Eggplant Crisps with Skordalia and Oven-Dried Tomatoes and Balsamic Roasted Squash

Eggplant Crisps with Skordalia and Oven-Dried Tomatoes

Trying to clean out the fridge, I stumbled on this recipe. all I needed to complete it was eggplant and some herbs. It was a very time consuming recipe (allow almost 3 hours!), but very delicious. Timing is everything...

First, preheat oven and prep garlic, tomatoes, and eggplant. The garlic can roast during the first hour with the tomatoes. since i don't know my oven well yet, I would turn the temp down next time, as it seems to be running very high. My tomatoes were roasted after an hour, not really oven-dried. Soak the eggplant in just enough milk (NOT 4 cups) for the first hour while the tomatoes and garlic roast. Then prep and boil the potatoes, almonds, mix together sans roasted garlic, and set aside. Once garlic is roasted and cooled, it can be mixed in. Then prep the eggplant breading ingredients. check on tomatoes and garlic (should be about an hour, remove garlic if done), and start breading eggplant. While breaded eggplant is resting, prep the other dish you are serving. Alex started frying the eggplant while I did this (he also breaded it, it is useful to have a sous chef!) Take tomatoes out when they are done and start stacking. before serving. I would let it rest in a 200 degree oven to bring everything to temperature.

It was suggested to double the roasted garlic, which I did, but it was waay too garlicky! I couldn't get the taste out even the next morning! A lot of people say this isn't a true skordalia, but it resembles what I have tried at Mykonos, and the soft texture compliments the crunchy eggplant very well. This whole dish has a lot of flavor! We can't wait to eat leftovers! (tonight possibly?) Also I used only 2% milk (what I had on hand) for soaking the eggplant and subbed for the cream in the potatoes. Others have suggested omitting the butter and cream and subbing with olive oil, but since I had milk, that is what I used. Our eggplant did not yield 18 slices, more like 12. There is exactly enough left for us to have one more stack each.

Also we decided to make balsamic roasted squash. I bought 1 large zucchini, 3 small yellow squash, sliced and quartered. Then I diced half a sweet onion. Threw all in a roasting pan with a splash balsamic, olive oil, thyme, garlic, salt and pepper (ended up needing more balsamic at the end, will put in more next time!) and roasted in oven at 350 for about 20 minutes. SO good!

Served with garlic bread, that baked next to squash while it was roasting. If I had two ovens, I could have heated the eggplant through, but we just ate it at room temperature. definitely was an amazing dinner!

Oven-Fried Chicken with Pineapple Salsa and Potato Salad

Even though I've been on a healthy kick, I have been craving fried chicken! This low-oil version looked like a good candidate.

Spicy Oven-Fried Chicken

I forgot to make the marinade the night before so it did not marinade as long as I had intended. I used the Cholula Chipotle hot sauce because I am obsessed with it. It is unclear what they intended for the onions. I followed the recipe and sliced them (maybe i will make onion rings - oh so healthy!) but they were just in the way when I was trying to find chicken strips to bread. I think the chicken strips were smaller than what the recipe intended, as some of the chicken strips were dried out after baking. Also several stuck to the baking sheet, so I would lightly grease next time to prevent losing breading. It was a mediocre dish, I am not sure if I would make again. Alex and Kelly made a different fried chicken (real-fried, NOT part of my diet atm) that was a lot more flavorful.

To dip the chicken fingers in, I decided to make a pineapple roasted poblano salsa.

Pineapple Roasted Poblano Salsa

This turned out very tasty. I blended in blender for a few seconds to give it more of a dip quality. I also added two roasted red jalapenos alex picked up from the nex since poblanos have no spice. It definitely got some heat. I think it is delicious as a salsa, but not necessarily for a chicken tenders dip.

To accompany fried chicken, I chose a mayo-free potato salad. It had sweet and regular potatoes, so I figured the more variety and color, more nutritious. Kelly requested mashed potatoes, but I just couldn't justify nutritional benefits.

Yam and Russet Potato Salad

I decided to forgo the bacon (I considered turkey bacon, but decided with the chicken, we didn't need any extra protein and fat) and I substituted mustard greens for spinach (as other reviewers did) since we had spinach in the fridge and since I have never seen mustard greens at the grocery. The marinade turned out very honey-mustard, but not as spicy as I hoped. I think the olive oil flavor was a bit overwhelming. Next time I might sub for a more mild tasting oil, grapeseed oil perhaps? When I steamed the potatoes for the recommended time, I thought I had steamed through, but discovered at dinner that many were not quite cooked through all the way. Also, the spinach did not wilt like I had hoped. Next time, I will make sure to cook the potatoes through and maybe throw the spinach on the steamer in order to wilt a bit.

Veggie Tacos

Veggie Taco

This healthy recipe I have made before. I remember it took a long time to cook a lot of ingredients individually. It seems almost like a Tex-Mex ratatouille. This time I decided to start with sauteing the garlic, onion and red pepper until translucent, then I added the spices, sauteed another minute, then the salted drained eggplant. Once the eggplant started to soften, I added the tomatoes, beans and parsley. Then I brought to a simmer and waited for most of the water to evaporate (this took a looong time! 30 min+). I seasoned at the end (since the eggplant had already been salted), then added juice of a lime and a few tbsps of cilantro. This added the acidity and herbs needed to round out the flavors. It turned out very similar to my black bean dip with the only differences of addition of pepper, eggplant, extra tomatoes, and lack of corn.

I substituted several ingredients in order to avoid canned foods and for personal taste. To begin with i used 2 lbs of tomatoes instead of the canned. Next time I will remove pulp and excess liquid from tomatoes to cut down on the simmering time. I substituted the chickpeas and pinto beans for 3 cups of black beans. I remembered the previous time it seemed to be a low bean ratio. Next time I will add a hot pepper (seeded habanero) to the onions to bring up the spice level.

I served the tacos with grated cheese, sour cream (omit both to keep vegan), diced avocado, shredded lettuce, and the most amazing Cholula chipotle hot sauce ever. These were very delicious and messy, but not very filling. I ate 3! I had two for lunch a few days later, and was hungry all afternoon. The softness of the filling goes very well with the crunchy taco. It would also be delicious as a dip with tortilla chips. Because the filling is so soft, I would not recommend to eat with soft tortillas. Maybe next time I will serve in lettuce cups to keep fat and calories down (since the cheese, avocado, and sour cream has enough). I also won't feel so guilty to eat 3!

The recipe says to rewarm for 1 1/2 hours. I think this is a little ridiculous. 2 servings reheat in the microwave in about 2 minutes just fine.

Barbecue Bean Soup

I continued cooking after lunch and made a scrumptious dinner.

Barbecue Bean Soup

This turned out super filling and delicious. It made the whole house smell wonderful. Supposedly it gets even more flavorful the next day. The recipe is true to its serving size. 4 of us ate it for dinner tonight, and there is 3-4 servings leftover.

In order to avoid canned goods, I substituted 3lbs Roma tomatoes for the canned, 4 bell peppers roasted, 7 cups of pinto beans, and homemade veggie stock for the beef. The tomatoes took a while to prep. In all, the recipe is a little time consuming, 2 hours+. The ingredients are very voluminous. It filled the entire 6 quart to the brim, but after simmering for an hour and a half, it ended up being only 2/3 full. The lengthy simmering is needed to develop the barbecue flavors since there is no pre-made sauce and to break down the tomatoes. I also subbed cholula chipotle hot sauce for the tabasco. The smokey flavor goes great with the dish. We all think it could have used more heat. Next time I will use 2 tbsp. Everything seemed spot-on taste-wise. The cider vinegar really adds dimension to the dish.

I served the soup with a salad and cornbread. The cornbread turned out great!

Sage and Honey Skillet Cornbread

It went well with the soup. Since it includes butter (1/2 cup!) and milk (i substituted 2/% for whole), it is not vegan. I have made a vegan recipe, but it didn't impress me.

For the salad I tossed spinach, julienned carrots, and cabbage with

CIlantro-Lime Vinaigrette

It's not the best dressing I've made. I accidently over-salted, so to compensate I doubled the recipe and added a splash of tequila. I probably won't make this vinaigrette again.

Spaghetti Squash with Pomodoro Sauce

Happy equinox. It is now officially fall and the grocery is filled with fall squash. With my wedding being 32 days away, I stumbled upon this healthy low-calorie recipe to use fall's great harvest. What better way to celebrate fall than with a delicious healthy lunch?

Spaghetti Squash with Pomodoro Sauce

I could not find a spaghetti squash as small as 1 1/2 lbs. The one i bought was almost 3 pounds! Being only $0.79/lb I couldn't complain.

Instead of using canned tomatoes for the pomodoro sauce, I used Emeril's oven-roasted tomato sauce method.

Emeril's Oven-Roasted Tomato Sauce

I used 3lbs of Roma tomatoes ($1.79/lb) and 12 cloves of garlic. I ended up roasting the tomatoes for 45 minutes until caramelized.

While the tomatoes cooled, I prepped onion and sauteed. While the onion was sauteing, I blended tomatoes and garlic in the blender and added to onion mixture. I followed another reviewer's advice and reduced 1/2 cup red wine in the tomato sauce while the squash cooked. I also used only fresh oregano and basil in lieu of dried. Because I added the wine, I did not add the wine vinegar.

The 3lb squash took about 40 minutes to roast, but i think i might have over-cooked it slightly. After adding the sauce, i springkled with freshly grated parmesan (omit to keep vegan). The 3lb squash only 3 servings! Next time I will buy a bigger squash, as I have 1 1/2 cups leftover pomodoro sauce! The sauce turned out delicious, but mixed with the squash it was a little watery. All in all a healthy delicious lunch and a great way to kick off fall! After my sister and I ate, I have 1 serving left for lunch tomorrow.