Sister Najera's White Chicken Chili

White Chicken Chili -Ella Mae Najera

1 tbsp olive oil1 medium onion, finely chopped1 can (4 oz) chopped green chiles, drained3 tbsp all purpose flour2 tsp ground cumin2 cans (15 oz) Great Northern Beans1 can chicken broth1 1/2 c finely chopped cooked chicken breastshredded monterey jack cheese (optional)sour cream (optional)salsa (optional)
cook onion in oil for 4 minutes, add chiles, flour and cumin, cook and stir ofr 2 minutes. add beans and chicken broth, bring to a boil. reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes until thickened. Add chicken; cook until hot. Garnish with cheese, sour cream, and salsa if desired.

*My notes: I adapted this for the crock pot by using about a pound of uncooked chicken thighs. I followed the directions to cook the onions, add cumin, chili's and 2 tbs of flour. I also added a can of hominy because we love it, and about 1\4 c of green salsa about 30 min before it was done. I also used a potato masher about then to shred the chicken thighs, and mush up some of the beans to thicken it.

Ein Guter Kuchen- One Good Cake

This is a recipes for an awesome apple bundt cake. It was one of the snacks in the volunteer break room when i volunteered at VBS this summer. I wrote on a torn off bit of cardboard that I *must* have the recipe or die. Luckily the person brought it the next day. Whew! It appears to be from a church cookbook. The contributor says "This old German cake recipe is our family treasure." I don't know why, but that makes me happy :)

3 c. Flour (cake four is best, but AP works fine)
2 c. Sugar
3 eggs
1 c. Oil
1 tsp cinnamon
1\2 tsp baking soda
1\2 c. Hot water
1 tsp vanilla
1\2 tsp salt
3 green apples, diced
1 c. Pecans or walnuts

Mix dry ingredients first, then add the wet. Be careful not to over mix. It makes a thick, rather sticky batter. Don't worry, its normal. I stir in the apples and walnuts by hand after I've mixed the other ingredients with the mixer. Pour into a greased and floured bundt pan. Bake at 350 degrees. Start checking for doneness at about 45 min. Dust with powder sugar.

The key to making this cake awesome is to keep it nice and moist and tender. You can do this by not over mixing. Also, don't over bake. The cake is done when you put in a toothpick and a few moist crumbs stick to it when you pull it back out. If you wait until it comes out clean, it is overcooked! Let it cool in the pan only about 10 min, then take it out to cool. This cake is really good the next day, too!

Recipe: Excellent, Non-Fussy Pie Crust

My amazingly talented friend Lana helped me fulfill one of my New Year's resolutions to learn to make pie crust. **Note: Sure, normal people have resolutions to loose weight or travel- mine typically involve things like perfecting cream and cheese sauces or learning to make pie crust**

 

Everything I read about making the perfect, flaky pie crust made it seem like a very, very complicated and delicate process- like if you touch it too much it will explode and your pie will be RUINED! I followed the internet tips and made a terrible pie crust (but yummy pie) and thought, "If only I knew someone to give me a hands-on lesson. Someone who is, say, a trained pastry chef..." Enter amazingly talented, pastry chef Lana! 

 

The very, very best part of this pie crust is that it is NOT picky- you handle it a lot and it actually makes it MORE flaky. It is amazing (and French!).  The second best part is that you mix it right on your counter or table- with your hands. I love "hands on" cooking. It is fun to get gooey and messy :)

 

So here is the recipe, and I took lots of pics with instructions on how to do it!

 

Le Cordon Bleu Pie/Tart Crust

makes 1 crust - double if you are doing a top and bottom crust

 

1 1/2 cup A/P flour

1 egg

1 T water

Pinch of salt

7 T butter, softened

 

*Lana says it is best if everything is the same temp, so if you think of it beforehand, you can set out your egg and butter to get to room temp. We microwaved our butter for 10 seconds and used a cold egg and it still came out fabulous!* 



First, spoon flour into your measuring cup until it is almost full (as shown). You want to keep it fluffy.  Then dump in on your very clean table/countertop.

Using your fingers, you want to make really big well in the flour- more like an atoll :) - like the pic shows.  Add your egg, salt and water into the middle. Mix the egg and water with your fingers a bit to combine them.

Add your softened butter to the well. Squish it well with your fingers and mix it with the egg as much as possible.

Once the egg and butter is squished together, bring in the flour from the sides of the well and begin squishing them together to mix.

As you are mixing in the flour, smear the mixture on the table with the palm of your hand, as shown. This creates horizontal bits of butter that will make your crust flaky. The more you smear, the happier your crust will be!

Smear and "knead" until you get a very smooth ball- shown above. Put it in the fridge for at least 30 min before making your pie. I put mine in overnight and that worked, too.

To bake your crust, roll it out and place it in a pie pan. Refrigerate for 10 min.  To pre-bake (or "blind bake" ) prick the crust all over with a fork and add weights (dry beans work) and bake for 15 min at 400 degrees. Then remove the weights and bake 10-15 min. more if you are making a quiche or crème pie. If you are making a fruit pie, skip the second baking and reduce the heat to 375 degrees . Then fill and bake as directed in your pie recipe. 

When I made the apple pie above, I followed the recipe directions and skipped the blind bake part. It turned out well, too.  It was a yummy pie- here is the recipe!

Lana also says if you add
3 T sugar
1/2 t vanilla

And make as directed, this pie crust turns into delicious sugar cookies! I haven't tried it yet, but I did cut the extra crust into shapes and dusted it with cinnamon sugar for the kids and it held its shape really well! We're going to be trying it for Christmas cookies!

Salted Caramel Marshmallow Treats

I don't have a picture of these- sorry. Not like my food photography ends up very yummy-looking anyway. You'll just have to imagine how yummy these look :) 

6 c. Rice Cereal
5 1/2 c. marshmallows (a.k.a. a whole bag of the Kraft Mini ones)
1/4 c. butter
2 bags Kraft caramel bits
Sea Salt

Melt the butter on Medium heat in a big soup pot and add marshmallows.  Stir constantly until the marshmallows melt. Don't freak out when they get to the half-melted place and stick to the spoon- they will melt and become smooth :).  You can add a tablespoon of milk to the end if you want. I hear it makes them creamier, but I don't do it every time.

Once the marshmallows are melted, stir in the cereal (still in the pot- why dirty another container?) and keep stirring until totally coated.  Then add 1 bag of the Kraft caramel bits.  These are awesome pellets of caramel that are easy to melt and NO WRAPPING! Seriously, they've changed my life.  Go ahead and stir those in well.

Smear butter all over a 9 x 13 pan. I like to use the wrapper from the butter I used earlier- it seems to work well.  Pour the sticky cereal stuff into the pan.  Grease up your hands- either by rubbing the butter stick on them (you've washed them, right?) or spraying cooking spray. If you don't, you will end up in tears with sticky, evil rice cereal stuck everywhere. Not like I speak from experience or anything...  Pat the cereal down with your greased hands to make it flat and uniform thickness in the pan.  Sure, you can try using waxed paper, plastic wrap or a greased spoon, but trust me- your hands are the quickest and easiest way to do this.

In a small pot on the stove, combine the remaining bag of caramels and 3 T of cream (or half and half, or whole milk- just not skim).  Stir over medium heat for a long time until everything is melted and smooth.  Pour the hot caramel over the treats in the pan and spread to coat the top.  While the caramel is still liquid-y, sprinkle sea salt over the whole thing.

These treats will seriously change your life. I'm struggling not to eat the entire pan right now. 

P.S. Cyndi- these would make crazy-easy marketing treats!  The ladies at our Relief Society activity are STILL talking about them. I don't take credit for them- I didn't bring them!

P.P.S. Can you tell I've had a lot of traumatizing past experience with Marshmallow treats? Seriously, there are few things easier to make, but somehow I've managed to mess it up. A lot.

P.P.P.S. You're welcome.

Get a Husband Cake

I met DMP my second year at USU when my roommate and good friend Deb and I moved into an off-campus apartment complex.  We both had just barely turned 19 and were kind of dismayed to find out that it was where all the "old guys" lived. Seriously.

Anyway, we met DMP one night when he and his roommate Shawner were out trolling for girls to have a bonfire in the Canyon.  We agreed to go along.  It was fun and our apartments became friends.

When Deb and I found out that DMP was having a birthday in December, we decided to make a cake for him. But not just any cake- chocolate wowie cake (from scratch) with cream cheese and chocolate chips- black-bottom cupcakes in cake form.  We baked and frosted and went to deliver our delicious creation.

We got to his apartment where his brother Ed told us that he wasn't home, but to bring the cake in and leave it for him.  We got to his kitchen and there were already FOUR cakes from girls. Four, people!  There was no way even all 4 dudes living in the apartment could eat 4 cakes, and ours was clearly the best, so we told Ed to let DMP know that if he wanted some of our yummy cake, he could come to our house and have some...

He came over later and declared our cake the best.  I like to tease him that since he was feeling like Mr. Hot Stuff, he decided to go after the girl who played "hard to get" (and who also can clearly make a delicious cake) instead of the other, namby-pamby cake-mix girls.

Lucky for me that he did. I didn't realize at the time what a great "catch" he is, but I'm learning more and more as the years go on. He is an amazing father and my best friend. He is my anchor and I love him lots. 

So, in honor of DMP's 38th birthday, I give you the recipe for "Get a Husband Cake" as we now call it in our house.  You can also make it in cupcake form, but that's called "Black Bottom Cupcakes" and the "get a husband" guarantee is null and void.

Get a Husband Cake

3 c. Flour
2 c. Sugar
1/2 c. Cocoa
1 t. salt
2 t. baking soda

Mix dry ingredients together. Add:

2 T. vinegar
2 t. vanilla
2/3 c. oil
2 c. cold water

Mix well and set aside.

In a separate bowl, mix:
1 8 oz package of cream cheese
1 egg
1 t. vanilla
1/3 c. sugar
abt 1 cup of chocolate chips.

Pour cake batter into your chosen pan (if making cupcakes, pour into cupcake cups).  Drop cream cheese mixture into batter by spoonfuls (or one spoonful per cupcake).  Bake at 350 for about 30 min until a toothpick comes out clean.

The cake part (minus the cream cheese mix) makes an awesome, moist dense chocolate cake that is great without frosting. It's a good one to make when you are in the mood to bake, but don't have any eggs :)

Shellie's Fool-Proof Honey Wheat Bread

My first loaves- the dough is sticky, so they look, um, rustic. I've gotten better at making smoother tops, but it won't ever get perfect...

I've become a bread maker since I moved to Texas. Crazy, right? We had a Relief Society activity where our RS Prez, Shellie, promised to show us how to make fool-proof, even I can't mess it up, bread. I've never had a lot of success with bread making before, but she was right. I can make this yummy bread and it turns out great EVERY TIME!   It is also really tasty- the inside is dense and soft, and it makes really, really good toast.

It makes three loaves, which is typically more than we can eat in a week, so it have been fun to figure out who we can give one to every time I bake.  Everyone who has gotten a loaf has talked about how yummy it was, so I'm not the only one that likes this bread. Birdy has declared she only wants to eat sandwiches made out of "home made bread".

So here is the recipe and instructions:

Honey Whole Wheat Bread

3 ½ cups very warm water
1/3 cup Honey
2 Tbs. yeast

Place all three in mixer bowl and whisk a few times.  TIP: Spray cooking spray in the measuring cup for the honey and it will slide right out. (keep that cup out and the tbs spoon for the oil and salt later).  Let sit for around 5 min. to allow yeast to become activated. It will get frothy-looking on top and smell bready- check out the picture below:

Add:

1 Tbs. salt
1/3 cup oil
4 cups wheat flour
4 cups white flour (I use bread flour, but AP is fine, too).

Mix all together until smooth-looking and you see the dough begin to pull away from the sides of the bowl. You may need to add some more flour.  Then mix on low for about 10 min. to activate the gluten. This dough is sticky- check out the pic below of it "pulling away from the sides"

After mixing, remove mixing hook and let the dough rise until double.  I'm crazy and always worried I won't know when it is "double" so for the first couple of times I made this, I actually marked the dough level with a dry-erase on the outside of the bowl so I'd know :)

After dough rises, turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead a few times. Make it into a fat roll and cut off even sections. I can get 3 loaves with my pans, but if you have smallish ones you might get 4.

Turn oven on to 350. Let the loaves rest and rise while it is heating up. I get better loaves if I let them rise until they fill the bottom of the bread pan at least, but if you are in a hurry you can put them right in the oven once it’s up to temp and they’ll turn out just fine.

Bake 30-45 min. depending on the size of your loaves. Mine are great at exactly 28 min, so set your timer for 25 and check them. Bake until brown on top- you'll know it is almost done when it starts to smell really good and bread-y.

After removing from oven, rub the tops with butter or margarine to give the loaves a shiny and softer top (if you want).

This bread is seriously hard to mess up. I've left it rising until it spilled over the sides of the bowl, and it was just fine.  I probably bake about every week and we have it for breakfast as toast, or with our dinner with butter and jam. It usually doesn't make it to sandwiches, but it is super-yummy there, too!

The Best Banana Bread. Ever. I promise.

not my picture- I got it from the recipe on allrecipes.com...

For some reason, we frequently find ourselves with one or two extra, browning bananas at least every other week. Bear loves bananas, the girls love them some days, hate them others. I recently discovered that DMP only wants to eat them at a certain exact point of ripeness between green and starting to go brown that only he can determine. 

As we all know, the best thing to do with extra bananas that are too ripe even for the 18 month old (mostly because they get hard to pick up, not because he won't eat them!) is make banana bread.  I've been making banana bread roughly every other week since September when it got cool enough to think about turning the oven on.  I've tried a lot of recipes and I'd like to share the very best one that I've discovered. Trust me on this one- I've done my homework.

You can find the recipe here on allrecipes.com (it even has a handy "print' feature so you can print it out).  The only change I make is to switch out 1 cup of the sugar for brown sugar (so it is one cup brown, 1/3 white).  We love to make it in the 9x13 pan (which I never thought of to do with banana bread before) because it makes it easier to cut off little pieces for the baby, or snacking or whatever. It seems to last a bit longer. 

Trust me on this one. I've started to have sour cream on hand all the time just in case I have some bananas that need using up :)  My family inhales this bread within about 24 hrs every time (both loaves/whole 9x13 pan!).

Quick and Yummy Greek Pasta

OK- this one of those recipes that tastes a lot better than the ingredients sound. Every time we make this everyone gobbles it up and DMP and I are suprised that it tastes so good. Plus, it is a true 30 min. meal- start to finish (not one of those "30 min. if everything is already chopped and prepped or you are a pro chef). It reheats well and the kiddos like it. Well, my kids like it- but they are used to eating "strange" food, so don't blame me if your's don't :) Seriously give this one a try- you'll be happy.

Quick and Yummy Greek Pasta

2 cans (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes 1 can chickpeas/garbanzo beans drained and rinsed (white beans work too)

10 oz fresh spinach (or one pkg frozen, thawed and squeezed)

1 pkg penne pasta (approx 8 oz)- We actually like wheat pasta for this- it works well (no funny taste/texture) and is healthier!

1/2 onion, diced

2-3 cloves garlic, diced

Greek or italian seasoning (I get the "greek seasoning" that comes in the yellow shaker)

Lots of feta cheese (like a cup- but maybe you could do less- I just love my cheese)

- Cook pasta in a large pot of water until al dente. Don't rinse (trust me- they won't stick once you add the sauce and the starch helps the sauce stick). Return the drained pasta to the hot pot so it stays warmish.

- Sautee onion and garlic in about a Tbs of olive oil in a deep pan until they are soft

- Combine tomatoes and beans and add to the pan. Bring to a boil over med-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 min.

- While the tomatoes and beans are simmering, prep spinach (washing and chopping or thawing and squeezing- whatever)

- Add spinach to the sauce and cook for 2 more min. or until the spinach wilts, stirring constantly.

- Add sauce to the pasta in the pot and toss all together.

- Serve with a generous topping of feta.

Oh yeah, this is vegetarian too. I promise - it is so filling that you won't miss the meat, and it is so good, you won't care that it isn't there. This is something I'd make for meat-eaters and I bet they'd like it. Really, really.

If you only ever try one recipe I post, let it be this one...

Congrats to Kim- I think she's the very first person I've ever heard of to try any recipe I've posted here. Oh well- it isn't for your sake, my two readers. I do it with my very favorites so so when I click "food" or "recipe" in my tag cloud I can find my favorites with all of my tweaks rather than hunting down the recipes. Not that I don't want you to try them- I do. Because they are really, really good.

(BTW- Kim tried the Emeril's Tuna Melt recipe I posted about last week. Russ, her husband, doesn't even like tuna and he loved it!)

So, the point of this rambling intro is that if you only ever try one recipe I post here, this is the one. It has everything - it's inexpensive (seriously, does it get cheaper than chicken legs?), easy and soooo good. The chicken legs turn out super juicy and flavorful. Don't take my word for it. Cyndi? Brad? You are welcome to comment on how yummy this was!

This recipe isn't even really a recipe- more like instructions, it's so easy. You can find it here at the blog Chaos in the Kitchen.

I was kind of concerned about the oven temp- 475 for 40 min. seems awfully high/long. I wussed out and set it at 450 and they took longer than necessary to cook, so go ahead and trust it :) We tossed our legs with generous amounts of season salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder, and smoked paprika (use a plastic bag, much cleaner than tossing them in a bowl). We made some with the smoked paprika and some without. The ones with were a lot better, so use that if you've got it. We also sprinkled some Parmesan cheese on some when they came out from the oven. It was tasty, so that is worth doing, too.

And the Best Use of Canned Tuna Award Goes to...

I know it's been a long time since I've shared recipes here but oh. my. gosh. this recipe is sooooo good. It is Emeril's Kicked-up Tuna Melts from Everyday Food Magazine. You can find the recipe here. It is the very best use for canned tuna I've ever come across. The lemon juice and capers make the tuna taste bright and when you combine those with the fresh tomatoes they balance the creaminess of the mayo and provolone cheese perfectly.

If you can, go for fresh lemon juice for this- it does make a difference. Also, you might be tempted to skip the capers (I mean- what ARE capers anyway?!?) but don't. A small jar will get you 3-4 recipes worth and they are so, so good and worth it here.

The recipe calls for 4 cans tuna for 4 slices of bread and we always find that to be a really high tuna-to-bread ratio, but we still make the tuna part as written anyway so we can have the leftover tuna for regular tuna sandwiches (DMP and I literally fight over who gets the leftovers for their lunch).

Do yourself a favor and try this this week (unless you hate tuna fish and tuna fish sandwiches, then you can skip it). You can thank me later :)

Veggie Pot Pie= Comfort Food

Before we get to Sunday's dinner, I just had to share our cute new "harvest" decoration. I'm not on the ball like Jenn and we had no Halloween decorations. I decided to go with a "harvest" theme so I won't have to take them down until it is time for Christmas!

The leaves were fun- we just painted on regular paper with "fall" colors so it was pretty solidly colored. Then we traced leaf templates (found on the internets) on the backside of the paper and cut them out.Sunday dinner was so delicious I just had to share! I adapted this veggie pot pie recipe to make these love vegetarian pot pies. They were SOO good even meat-eaters would have to agree they rock. I really, really encourage you to try this one out.

There is a bit of prep with all the veggie cutting, but it really is worth it and if you do it in advance (like on a Sat or Sun afternoon?) this would go together super-fast for a weeknight meal.

My favorite things about pot pie in general is the gravy and the crust. This recipe has both- we were suprised at how rich and "deep" the flavors of the gravy were for a non-meat meal- I think it's the combo of the veggies and the soy sauce.

For the veggies, we mostly used what we had on hand, but you could pretty much do anything you wanted- peas would be nice. I think we'll stick with the baby 'bello mushrooms for this- I think it contributed to flavor and color of the gravy. Next time, we're going to also try adding barley or bulger wheat to give it even more substance.

In order to cut down on the calories (and make and excuse to use my new ramekins) we opted for puff pastry instead of the full on top and bottom pie crust the original recipe called for. I think either would be good, but the puff pastry was a hit with everyone- especially the girls.

Mak's Veggie Pot Pie

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
8 ounces baby 'bello mushrooms
2 cloves garlic, minced

Heat olive oil over med heat (use a deep skillet or dutch oven). Add onion, mushrooms and garlic and cook about 2 min.

2 large carrots, diced
2 potatoes, peeled and diced
2 cups cauliflower florets
1 can Garbanzo beans
1 cup thawed frozen green beans, diced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
3 cups vegetable broth

Add the rest of the veggies, salt, pepper and broth and bring to a boil. Once it is boiling reduce and let it simmer until the veggies are just tender- about 5 min.

2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 c. water

In a small bowl, mix the water, soy sauce and cornstarch until the cornstarch is fully dissolved. Bring the veggies and broth to a boil and add the cornstarch/soy mixture. Cook until the gravy thickens- about 3 min.

Spoon veggies and gravy into ramekins (or a pie plate or 11 x 7 casserole). Cover loosely with 1 sheet of puff pastry (cut to size for the ramekins). Bake at 400 for 15 min for ramekins, or 20-30 for a larger dish.

St. Louis Toasted Ravioli

Since we started eating meatless at home, our "go to" meals have become breakfast for dinner or ravioli or tortollini. Both are quick and easy to get on the table when we are busy.

I was getting ready to make ravioli and sauce for the 10th time (it seemed) and I decided to ask the internets if there was some other option for ravioli. I'm happy to say, the internets came through with a recipe for St. Louis Toasted Ravioli.

This dish is super-easy to make and uses stuff that we usually always have- eggs, milk, seasoned bread crumbs. It can double as a great, easy appetizer that you can make a bunch of all at once. Plus- it was a big hit with the kiddos. Anything that can be dipped and resembles chicken nuggets has GOT to be good- right?

So, here goes. YOu can also get the super-print friendly version on allrecipes.com, but keep in mind I changed it a bit and bake instead of fry...

St. Louis Toasted Ravioli

24 packaged ravioli (or about 4-6 per person)

1 Jar Spaghetti Sauce

2 Tablespoons skim milk

1 egg

3/4 c. Seasoned Bread Crumbs

Beat milk and egg together. Pour bread crumbs into a ziploc bag. Dip the ravioli in the egg/milk mixture and then place them in the bag with the bread crumbs.

Once all ravioli has been dipped, seal the bag and shake to coat. Place ravioli in a single layer on a foil-covered cookie sheet (the foil seems to make them crispier). Bake at 375 until they are brown and toasty looking.

Dip hot ravioli in warmed spaghetti sauce and enjoy!

I'm Famous!!

My blog was linked to from Rachel Ray's blog! Check it out:

http://rachaelrayblog.blogspot.com/2009/08/rachael-ray-roundup_28.html



I'm obviously not as cool as my big sister with her cookbook, TV and Martha Stewart Radio interviews, but it is still pretty fun!

Harvest Veggies & Creamy Polenta Recipe

Here is a recipe that we just created based one we got from the Rachel Ray 365: No Repeats cookbook. Bless her, her stuff is usually good, but not very veggie. Her original recipe has chicken in place of the squash and beans, if you want to meat this puppy back up :).

If you try nothing else, make the creamy polenta part- it is SOOO good!

Fresh Harvest Veggies and Creamy Polenta
2 T EVOO
1 c. chicken stock or broth (or veg.)
1 lg. Red onion- thinly sliced
1 zucchini, cubed
1 summer squash, cubed
1 can white beans (cannelloni)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
5 cloves garlic- chopped

1 pint whole grape tomatoes (we’ve used chopped tomatoes)
20 fresh basil leaves, chopped or torn

Heat EVOO in a pan. Add squash and zucchini and salt and pepper to taste. After the squash has softened a bit, add the white beans, red onion and garlic and cook 3 min. Add 1 c. of chicken stock and cook until the stock has reduced by half- about 3-4 min.

After the stock has reduced, add the tomatoes and cook for 1 or 2 min. or until the tomatoes are heated and starting to burst. Add basil and toss.

Creamy Polenta:
3 c. Chicken stock or broth (can use veg.)
1 c. polenta
½ c. cream cheese
¼ c. Parmesan cheese

Bring chicken stock to a boil and whisk polenta in until it gets thick-ish. Stir in parmesan and cream cheeses. The polenta should have a mashed-potato consistency. If it gets too thick, add some water or stock to thin it up a bit.

Serve the veggie mixture over the polenta.

Recipe- Eggplant Pannini

Sorry for the lack of posts this week. I've kind of had blogger's block. I was actually trying to think of something interesting enough to post and came up with nothing. Good thing we went to an indoor arena football game and had a family party this weekend to spice things up!

In the meantime, I wanted to share a recipe for the awesome sandwiches we had tonight. We gobbled them up so quickly I forgot to get a picture- sorry! We got this recipe from our new BH&G "Vegetarian Cooking" cookbook.

Eggplant Panini

1 cup torn arugla (can sub spinach, arugla is spicer)
2 t. red wine vinegar (we had garlic flavored- yum!)
1 t. olive oil

Toss together in a small bowl.

1 Eggplant, cut into 1/2 in. thick rounds
3 oz fresh Mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
1 12in. plain or seasoned round foccacia bread, halved horizontally
1 large tomato, thinly sliced
1/3 c. seasoned dry bread crumbs
2T parmesan cheese
1 egg
1T milk
2T flour

In a shallow dish, beat together egg and milk. In another dish, stir the bread crumbs and parm. cheese. Put the flour in a third dish. (we're breading the eggplant, see how that works?) Dip the eggplant slices inot the flour to coat, then dip into the egg mixture and last, into the crumb mixture.

In a 12 in. non-stick skillet, heat 1T oil over med. heat. Add eggplant slices and cook for 6-8 min. or until lightly browned, turning once. Top the eggplant slices with the mozzarella cheese. Cook, covered, just until the cheese begins to melt.

To serve, put the eggplant slices cheese side up on bottom half of bread. Top with the arugala mixture and tomato slices (and the top half of the bread, of course). Cut into serving-size wedges.

TIP: To keep the eggplant from tasting bitter, you will need to "degorge" it (I know, it sounds disgusting). Just make sure you rinse it really well- we didn't do a great job and it was a bit salty...

This was super-quick and really, really yummy! You can also make a great "second day" meal with the leftovers- just put some spaghetti sauce and some of the parm cheese on the eggplant/mozz and viola- eggplant parm!

Food Storage Audition- Curried Lentils and Rice

You thought I'd forgotten- right? Nope. It's just that Meatless May sucked all of our food experement mojo so we kind of slacked on the food storage auditions. We did manage to do one.

For those of you who might be new to my blog, we've been auditioning shelf-stable recipes to be part of our 3 month emergency food supply - you know, in case someone looses a job, or whatever. You can catch up on all of it here.

Anywho- today's dish is Curried Lentils and Rice from- you guessed it- Safely Gathered In. This dish is completely veggie (yeah!) and uses lentils which is on my list of "learn to cook with these ingredients" along with polenta.

The reviews on this one were mixed. I don't know if it was the day or what, but when DMP made this for dinner, I couldn't eat it, smell it or be in the same room as it. DMP and the girls ate it right up. I was able to eat the leftovers a couple of times and found it both filling and yummy, though.

I know that isn't a glowing recommendation, but I'm trying to be honest here. Following the recipe directions produced nicely flavored lentils (even for someone like me that isn't wild about Balsalmic Vinegar) that didn't taste too "dry" and enough sauce to go nicely with the rice. I do wonder what it would be like without the cilantro and sour cream (added because we were "rotating").

So in all, this recipe probably deserves another shot to see if we still like it without the cilantro and sour cream.