Eggplant Parmesan

Eggplant Parmesan

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
• 2 (28-ounce) cans tomatoes, crushed by hand
• 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, hand torn
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups dried bread crumbs
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large eggplant, trimmed and cut lengthwise into 1/2-inch-thick slices
• 1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
• 1/4 cups freshly grated Parmigiano-Romano
• 1/2 lb chopped mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. First make the sauce: Put a large saucepan over medium heat and add the olive oil. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute. 

2. Add the red pepper flakes, and let that cook for 2 minutes, stirring often. Toss in the tomatoes with their juices and bring to a low simmer. Stir in the basil and season with salt and pepper. Simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.

3. Combine the bread crumbs, garlic powder, and oregano in a shallow bowl; season generously with salt and pepper and mix well.
4. Crack 3 of the eggs into another shallow bowl; season with salt and pepper and beat with a fork to mix.
5. Put the flour in another shallow bowl and season with salt and pepper. Arrange the eggplant, flour, beaten eggs, and bread crumbs on a work surface near the stove.

6. Heat about 1/4-inch olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot, dredge several eggplant slices first in the flour, then dip them in the egg, and finally coat them in the bread crumbs. Put as many eggplant in the skillet as will fit comfortably in a single layer and cook until tender and well browned on both sides.

7. Drain on paper towels. Cook all of the eggplant slices this way, adding more olive oil to the pan as needed.

8. Stir together the ricotta and 1/2 cup of the Parmigiano cheese. Stir in the basil and remaining egg, and season with salt and pepper.
9. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

10. To assemble the dish, first get yourself set up with a large, buttered baking dish. Have ready the eggplant, the ricotta mixture, the tomato sauce, the shredded mozzarella cheese and the remaining 3/4 cup grated Parmigiano.

11. To start, spoon some of the tomato sauce over the bottom of the baking dish. Now add a layer of eggplant. Spread with half of the ricotta mixture. Spoon another layer of tomato sauce over and sprinkle with about one-third of the mozzarella.

12. Repeat with a layer of eggplant, the rest of the ricotta, tomato sauce, and another third of the mozzarella. Finish with the rest of the eggplant, the rest of the tomato sauce, and the rest of the mozzarella. Sprinkle with the 3/4 cup Parmigiano.

13. Put the dish in the oven and bake for about 1 hour, until golden and bubbling. Let stand for about 20 minutes before cutting.

Banana Bread

Banana Bread
Ingredients

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 large eggs
• 3 ripe bananas
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan.

2. Cream the sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

3. In a small bowl, mash the bananas with a fork. Mix in the milk and cinnamon. In another bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

4. Add the banana mixture to the creamed mixture and stir until combined. Add dry ingredients, mixing just until flour disappears.

5. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Set aside to cool on a rack for 15 minutes. Remove bread from pan, invert onto rack and cool completely before slicing.

6. Spread slices with honey or serve with ice cream!

You can also add 1/2 cup of chocolate chips to the batter or chopped nuts to the top of batter before baking!

Ribeye Steaks With Lemon & Garlic Potatoes

Lemon & Garlic Red Potatoes
Ingredients 

•  2 lbs Red Potatoes, rinsed well & quartered
• 1/4 cup Olive Oil
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees, and grease a deep casserole dish.
2. Toss potato quarters in olive oil, garlic, & lemon juice, then add all ingredients to the casserole dish.
3. Bake, covered for one hour.
4. Bake uncovered for an additional 10 minutes and serve immediately. 
   

Ribeye Steaks
Ingredients

• 2 large Ribeye Steaks
• 1 large sweet onion, cut in half then into thin rings
• 1/2 cup Worcestershire Sauce
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp Olive Oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Allow steaks to marinate in Worcestershire sauce for at least one hour.
2. While steaks are marinating, heat olive oil in a medium sauce pan on medium heat.
3. Add garlic and then onion and 1 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce, cover & saute for 25 minutes on low heat.  
4. Salt and pepper to taste.
5. Grill steaks for 7 minutes on each side, on medium heat. Or cook until desired wellness.
6. Serve immediately with red potatoes. Enjoy!

Baby Food: Sweet Potato

The Goodness of Sweet Potatoes for Baby:

Nutritional Value of Sweet Potatoes (1 medium baked)

VITAMINS: Vitamin A - 28,436 IUs Vitamin C - 39.2 mg Pantothenic Acid - 1.76 mg Niacin -2.97 mg Folate - 12 mcg Contains some other vitamins in small amounts.

MINERALS: Potassium - 950 mg Phosphorus - 108 mg Magnesium - 13.5 mg Calcium - 76 mg Sodium - 72 mg Iron - 1.38 mg Also contains small amount of copper, selenium, manganese and zinc  Rinse sweet potato and poke holes with a fork all over the skin. Bake for 40-60 minutes in a 400 degree oven in tin foil. Allow sweet potato to cool, then remove skin, and chop into small pieces. In a blender or food processor, puree sweet potato, adding water for desired consistency. Add water to allow sweet potato puree to become smooth, but not watery! You want a smooth consistency that is not too thick or watery. I boiled some baby food jars and then put the puree in the refrigerator until ready to use. The puree can stay in the refrigerator in a sealed jar for up to a week. If you feed out of the jar, do not keep for more than 24 hours.

Italian Sausage and Peppers Pasta

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1/2 pounds hot or sweet Italian sausage, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 large green or yellow bell pepper, cut into strips
• 1 large red bell pepper, cut into strips
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 1 14 1/2-ounce can tomatoes, diced, juices reserved
• 1 tablespoon dried basil, crumbled
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled
• Salt and pepper
• 1 pound penne pasta, freshly cooked
• Grated Parmesan

Preparation

Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and sauté until golden, about 1 minute. Mix in sausage and cook until brown, about 8 minutes. Add peppers and onion and cook until almost tender, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Mix in tomatoes with juices, basil and oregano. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and simmer 8 minutes. Uncover and cook 2 minutes. Pour over pasta and toss. Serve, passing Parmesan separately. 

Quesadillas de Camarones

Ingredients

• Flour Tortillas
• Large Shrimp, Peeled And De veined
• 8 ounces, fluid Mexican Red Sauce ( I used a Mild Enchilada Sauce)
• 1/2 Red Onion
• 1 whole Red Bell Pepper
• 1 whole Green Bell Pepper
• 2 cups Cheese, Grated ( I used Durkee 6 Pepper Blend Cheese)
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• Butter for browning Tortillas

 If your shrimp are frozen, allow time to thaw them, then remove their tails.

In a medium bowl cover shrimp in red sauce, I used Old El Paso's Mild Enchilada Sauce.

It has the perfect amount of spice, I didn't want it too spicy because the cheese I'm using in the Quesdillas has quite a kick!

If you are using block cheese, go ahead and shred it. 

I used Durkee 6 Pepper Blend Cheese, made with six different peppers & chile's, nice and SPICY!

Keep the shredded cheese in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it.

Rinse your red and green bell peppers

Chop off the top and bottom, it makes it much easier to gut the seeds and ribs.

Remove seeds and ribs.

Chop your bell peppers and red onion in to chunky pieces.

Add olive oil to a sauce pan, heat to Medium & saute peppers and onion for about 7 minutes.

Smells amazing!

Remove sauteed veggies and set aside on a plate.

Cook the shrimp in the same sauce pan on Medium heat, until the shrimp are nice and pink.

About 4-5 minutes on each side.

Drain the shrimp and chop in to bite size pieces.

In a clean pan, add 1/2 tablespoon of butter and heat to Medium.

Add tortilla, cheese, veggies, shrimp, and a little more cheese on top.

Fold tortilla and brown each side until the cheese has melted.

About 4-5 minutes of each side, remember to add butter before flipping and in between each quesadilla being made.

Slice quesadilla and serve with your favorite salsa. No need for rice or beans, this quesadilla is filling!

Yumminess.

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

This is an amazing salsa recipe, if you like heat, this will definitely WOW you!

I originally found a Roasted Salsa recipe on Epicurious, then added my own little spice to it.

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds fresh tomatillos
• 3 fresh serrano chiles
• 3 garlic cloves, unpeeled
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro
• 1 large onion, coarsely chopped
• 1 teaspoons coarse salt
• 2 tablespoon fresh lime juice

Remove husks and stems from tomatillos, and remove stems from chiles.

Rinse tomatillos and chiles in warm water, the tomatillos are very sticky after you remove the husks, and no one wants that in their salsa!

Line up tomatillos, chiles, and garlic on a roasting pan about an inch apart.
Roast under the broiler for about 4-7 minutes.

When they look like this, flip them over (with a mitt on & tongs, Broilers are extremely hot!)
Then repeat on the other side, you want them to char slightly and for the skins to bubble and ooze delicious juices out.

This is what they look like when they are finished roasting.
They are not burnt, the charred skin gives the salsa an awesome smokey flavor.

Let the roasting pan sit for at least 5 minutes before removing veggies.
Add the roasted veggies, chopped onion, cilantro, and salt together in a blender or food processor.
Blend to desired "chunkiness", some people prefer chunky, some more of a liquefied salsa. Either way it is just as delicious!

Pour into a covered container and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, over night is preferred. Once it is done chilling, add lime juice and stir.

Add to burritos to kick them up a level, or grab a bag or tortilla chips and go to town.

NomNomNom.