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Eggplant pizza

Need a super quick and healthy dinner tonight? We make pizzas a lot at our house at the request of my sweet babies, usually on a sprouted grain tortilla as I don’t always have time to bust out fresh pizza crust dough. I am also not a big gluten eater so I am always looking for new crust options. In my CSA box this week were some beautiful eggplant, thus my inspiration for eggplant pizza!

This is super easy, no need for any shredding, mixing or other steps. Just slice eggplant lengthwise into long wide planks, then sprinkle them with salt and roll them up in a kitchen towel for about 10 minutes to release some of the liquid.

Toast the eggplant on your hot pizza stone or a baking sheet, with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and top with a tablespoon of pizza sauce, your favorite toppings; I used uncured pepperoni and fresh mozzarella cheese today. Then pop them back into the oven for an additional 10 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and beginning to brown. Throw some fresh basil on top and enjoy!

Basic Roasted Tomato Sauce

Are you wondering what to do with all of those fresh beautiful tomatoes that came in your CSA box or are taking over your garden? There is the obvious, slice them into nice thick slices, smother them in olive oil and garlic and top them with sea salt, but you can eat that and make some great sauce too! I have a couple old stand by tomato sauces that I like to make, which can be frozen or used within a few days kept refrigerated. My favorite is roasted tomato sauce, and it couldn’t be easier…

I should mention this recipe is just a guideline use whatever type of tomatoes you have on hand. The carrots I add in for a touch of sweetness so feel free to adjust the amount up or down to your liking.

Slice your tomatoes into halves or quarters, drizzle them with olive oil, add a dash of salt and pepper, throw in some onion and carrot and roast at 400 degrees fahrenheit until nicely carmelized and super delicious (about 2 hours). I also roast a head of garlic separately for about 20 minutes, as you don’t want to eat burnt garlic…well maybe you are into that, and thats okay, but I am definitely not.

Once this is cooled, grab your trusty blender and blend it all together. You may have to blend it in a couple different batches, just mix them together at the end so all the flavors are evened out.

This sauce can be used as a base for whatever you want!

Some ideas…

Grab about 4 cups and…

Drizzle in some heavy cream, top with fresh basil and you have an absolutely beautiful batch of roasted tomato soup.

Add a few teaspoons of your favorite dried herbs, a pinch of red pepper flakes, a cup of vodka and simmer for about 10 minutes then toss with pasta and top with grated cheese and fresh basil.

Use as a pizza sauce by adding some oregano, fennel seeds and thyme.

Use as a chili base add your chili seasonings, browned meat, veggies and beans and you have a phenomenal bowl of chili.

The sky is the limit for this sauce! I like to freeze whatever I don’t use right away into quart size zip lock bags to pull out and enjoy when I need something easy and quick for dinner tossed with pasta, as I prefer to steer clear of store bought sauces whenever possible.

Tonight it will be going on my eggplant pizzas…recipe to come!

Use your imagination and enjoy!

Cheers!

Pumpkin and Sausage Risotto with Browned Butter Sage Leaves

Though I know we are all dreading the weather changing, there are a few perks to our cooler fall-like temperatures, one of them is the infamous pumpkin. Thank you to my friends at the Garden of Weedin for the beautiful pie pumpkins that helped inspire this dish.

As I was preparing to make a crock pot full of chili and a grill full of chicken wings to enjoy this fall-ish sunday afternoon with a couple of our good friends, my husband through down the challenge. Chicken and chili…come on, that sounds way too easy! You can do better! Hmmm, well anyone who knows me knows I do not take a challenge lightly, especially a food challenge. So I glanced around the kitchen, caught sight of my beautiful orange pumpkins and the aha moment…consider this challenge accepted.

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Eggplant fries with molasses and sea salt

I had to do it! All the baked, healthy options one could make with eggplant and here I am with a pot of hot oil…I blame the fact that I am pregnant, or maybe I miss my family in Spain.

On a trip to Marbella, Spain several years ago to visit my beautiful family my cousins took me to a restaurant called Azafran (Spanish for Saffron). We had the most simple and delicious appetizer, eggplant fries with molasses and sea salt. Since I can’t fly to Spain on a whim as I am not independently wealthy, I decided to make my own version. If only my kids had let me enjoy more than a few of them…well at least they got their veggies!

I used one Japanese eggplant and one Mediterranean as that is what my CSA box contained this week. Any eggplant will work.

I began by slicing the eggplant into planks then slicing them into almost matchsticks keeping them long. Coat the strips with a good amount of salt and lay out in a kitchen towel to remove some of the moisture. After about 5-10 minutes roll them up in the towel and give them a little squeeze. This will help them crisp up while frying.

Heat a couple inches of olive oil in a large sauce pan to 350 degrees F. If you don’t have a thermometer no worries, just heat oil over medium to medium high heat. You will know when it is ready by testing it with one of your fries or a chunk of bread. When you drop the fry or bread in it should begin frying immediately. If it doesn’t pull it out and wait a couple more minutes.

When the oil is ready add the eggplant strips in batches making sure not to crowd them. Fry 4-5 minutes per batch drain on paper towel and season them to taste with sea salt. Pile finished fries on a plate and drizzle with a tablespoon or so of molasses and a pinch of sea salt. Sit back and enjoy!

Cheers!

Stuffed Grilled Mini Meatloaves

As I am staring at this package of organic ground beef I have visions of spaghetti or burgers yet again. Yet there is a nagging voice in my head saying, come on you can do better…voila! Stuffed mini meatloaves! Truth be told I got my inspiration from several stuffed meatloaf recipes I had seen floating around in pinterest land. I promise you this mini meatloaf recipe will blow your mind! If you take the extra steps to throw it on the grill instead of in the oven you will enjoy that amazing burger char that can only be achieved by putting your meatloaf over a nice hot bed of coals, achieving the perfect sear. Yummy!

This couldn’t be easier! (well unless someone showed up and cleaned up my kitchen and heck the rest of my house while they are at it). First you prepare the meat. Chop the onions, crush the garlic, finely chop the kale so your kids don’t see it, chop the herbs, grate your cheese, and toast the bread then tear it into pieces. Now put EVERYTHING together in a large bowl except the cheese you are stuffing these sweet babies with. Then roll them into 6 individual football like shapes. Flatten them a bit making a small indent in the middle. Add your cheese, then carefully seal them by bring the meat up and around the cheese from the sides. Make sure there are no holes as you do not want your cheese sneaking out before you get to enjoy it!

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One Pot Chicken, Summer Vegetable and Brown Rice Sauté

This is one of my all time favorite ways to make dinner when I am on a limited time schedule! You know when your kids have to be run to an after school activity right around dinner time, dance, swim class, parkour…fill in the blank, I am sure all parents out there know exactly what I am talking about. You open the fridge to find leftover chicken (or burgers, steak, sausage…), some leftover rice or other grain, and a mixed grouping of veggies. Sure you could just reheat everything, use 3 pans, and watch your families face when you declare leftovers for dinner…or you can sauté some garlic and onions, toss in some diced fresh veggies, add your leftover meat, your leftover rice and voila a truly beautiful one pot wonder is served.

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Maple Dijon Roasted Butternut Squash and Brussel Sprouts

Amazing how we can go from a beautiful Indian summer to almost winter overnight! Ah the joys of living in the Midwest…someday when I strike it rich I will be typing this blog from a warm sunny beach, watching the waves crash on the shore while sipping my…oh sorry for the sidetrack! Back to reality! I was able to secure some gorgeous pumpkins and squash this fall. They have all been super delicious. Today I picked up a beautiful stalk of brussel sprouts and thought they would get along nicely with some butternut squash, shallots and cranberries. Yummy!!! I had seen several other posters using similar combinations and thought I would also give it a shot.

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Beef Taco Bowls with Spicy Seasoned Potatoes

While enjoying the last days of our Indian Summer, I reach for something quick to make for dinner since the daylight is gone by 5 and we HAVE to play outside after school until it gets dark. On the days I am lucky enough to prep a little, dinner can actually be ready by 5;30. Other days, well, it’s a houseful of crabby kids or we end up eating eggs or peanut butter sandwiches for dinner. Today I got lucky, and with about 15 minutes of prep work during nap time, I had my taco bowls teed up and ready to cook when dinner time rolled around. I chopped everything, measured my spices, and fully prepped the potatoes. An hour before dinner I turned on the oven (potatoes were already on a cookie sheet in the oven from earlier). 30 minutes before dinner I stirred the potatoes, returned them to the oven, grabbed a sauté pan and put my taco meat together. It was on the table in under 30 minutes! (not including the potato roasting time of course!)

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