts about every 1 cm.  With a butter knife push small amounts of garlic in between each section of the potato slices, then push slivers of butter into a few of the slices as well (I used about 4-6 slivers per potato). Drizzle olive oil across the top of each potato and top with kosher salt and dill.  Cook on 425 degrees for about 40 minutes.

Stuffed Poblano's

This recipe is courtesy of my little sister.  Of course, I've tweaked it a bit because I didn't have all the ingredients, but it turns out delicious both ways!

Ingredients:

1 package softened cream cheese (or the low fat kind...neufchatel)
1 1/2 cups of shredded parmesan/asiago/romano cheese (pick one or use a combo)
1 onion
3 Tbsp. butter
1 Tsp. cumin
1 Tsp. ground thyme
4 Poblano chiles
1 package of ground sweet sausage, cooked (optional, but good if using this for a main course)
1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar (sherry is what the original recipe called for)



Sautee the onion in 3 tbsp. butter.  Once onions become translucent add the apple cider vinegar and let boil for approximately 2-3 minutes.  Add the thyme & cumin.  Pour onion mixture into a bowl with the cream cheese and shredded cheese.  Add sausage if using.  Mix thoroughly.  Cut the tops off the chiles and remove the veins and seeds.  Stuff the cheese mixture into the hollowed poblanos.  Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes, or until cheese mixture is browned and skin on chiles looks wrinkled.

Breakfast Muffins

These are ah-mazing!  And so easy to make.  There's not much more to say other than you've got to try them.

Ingredients:

2 cups of pancake mix (prepared)
1 lb. of cooked bacon crumbled/ or 1 lb of cooked maple breakfast sausage
6 eggs, well beaten
1.5 C of cheddar cheese
24 thawed tater tots
Pancake Syrup

Grease a muffin pan with non stick spray.  Pour 1/3 inch of pancake
mix into the muffin pans.  Smash the tater tots and cover the top of
the pancake mix (about 2 tater tots each.  Gently pour the egg on top
of the tater tots.  Sprinkle bacon/sausage on top of egg.  Top with
cheese.  Cook at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes.  Serve with pancake
syrup.

Indoor S'mores

I saw this recipe on "Ten Dollar Dinners" with Melissa d'Arabian and I just had to share because they are delicious.  I've simplified it a bit because I prefer to buy store bought graham cracker crust, it's just as good and pretty inexpensive.

These are great to prepare in advance for guests, they are delicious and they look a lot harder than they really are so people will be impressed!

Ingredients:

6 mini graham cracker pie crusts
1 bag of mini marshmallows
Vanilla Ice Cream
Hershey's Chocolate sauce

Scoop one very pretty and rounded scoop of vanilla ice cream into the graham cracker pie crust.  Press marshmallows into the ice cream gently beginning at the base of the ice cream and moving around the edge in a circle, repeat until the scoop of ice cream is completely covered with marshmallows.  Put in the freezer for about an hour (less if you have a deep freezer).  Remove from freezer and place under the broiler for about 30-45 seconds, just long enough to brown the marshmallows.  Drizzle chocolate sauce across the top of the marshmallows.

Enjoy!

Zucchini Pie

Here's a new one I tried last night.  I googled a few recipes for inspiration and made a few changes of my own.

Ingredients:
1 can of crescent rolls
2 medium sized zucchini
Sal & Pepper
1 generous cup of Cheese (I used cheddar jack, but I think the recipe called for monterey jack)
Garlic powder
2 Tbsp. butter
2 eggs, beaten
1 onion minced
1 teaspoon dill (fresh or freeze dried)
2 teaspoons parsley (fresh or dried)


Spray your pie pan with non stick spray.  Open crescent rolls and place them around your pie pan with the corners in the center.  Seal up all the edges until it looks basically like a pie crust.  Slice your zucchini into thin rounds.  Sautee zucchini & onions in a frying pan with the melted butter, salt, pepper and garlic powder.  Add dill, parsley and 1/2 of your cheese.  Mix together in the frying pan.  Pour into your pie pan on top of the crescent roll-pie crust.  Pour eggs over the top.  Top with remaining cheese.  Bake on 375 degrees for about 30 minutes.

She shoots, She scores!!

So here goes, I have been told over the last several months that I need to start a food blog.  I will share photos and recipes of some of my favorite creations here so hopefully you will be able to make them at home.  So here goes...On the menu tonight was lemon caper chicken, roasted potato rounds and bacon roasted cabbage.

Lemon Caper Chicken:


Ingredients:
2 Chicken breasts cut in half so they are thin
2 Tbsp. Butter
Salt and Pepper
1/4 cup of capers
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup of half and half or cream
1/4 chicken broth or stock
1/2 of one onion, minced
2 cloves of garlic, minced

Salt and pepper both sides of the 4 chicken breast halves.  Melt butter in a frying pan over medium heat.  Turn heat up to medium high and pan fry chicken for about 3 minutes on each side.  Remove chicken from pan.  Add onions and garlic to pan and saute for about 2 minutes.  Add half and half (or cream) and chicken broth to pan and scrape all of the yummy goodness that has been left behind.  Add lemon juice and capers and a little salt and pepper (remember your chicken is salted so don't overdo it).  Reduce heat to medium and keep stirring until the mixture reduces to a gravy like thickness.  Spoon this mixture over your chicken on a place.  It's that easy, and extremely flavorful!

Roasted Potato Rounds:

Ingredients:
5-7 Russet Potatoes (just your standard potato)
3 Tbsp. Butter melted
3 Tbsp. Olive Oil
Kosher Salt
Your favorite herb (I used dill, but thyme or oregano would be awesome also)
1/2 onion, cut into thin strips

Mix melted butter and olive oil and drizzle some of it into a round baking dish (I used a pie dish).   Slice your potatoes into very thin rounds.  Arrange them vertically in the dish around the edge and then fill in the center as well.  Place slices of onions in between potatoes sporadically throughout the dish.  Sprinkle kosher salt over the top of the potatoes and brush the remaining butter mixture across the top.  Put in the oven on 375 degrees for about 45 minutes.  Sprinkle your herbs (fresh works best but freeze dried is good too) on top of the potatoes and bake for an additional 15 minutes.

Bacon Roasted Cabbage:

Ingredients:
1 package of bacon cut into chunks
1/2 head of green cabbage, cut into quarters (leave the core in to help it stay together better)
kosher salt

Cook bacon until crispy.  Reserve most of the bacon grease, leaving about 2 tbsp in the pan.  Brown the cabbage in the bacon grease for about 1-2 minutes on each side.  Place cabbage on a cookie sheet.  Drizzle reserved bacon grease over the cabbage and sprinkle with kosher salt.  Roast in the oven on 375 degrees for about 15 minutes on each side (flip over after 15 minutes and sprinkle kosher salt on the other side).  Serve with bacon bits on top.