Easy Eggplant Parmesan

Ooohh this is good. And easy. And healthy. What's not to love?! This would be an excellent dish for you meat eaters to serve on your next meatless Monday.

And seriously yall, this was a lot prettier in person. I need to figure out how to take a prettier picture in the evening without it looking all green. 

Ingredients

1 large eggplant

1/3 pound freshly sliced mozzarella

a little parm cheese

a little garlic salt

1 egg

a drizzle of olive oil

panko or bread crumbs

flour

tomato sauce

Directions

Preheat oven on broil. Wash the eggplant, then slice into 1/4 inch rounds, skin on.

Set up 3 dredging stations:

1 with a handful of flour

1 with a beaten egg and a little olive oil

1 with the panko, a little garlic salt and a little parm cheese

Place 1 eggplant round into the flour to coat evenly, flipping to get both sides. Using a fork, dunk the same eggplant round in egg mixture and then coat in the panko mixture on each side.

Place coated eggplant on lightly greased baking sheet and repeat steps with each eggplant piece. It sounds like it will take a while, but it'll go very fast.

Once all the eggplant pieces are ready to go, pop them under the broiler for a few minutes. Keep a close eye on them, and allow the panko to brown just a little.

Remove the pan from the oven, flip each eggplant piece using tongs and return to the broiler to brown the other side.

Remove from oven, and change the temperature to 450.

In a large rectangular pyrex, pour in about half of the tomato sauce (of course you can use more or less to taste). Arrange the eggplant pieces in the dish. Top each eggplant with a proportional size of mozzarella.

Pop in the preheated oven about 8 minute, or until the cheese melts and the tomato sauce just bubbles.

Nutrition

This will depend on the size of your eggplant, but ours made 10 slices, which is about 4 servings when you include a side. This is for 1 serving.

Est. WW points: 7 

Calories: 352

Fat: 14.8g

Carbs: 40.5g

Fiber: 6.6g

Sugar: 7.8g

Protein: 14.5g

Notes

Why use panko? While not perfect, I mean, you're still breading something, panko is often seen as the healthier cousin of breadcrumbs. They are lighter, stay crispy longer and have fewer calories than their heavier handed brethren. Plus I like the taste :0)

We served this with homemade mashed potatoes, but it would also be delish with a side of whole wheat noodles and a bit more sauce. 

Rataouille

This dish is very rustic Italian. It's super easy, loaded with fresh veggies and perfect for dipping with crusty bread. This is great for feeding a large crowd and it's not short on taste!

warning: please excuse the crappy lighting photo. It does not do the beautiful colors justice

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil

1 chopped medium onion

2 minced garlic cloves

3 cups cubed eggplants (peeled or not, we like them skin on)

1 chopped medium green bell pepper

2 cubed medium zucchini

1 cup chopped hearty mushrooms, such as baby bellas or cremini

1 14oz can Italian Seasoned tomatoes or regular chopped tomatoes with a good dash of italian seasoning

A little mozzarella cheese to top

Your favorite crusty bread

Directions

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and garlic, heat until tender.

Add remaining veggies and tomatoes (with juice) and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer over medium low heat for 10-15 minutes or until veggies are tender.

Uncover and cook for about 5 minutes or until most liquid is evaporated.

Nutrition

This makes 4 servings (it can be easily doubled), this is for 1. This does not include bread.

Est. WW points: 2

Calories: 127

Fat: 3.9 g

Carbs: 22 g

Fiber: 5.7 g

Sugar: 8.6 g

Protein: 3.9g

Enjoy!

Vegetable Pot pie

I LOVE pot pie. It's warm, and flaky, and potato-y...... In my opinion it's one of those perfect winter meals, right up there with a good tomato soup. I've been searching for a conveniently frozen vegetarian version, but apparently they dont exist and tonight my craving finally won over. The hubs also really liked this recipe and said it was right up there for him with the blackbean pineapple enchiladas, so it looks like I'm safe to make it again! 

Ingredients

1 tbl unsalted butter

1 small head of fennel, prepped and chopped

1/2 medium onion, finely chopped

2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped

8-12 ounces sliced mushrooms

1 small russet potato, peeled and diced

1/4 cup flour

1 cup mushroom broth

1 cup milk or non-dairy milk

1 cup frozen peas

1/4 cup sliced chives

1/4 cup sliced parsley

1 large egg yolk (omit if vegan)

1 sheet puff pastry

Additional seasoning or spices (I used a mix of Tony's Spices and Herbs & a general 'Italian' seasoning. You could probably do with just salt, pepper and the italian version)

Directions

Oven to 400 and prep all of your vegetables.

Melt the butter on medium heat in a large skillet. Add in fennel, onions and carrots and saute until soft, about 2 minutes. Add mushrooms and potatoes, and cook an additional 6-8 minutes or until mushrooms are browned.

Reduce heat and carefully add broth, milk and flour to the skillet. While bringing to a simmer, stir until smooth. Allow to simmer about 5 minutes while sauce thickens.

Remove from heat. Add peas, parsley, chives and seasoning to taste. This recipe will take a lot more seasoning that you think, so pour in a good amount, stir and taste. I'd almost err on the side of over seasoning for this one.

 Pour entire mixture into either personal sized pot pie baking dishes or one large 8x8 baking dish.

Place pastry dough over the filling and tuck into edges.

Whisk together the egg yolk, a pinch of salt and 2 tsp of water. Brush the egg wash over the pastry dough, and cut slits in the top of the pastry dough.

Bake 25-30 minutes, allowing to set an additional 5 minutes after baking.

Nutrition

This is assuming 8 servings, each serving is

Estimated WW points: 6

Calories: 276

Fat: 15.1g

Cholesterol: 66 mg

Carbs: 29.7 g

Fiber: 3.7 g

Sugar: 3.1 g

Protein: 6.1 g

If you do only 6 servings, it is 367 calories, 20.1 g of fat and 8.1 g of protein per serving.

Enjoy!

Caramelized Onions, mushrooms and gruyere pasta

So the hubs is out of town running some crazy 60 mile run in sub-arctic temperatures and I decided to make a quick dinner that I KNOW I could never get him to eat. Although he will eat onion rings, he has a serious aversion to anything that resembles an actual onion. I on the other hand happen to love onions, especially when they are sauteed into glorious, gooey brown strips known as 'caramelized onions'. If you're looking for something super tasty with a nice grown up flavor, this one is for you!

Warning: this recipe makes 1 serving since I came up with it on the fly and it only had to serve myself. It is also not for the faint of heart or dieters.

Ingredients

1/2 cup whole wheat or quinoa based pasta

1 1/2 tsp butter

1/2 tbl olive oil

a pinch of sea salt

1/2 tsp sugar

1/2-1 tbl flour

1/4-1/2 cup milk

1/4 thinly sliced white or red onion

4 roughly chopped baby bella mushrooms or about 1/2 of a regular portabella mushroom

2/3 cup freshly grated gruyere cheese

Directions

In a large skillet, heat your butter and olive oil over medium heat. Add in thinly sliced onions, a pinch of salt and sugar. Allow the onions to brown, stirring frequently.

After about 5 minutes, add roughly chopped portabella mushrooms. Continue to saute.

Cook pasta according to directions as you continue to cook the onion/mushroom mix. When pasta is finished, drain and set aside.

Once onions are nicely browned and mushrooms are cooked through, reduce heat to low. SLOWLY add in the milk, quickly followed by the flour. Stir to make a nice thick mixture (but not lumpy) mixture. If the mix is too lumpy, simply add more milk or butter. If the mix is too watery, simply add a touch more flour. Once gravy is thoroughly mixed, slowly add in grated gruyere cheese, stirring until incorporated and melted.

Transfer pasta into a bowl and spoon onions, mushrooms and sauce on top. Top with a small amount of grated cheese.

Nutrition

This is assuming 1 serving.

Estimated WW points: 15

Calories: 630

Fat: 40.6 g

Cholesterol: 105.1

Carbs: 42 g

Fiber: 5.6 g

Sugars: 5.3 g

Protein: 29 g

Pineapple black bean enchiladas

The hubs is a funny one- he loves all things pineapple and ketchup. No, no, not together. But on just about anything else. I kind of knew he would immediately scream 'YEEEESSSSS' when I suggested pineapple black bean enchiladas for dinner, and boy was it a good suggestion. These were simple, filling and deceptively good. Since so many people I know are watching their calorie intake as part of their new years resolution, I've decided to add the basic nutrition info for each dish I make. I totally recommend making this next time you're craving something spicy!

Ingredients 

1/2 finely chopped onion 

1 chopped medium green bell pepper 

1 20oz. can crushed or chunk pineapples 

1-2  cans of black beans (we used 1 but it could have had more) drained and rinsed

1 4.5oz. can chopped green chiles 

1 tsp salt 

1 can enchilada sauce 

6 tortillas (we used flour from a local restaurant, but whole wheat would make this dish even healthier) 

1 cup shredded mexican cheese mix

Directions

Oven to 350. 

Saute the onions and bell peppers for 5 minutes or until they are soft. 

Drain the pineapples keeping the juice in a separate container. Stir the drained pineapple chunks, black beans, green chiles, and salt into the saute skillet. Mix well with the onion and bell peppers, cooking until heated. This is your filling.  

Spoon  a little enchilada sauce and the filling into each tortilla. The amount of filling will depend on how large your tortillas are, but you should save enough room to roll up the tortillas into a classic enchilada shape. Once you have the tortilla rolled, either place seam side down or 'seal' with a toothpick and place seam side up. Place in a glass baking dish. 

In a small bowl, mix 1/3 cup of reserved pineapple juice with remaining enchilada sauce. Pour over entire surface of the dish. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. 

Remove foil, and cover dish with 1 cup of shredded cheese (or more or less to taste). Return to oven and bake for 5-10 minutes or until cheese is bubbly. 

Notes: 

Black beans are an excellent staple in a vegetarian diet. More than 25% of their calories are from protein (compared to 15-20% in steak), they are low in cholesterol, high in fiber and can be purchased for as little as $2 per pound. 

However, beans also contain a special sugar that the bacteria in our bellies love, creating um, rumbly little tummys. In order to help your body break down the sugars in the most efficient way, it's important to drain and rinse your beans several times. We usually drain and rinse ours 3-4, but it's safe to rinse them until most of the blackish liquid is removed from the can. This simple step will make your belly more comfortable and help your body absorb the most amount of nutrients possible. 

Nutrition: 

This is assuming 6 servings of 1 enchilada each using flour tortillas. 

Estimated WW points: 6

Calories: 321

Fat: 10.5 g

Saturated fat: 4.2 g 

Cholesterol: 16.7 mg

Sodium: 765.5 mg

Carbs: 46.3 g

Fiber: 5.3 g

Sugars: 6.9 g

Protein: 11.4 g

Enjoy! 

Rustic cheese ravioli with walnuts and apples

I'll admit, when I first found this recipe on Real Simple Foods I was a little cautious, I mean apples and ravioli??!!! But honestly it was SO good. The combination was fresh and filling without being heavy like a traditional ravioli with sauce. It's definitely high on my list of easy to make, tasty last minute meals. 

Ingredients 

1 pound cheese ravioli (fresh, frozen, homemade, whatever)

2 Tbl olive oil- we use the best olive oil you can purchase at our local Greek food market

1/2 cup roughly chopped walnuts

1/2 to 1 crisp red apple cut into thin matchsticks

1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh parsley 

A pinch of salt 

Parmesan cheese to taste 

Directions 

Cook the ravioli according to directions and set aside. 

Heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the walnuts and stir often to lightly toast, 4 minutes or so. Careful not to burn! 

In a large bowl, combine ravioli, apple matchsticks, parsley, pinch of salt, and walnuts. Plate and sprinkle with Parmesan. 

Notes

This recipe serves about 4 people, however it's very easy to scale down to a single or double portion for a simple weeknight dinner. Simply cook the appropriate amount of ravioli, and adjust walnut/apple quantities to taste using the same amount of olive oil. 

You can make a lower calorie version using reduced fat cheese ravioli. This recipe used Bertoli 4 cheese ravioli (not the reduced fat kind). 

Nutrition

This is assuming 4 servings, and represents the amount per serving 

Estimated WW points: 11

Calories: 440 

Fat: 33.6 g 

Saturated fat: 9 g 

Cholesterol: 35 mg 

Sodium: 506 mg

Carbs: 24.3 g

Fiber: 3.2 g 

Sugar: 1.6 g 

Protein: 12.8 g

Enjoy!