Easy Eggplant Lasagna

In an effort to stop spending money during the work week on take out or vending machine substitutes for lunch, my daughter and I decided to make Eggplant Lasagna. 

Now, this is our version. Less cheese, more veggies and quite delicious.

We started with 2 medium eggplants sliced into 1/4 inch rounds.

Salt, pepper and olive oil and bake at 350 degrees on aluminum foil covered baking sheet.  

Also, cover with Aluminum foil.   Bake (15 minutes or until soft) and put aside to cool.

Grease (I used olive oil) a 9x13 inch pan, and then put 1/3 of a jar of Marinara sauce 

Next, add a layer of the eggplant rounds

In a separate bowl, combine 1 package of your favorite cheese (we used a 3 cheese blend)

and 2 eggs.  Mix well and place 1/2 the cheese mixture on the eggplant.

Because we were not using a lot of cheese, we placed it directly on each round of eggplant

Note:  Many of the recipes I read used several cups of 2-3 different kinds of cheese.

We opted to use less cheese to keep the recipe as low cal as possible, but this is completely up to you. Layer whatever you would like !

We then covered with another 1/3 of the jar of Marinara and a package of frozen peppers.

I would at this point use whatever veggies you would like to bulk up the lasagna, the peppers added a great amount of flavor to the eggplant.  

Cover the pepper layer with the rest of the cheese and egg mixture.

Cover with the final 1/3 of the Marinara sauce and sprinkle with Panko and grated Parmesan cheese. Again, this is preference and to your taste, but I find that about a cup of Panko and a couple of tablespoons of Parmesan can go a long way with flavor.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes and you will have the delicious bubbling dish below.

We cut it into 8 servings (4 lunches each) and lunch for the week was ready.

We already had many of the ingredients in the house and only needed to purchase the eggplant.

In the Spring, I will be planting eggplant to see if we can reduce 

the cost of this delicious dish even more! 

New Version of Boiled Dinner

One of my favorite memories growing up is of Sunday afternoons for dinner at my Grandmother's house. The delicious aroma of dinner cooking and pies baking is forever engrained in my mind.

I'm not sure if it came out of the Great Depression, but we often had boiled dinners, which consisted of some sort of kielbasa or salted pork boiled in a pot or pressure cooker with a head of cabbage, lots of potatoes, carrots and turnips.

Craving a warm Winter dish like I remembered, we updated the boiled dinner idea with:

1 package of Andouille Sausage links - cut up into 5 pieces each
1 package of frozen brussel sprouts (fresh is better, if available)
1 quart of canned red potatoes
1 pint of canned carrots
Add additional veggies your family prefers

Put all of the ingredients in about 6-8 cups of water (or to cover)
Boil until veggies are soft. If you are using canned vegetables, you can boil together for 15-20 mins until the meat flavors the veggies and makes a broth.
Serve with or without broth depending on what you prefer and a little pepper.
I find that the sausage adds more than enough salt for me.
This served 4 - add a piece of homemade bread to soak up the broth and it is just perfect.

This is a quick and easy way to have that substantial boiled dinner meal with much less time and no pressure cooker involved. I prefer the brussel sprouts because they are easier to work with and easier to portion for servings. Also - they are delicious and make a great replacement for the cabbage.

Simple Happiness

Have you noticed that it is the simple things that make us happy?

For example, a really great cup of coffee, a conversation with a friend, a kindness from a stranger, or a connection to another person of any kind; it adds to our lives, it adds to us as people.

I am sitting watching the 300 lights on our Christmas tree. Some are blinking, some are solid, ALL are solar. At the end of each day, as night falls, there is this thing inside of me, childlike and pure that squeals with glee when the lights come on.

There are two sides to this – or more, if I am really honest about it. The child loves the lights and has forever wanted to see lights of every color blinking away during the holidays, or every day if possible; there is the adult who celebrates the fact that these lights cost nothing after they are purchased – no additional charge to the electric bill, and even the lights blinking away on the fence outside only require the power of the sun to bring the squeal of glee to that child inside.

This is a perfect time to reflect on the previous year and take the time to remember losses and reflect upon growth, to remember experiments and take note of future endeavors.  But really, all that matters is a good day’s work and to value the family and friends around me. There is never enough time to spend, or conversations to satisfy the desire to be close to the people we care about. What we have to do, is try our best and take advantage of every opportunity we have to connect. Each little action adds up, it creates a bridge to those we care about that sometimes months later will lead to a reunion and it is like time has not passed at all.

If there is any doubt in the minds of my family and friends, I treasure you with all of my heart. I am human and forget to show my feelings all the time, and I am not perfect and will make mistakes, but it never changes the fact of how much I love you.

You are the lights in my life all year long - that fill my heart with joy and make that child inside of me squeal with happiness at the visit of a family member, a chance to game with a friend, a meal or conversation shared.

You are the lights and inspiration and what spurs me on in the days that are difficult or trying and knowing that I am never alone. You are always with me, and the reason I can do everything I do, and strive to be better than I am.

I look forward to 2013 and the adventures we will have! <3