Healthy Eggplant Parmesan

You know those foods that you thought were gross when you were little and now all of a sudden discover that you love them? This is true for the story of me and eggplant. I hated their texture, flavor, chewiness and weird shape. This all changed when I went to an Italian restaurant and mistakenly took a bite of what I thought was chicken Parmesan. I was happily surprised when I found out it was eggplant and so began my mission to make eggplant Parmesan not only from scratch, but healthy.

I think my version of the eggplant Parmesan actually tasted better then the Italian restaurants, but I'm slightly bias.. The eggplant was crispy on the outside and soft inside. It wasn't too chewy and definitely not soggy. Jake still has it in his head that he hates eggplant but he did eat a few pieces :)

The trick to making sure the eggplant doesn't come out soggy is to make sure you "weep it" after you cut it in order to remove some of the moisture. I salted both sides of the eggplant and left them on a paper towel to "weep" for about 20-30 minutes.

Once you see some pools of liquid, wipe off the salt and moisture.

Recipe adapted from Bakin and Eggs:

1 eggplant cut into 1/4 inch rounds

1 1/2 cups Italian panko bread crumbs

1 cup flour

1 egg beat plus a splash of water

1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1 cup mozzarella cheese

2 tbs olive oil

2 tbs salt

"Weep" the eggplant for 30 minutes then wipe off salt and moisture. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Dredge each piece of eggplant in flour, then transfer to egg wash, and finally coat with a mixture of Parmesan cheese and bread crumbs. Lay on a wire rack that has been sprayed with non stick cooking spray. Brush the tops of eggplants with olive oil and bake for 15 minutes. Flip the eggplants and continue baking for 15 minutes. Top each eggplant with mozzarella cheese and bake until melted (about 3 minutes).

I served mine over spaghetti :)

Balsamic Blue Cheese Chicken

So I feel like I have cheese love affairs sometimes. There are just certain cheeses I can't get enough of for a few months at a time and then once I've had my full, I'll move on to the next. Right now I'm in a Blue Cheese love affair. I've been eating it on salads, on toast with apple slices, etc. I think my low point came when we went to Taco Bell and I covered my taco salad with Blue Cheese.. I found out then that Blue Cheese doesn't belong on everything I eat...

Anyways, Jake is not a fan of this cheese and last week I wanted to make a healthy chicken dinner. I made an easy chicken parm for Jake and I made myself a balsamic chicken dish.

Recipe:

1 chicken breast

1 bag 1/3 full with balsamic vinegar

2 slices Blue Cheese

Olive oil

Rosemary

Parsley

Basil

Let chicken marinate in bag with balsamic vinegar for 2 hours. Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle herbs on both sides of chicken and cook in pan until cooked through (about 5 minutes per side). Top with Blue Cheese.

I put my chicken on a bed of spinach, croutons, pecans and balsamic dressing. This was easy to make and definitely satisfied my Blue Cheese craving.

Chicken Lettuce Wrap happiness

Last night I surprised myself, and Jake, when I put together a lettuce wrap dinner. We both had our doubts and PB&Js on hand when I started but were happily satisfied with the results. This meal will definitely be an addition to our week day dinner rotation.

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Recipe:

1 package ground chicken

8oz water chestnuts, chopped

1/2 cashews, chopped

1/2 cup shredded carrots

2 tbs sesame oil

1 tbs Chinese 5 spice

1 tbs finely grated ginger

1/2 tbs minced garlic

1/2 tbs salt

3 tbs hoisin sauce

2 tbs soy sauce

2 tbs teriyaki sauce

1 head Boston lettuce

Heat oil in pan over medium heat. Add chicken, ginger, garlic, and 5 spice and cook until browned. Add hoisin, teriyaki, soy sauce, and salt and combine mixture. Then add carrots, water chestnuts, and cashews and simmer for 5 minutes. Serve with lettuce leaves and enjoy. 

This meal is also great because it can be made in one pan and is pretty easy to throw together.

Yummy... 

Apricot Chicken

This recipe is easy to make and helps mix up "chicken dinner" night. I had some apricot jelly that I had left over from holiday cooking and decided to try to incorporate it into dinner. You can use this recipe with different jellies and cheeses. I'm sure it would be great with pepper jelly and pepper jack cheese, apple jelly and brie, etc.

Recipe:

2 chicken breasts

1 slice swiss cheese

4 tbs apricot jelly

Cayenne Pepper powder

Salt

Pepper

Pat chicken dry and then sprinkle both sides with salt, pepper, and cayenne powder. Cook in an oiled skillet over medium heat until chicken is cooked through. Top each chicken breast with jelly and half a slice of swiss. Remove from heat and put pan top on to hold in heat to melt the cheese. Serve when cheese has melted.

Jake has been trying to help out in the kitchen and committed to make a side to go along with our apricot chicken and salad. He tackled the Kraft Home Style Mac and Cheese kit :)

Pretty delicious. Can't go wrong with mac and cheese topped with toasted bread crumbs.

Lemon Pepper Chicken Home Made Crouton Salad and Fresh Bought Ravioli Ridiculousness

One of the things I will miss about my old job is its close location to Eastern Market. They have a large indoor market with all sorts of fresh and hand made foods. I particularly love the home made pasta section. Earlier this week I bought these little beauties:

Hand made cheese ravioli with pretty stripes.

I boiled them for about 3 minutes and they were done! Fresh pasta has so much more flavor then store bought pasta and cooks in about a third of the time. I try to buy it anytime I come across it.

I topped it with my home made marinara sauce and....

Yummmy ridiculousness!

I know Jake doesn't consider food a meal without a meat so I grilled up some easy lemon pepper chicken.

Recipe:

4 chicken strip cuts

Lemon pepper seasoning

2 tbs olive oil

Heat oil in pan over medium heat. Remove chicken strips from package and pat dry. Season both sides with the lemon pepper seasoning. Cook for about 8 minutes flipping chicken half way through. Remove once chicken is fully cooked through. Makes 2 servings.

I topped mine with a raspberry walnut light dressing and Jake went with the light ranch. I forgot to buy croutons at the store so I thought I would give home made croutons a shot.

Recipe:

4 pieces of Healthy White or Wheat bread cut into bite sized cubes

2 tbs olive oil

1/2 tbs of salt

1/2 tbs of pepper

1/2 tbs of garlic powder

1 tbs dried parsley

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toss bread cubes with oil. Add seasoning and gently toss again. Arrange on tin foil lined baking sheet in a single layer. Bake for about 10-15 minutes or until bread is golden brown. 

They turned out pretty good and definitely more healthy then store bought croutons. I might try adding Parmesan cheese next time as well.

Pepper Jelly On A Mission

Like I said yesterday, my goal was to incorporate delicious pepper jelly into dinner this week. Well tonight was the night :)  The pepper jelly was awesome with the turkey sausage and green beans. It added a nice sweet and spicy flavor that wasn't too strong.

Pepper Jelly Green Beans

Recipe:

Steamed green beans

Salt

Pepper

1 tbs of pepper jelly

1 tsp olive oil

Steam green beans and then toss with remaining ingredients.

Turkey Sausage Pepper Jelly Stuffing

Recipe:

1 package of italian turkey sausage

3 tbs pepper jelly

2 cups of stuffing prepared as directed on package

Remove skin from turkey and place in cooking pan over medium heat.  Add pepper jelly and mix until combined. Break up turkey into bite size peices as it cooks. Remove from heat when turkey is fully cooked. Add turkey mixture to stuffing, toss, and serve.

Jake's Take: Added a sweet taste to dinner and would eat it again.

Healthy Spinach Dip

This is one of my all time favorite dips. It is super healthy and has a ton of flavor. Like most women, I found out from my doctor that I had pretty low iron and so began my search for a tasty spinach dish I would enjoy eating. I tweaked a few spinach dip recipes to make it healthier. You can also vary the ingredients to your liking as well (i.e. add more cream cheese for a creamier dip, use more garlic for a sharper taste, etc)

Recipe:

1 package frozen chopped spinach

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1 1/2 tsp minced garlic

1 1/2 tsp minced onion

1 1/2 tsp chopped basil

1/2 tbs butter

1 tbs chopped parsley

1 tbs lemon juice

2 oz fat free cream cheese

1/4 cup of shredded Italian cheese

1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese

Cook and drain spinach. Over medium heat, add butter and saute spinach for about a minute. Reduce heat to medium low and add remaining ingredients. Heat and stir until all cheese has melted and the dip is at a creamy consistency. Transfer to serving bowl and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. I like to serve this with baked tortilla chips.

Jake and I are like 3 year olds when it comes to vegetables. If it doesn't taste good, it's just not happening. That's also why you will probably never find brussel sprouts on this blog.. I am all for being healthy and eating well so I do try to make all of our vegetable dishes taste awesome. Or when all else fails add cheese or a healthy dose of Ranch :)

Jake's Take: (will update soon, but I know he likes this dip and appreciates that it is tasty and healthy at the same time. He requests it at least once a week :)  )

This may be the last post of 2010 since Jake and I are off to PA to hit the slopes to ring in the New Year!

Emily's Peanut Chicken Noodles

Thanks to Emily for making such a great dinner! This dish makes a great dinner since it has a lot of flavor but is still pretty healthy.

Sorry for the bad picture quality! My real camera was MIA for this meal..

Emily's Recipe:

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup smooth natural peanut butter
2 T soy sauce
2 t minced garlic
1 1/2 t chile-garlic sauce, or to taste

1 t minced fresh ginger
8 oz whole wheat spaghetti (i used a whole 13 oz box and the ratio still seemed okay...up to you- more for leftovers!)
12 oz bag fresh or frozen vegetable medley, such as carrots, broccoli, snow peas, etc.

Put a large pot of water on to boil for pasta.
Meanwhile, place chicken in a skillet or saucepan and add enough water to cover; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer gently until cooked through, 10-12 minutes. Transfer chicken to cutting board. When cool enough to handle, shred into bite size strips.
Whisk peanut butter, soy sauce, garlic, chile-garlic sauce and ginger in a large bowl.
Cook pasta in boiling water until not quite tender, about 1 minute less than specified in package directions. Add vegetables and cook until both pasta and vegetables are just tender, 2 minutes more. Drain, reserving 1 cup of cooking liquid. Rinse pasta and vegetables with cool water to refresh. Stir reserved cooking liquid into peanut sauce, then add pasta, vegetables, and chicken. Toss well to coat.
Serve warm or chilled.
Makes 6 servings, 1 1/2 cups each