Stuffed Eggplant & Italian Porkchops

These recipes are actually mine (shocking, I know). My mom used to do a stuffed eggplant, but my version is a little different. I actually feel like the porkchop recipe isn't really a recipe because it is so bloody easy. These two items are always a hit in our house and the eggplant is relatively easy. Sometimes hollowing out the inside of the eggplant is a bit of a chore so feel free to just peel it, cut off the ends, and bake it in a casserole dish instead.

Stuffed Eggplant

2 eggplants

2 eggs

3 TBSP minced garlic

4 TBSP butter

1 chopped onion

8 oz sliced mushrooms

1/2 cup crumbled fat free feta cheese

3/4 cup italian bread crumbs

2 cans diced tomatoes, drained

1/2 cup crushed ritz crackers

1/2 cup shredded mozzerella or sharp cheddar cheese

1. Peel eggplant, trim off ends, and dice. Boil until tender, drain. Using a masher, mash the eggplant until there are no big lumps. 

2. While eggplant are cooking, sautee the mushrooms, onion, and garlic in 2 TBSP butter until well browned.  

3. In a large bowl mix together mashed eggplant, mushroom mixture, feta cheese, italian bread crumbs, diced tomatoes, and shredded cheese.

4. Melt 2 TBSP butter in small bowl and mix in ritz crackers.

5. Pour into an 8x8" greased baking dish, top with crackers.

6. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes

Italian Porkchops

Porkchops

Fat free zesty Italian dressing

Marinate porkchops in Italian dressing for at least 1 hour (the longer, the better). Cook on grill over medium low heat until done.

Coconut Chicken with Apricot Sauce & Broccoli Muffins

My husband and I really liked this dish. The coconut chicken was really good, but I would maybe put some coconut and/or coconut milk in the rice next time to kick up the flavor a little. It was really easy to put together and all done in the oven (I hate searing or cooking meat on the stove). The Broccoli muffins are my new favorite! They were awesome! I definitely recommend trying those. I added some quick greenbeans to this meal for the hubs since 2 items just didn't look like enough.

Broccoli Corn Muffins

Makes 18 (about 140 calories per muffin)

• 1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped broccoli
• 2 tablespoons onion, finely chopped
• 3/4 cup small curd cottage cheese
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 4 large eggs, slightly beaten
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder (optional)
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 cup shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/3 cup buttermilk
• 1 (8-ounce) package corn muffin mix

1.Thaw the broccoli according to the package directions, and drain it well in a colander.

2.Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease 18 standard-size muffin tin cups.

3.In a large bowl, combine the broccoli, onion, cottage cheese, butter, eggs, salt, garlic powder, pepper, cheese and buttermilk. Mix well.

4.Add the corn muffin mix, stirring just to combine.

5.Fill each muffin cup 2/3 full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans.

Coconut Chicken with Apricot Sauce

1 egg
1 cup sweetened coconut flakes
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 boneless chicken breasts
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup apricot preserves
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
3 cups cooked rice

Preheat the oven to 400˚F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Lightly beat the egg in a medium bowl; set aside.  Mix the coconut, flour, garlic powder, salt and pepper in a shallow bowl.  Working with one chicken breast at a time, dip the chicken in the bowl with the beaten egg and then coat with the coconut mixture.  Place on the baking sheet.  Once all chicken breasts are coated and on the baking sheet, evenly drizzle with the melted butter.  Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, flipping once halfway. Serve chicken over rice.

To prepare the apricot sauce, mix the apricot preserves and the Dijon mustard in a small bowl.  Chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Original recipe post at http://penniesonaplatter.com/2011/03/09/coconut-chicken-with-apricot-sauce/

Creamy Grilled Chicken Piccata

I made this the other night and it was so good! Really easy to make. I used whole wheat penne pasta and served it with fresh steamed broccoli. I also forgot to marinate the meat overnight (whoops!), so it only marinated a few hours and it was still great, so don't worry if you forget like I did :)  Also, this recipe only calls for 2 chicken breasts, so I doubled the recipe for my family.

Creamy Grilled Chicken Piccata

Juice of 1 lemon (3Tbsp)

3 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp minced garlic

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp basil or oregano

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 cups dried penne pasta

2 Tbsp butter

Juice of 2 lemons (6 Tbsp)

1 Tbsp minced garlic

1/2 cup half and half (or heavy cream)

2 tsp dried basil

2 Tbps capers

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Combine first 6 ingredients and mix well.  Place chicken in a ziplock bag and pour marinade over chicken.  Marinate overnight in the refrigerator.  When ready, grill until done.  Allow chicken to rest for a few minutes and then slice into strips to serve over pasta.

Pasta

While chicken is grilling.  Cook pasta according to directions (10-12 minutes).  Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water and drain.  In same sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat.  Whisk in garlic and lemon juice.  Pour in half and half and whisk until hot.  Add some salt and pepper to taste.  Add the parmesan cheese, basil and capers, and heat until cheese is melted.  Check the consistency of the sauce and add some of the reserved pasta water to loosen the sauce if necessary.  Toss in pasta.

Serve with grilled chicken on top of pasta.  Sprinkle with more parmesan if desired.

Menu Planning

I'm a big planner and list maker. There's something exciting about it. I think I like making the actual menu and grocery lists more than making the actual meal. One way I keep my family organized is by making a weekly dinner menu. I usually make them during the weekend, do my shopping on Sunday and then I'm all set for the week. My goal is to not have to go back to the grocery store until the following week, but with kids that's kind of hard since we're forever running out of milk and juice, even when I stock up. Normally we only go out to eat maybe 1 time during the week so that leaves me to cook at least 5-6 times a week. The hubs also has a sensitive stomach, so I can't make any cheesy or fried foods. Also, big pre-made meals in the frozen food section (such as lasagna's) are a big no-no in our house. I keep a dry erase board on the side of my fridge so it's easy to look at to see what meat to lay out each night. If I don't have a set menu I find myself scrambling and making 'not so great' dinners. Happy meal planning!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Being the absolutely incredible wife that I am, I usually bake goodies for Jarrod to take to work 1-2 times a week for his co-workers. This week I did a variation of my dark chocolate pumpkin muffins (haven't given out that recipe....it's my secret weapon and I don't want people to know how easy they are to make!). I whipped up some dark chocolate pumpkin cookies and they're super yummy! The recipe calls for semi-sweet, but we always put dark chocolate with pumpkin. The world just wouldn't be right if we didn't.

1 (15 oz) can pumpkin
2 eggs
3/4 C. oil
2 C. sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. ginger
4 C. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 T. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1 (12 oz) pkg. semi sweet chocolate chips

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees. Mix the pumpkin, eggs, oil, sugar, and spices until well blended. In another bowl, mix the dry ingredients. Combine with the wet; fold in chocolate chips.

Drop onto a lightly greased cookie sheet (I only use my pampered sheet baking stone, makes a big difference!). Bake for 11 minutes with a regular oven or 9 minutes with a convection oven. Remove immediately from pan and cool on a wire cooling rack.

Original recipe at http://all-things-delicious.blogspot.com/2009/12/pumpkin-chocolate-chip-cookies.html

White Chicken Enchiladas with Green Chile Sour Cream Sauce

This recipe was really good and easy. To cut down on cost I usually just cook a whole chicken and then shred the meat off of it. I always stock up on chickens when they go on sale for around $3. Thank goodness for an extra freezer! You can always cook your chicken the day before in a crockpot so that you can whip up the meal really quick the next day.

White Chicken Enchiladas with Green Chile Sour Cream Sauce

Ingredients
8 soft taco size flour tortillas ( I used low-carb wheat ones)
2 cups shredded Monterrey jack cheese, divided
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup sour cream
1 (4 oz) can diced green chiles
Chopped, fresh cilantro for garnish

Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray a 9x13 inch baking pan with cooking spray; set aside.  Mix the chicken together with 1 cup of the cheese. Distribute the chicken and cheese mixture evenly among the tortillas.  Roll up and place seam side down in the prepared pan. In a large saucepan, melt the butter. Add the flour; cook and stir for 1 minute. Add the chicken broth, whisking until smooth. Continue cooking over medium heat until sauce is thick and bubbly. Stir in the sour cream and diced green chiles. Pour the sauce in an even layer over the enchiladas.  Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden and bubbly. Sprinkle with cilantro just before serving.

Soy-Ginger Salmon with Parmesean Baked Asparagus & Garlic Scallion Noodles

Tonights meal was parmesan baked asparagus, soy-ginger grilled salmon, and garlic scallion noodles. I have to say, I'm not much of a salmon eater, I make it just for my husband (man I'm a good wife!), but I actually really liked this. It has a sweet lemon taste, not like lemon pepper (which I hate). The only thing I couldn't get right was the sauce; it was suppose to cook into a glaze but mine would never thicken up. I don't think it affected the taste though. The asparagus is something we've been making for a long time. We used to cook it at a higher temp of 400 degrees for about 10-15 minutes but it was still too crunchy for us. No we've decreased the oven temperature and increased the time and we like it a lot more. This was my first attempt at these kind of noodles but there were very good! (The picture does not do it justice). I would have garnished them with extra scallions, however I did not have any left. Darn it! The noodles and salmon went very well together, the hubs even mixed his (ekk!).

Parmesan Baked Asparagus

• 1 bunch asparagus
• Olive oil
• Sea Salt & Pepper
• Grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash asparagus and then dry on paper towels.

Trim ends off asparagus.

Spray baking dish with non-stick spray.

Lay asparagus in baking dish and drizzle olive oil. Roll them around to coat.

Sprinkle with sea salt, pepper and grated parmesan cheese.

Bake for 40 minutes.

Soy-Ginger Salmon

• 2 salmon fillets
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 fresh lemon, zested and juiced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 green onion, chopped, plus more for garnish
• 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 (1 inch) piece fresh ginger root, minced
• 1/3 cup orange juice

In a small saucepan over medium heat combine brown sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, green onion, soy sauce, olive oil, and ginger. Cook until sugar is dissolved and mixture is fragrant. Remove from heat, stir in orange juice.

Place fish and marinade mixture into a resealable plastic bag. Refrigerate overnight, or for at least 3 hours.

Preheat grill for medium direct heat. Lightly oil grill grate. Remove salmon from resealable bag and pour remaining marinade into a small saucepan. Bring marinade to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer until slightly thickened, 5-10 minutes. 

Cook salmon for 6 to 8 minutes per side, or until the fish flakes easily with a fork. Garnish with reduced marinade sauce and chopped green onion.

Original recipe at http://www.handletheheat.com/2011/09/soy-ginger-salmon.html

Garlic Scallion Noodles

8 oz (half a box) of angel hair
4 tablespoons butter (half a stick)
5 cloves of garlic, minced or pushed through a garlic press
2 scallions finely chopped
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 or 2 tablespoons of brown sugar (based on your own personal preference of sweetness)

Cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain and rinse.

In a heavy skillet over medium heat.  Melt butter.  Add scallions and garlic.  Stir and cook, without browning the garlic.  Cook until the garlic smell is fragrant and filling the room, about 5 minutes.  Add sugar and soy sauce, and cook for another minute.  Increase the heat a bit and throw in the noodles.  Quickly saute the noodles until they are all coated with the garlicky butter mixture.

Serve immediately.  Garnish with additional scallions if desired.
Original recipe at http://weekofmenus.blogspot.com/2010/02/garlic-scallion-noodles-yummy-making.html

*The only warning I can give about these noodles is that they are very messy! My son really loved throwing them all over the floor <sigh>.

Sanford got caught in the line of fire.