Spicy Eggplant and Red Pepper Pasta

This is a very tasty pasta dish that makes you feel good after you eat it! With all the heavy foods we have been eating lately, I wanted to make a hearty pasta dish that was still healthy. I have made this before and loved it and it certainly delivered the second time as well.

This sauce makes a LOT, and the eggplant and red pepper add even more to the mix. I always end up freezing at least half of this (without the pasta). You can leave this as a meatless meal, or an option that I like it to add some already-cooked slices of chicken sausage to the final simmer. Thanks again to the fabulous Katie for a sweet, spicy, and delicious meal!

Spicy Eggplant and Red Pepper Pasta

from Good Things Catered

Makes about 6 servings

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium eggplant (about 8-10 inches in length), chopped into 1/2 inch cubes

2 large red peppers, sliced into 1 1/2 - 2 inch pieces

1 pound penne (8 ounces if you are freezing half of the sauce)

One batch Spicy Red Pepper sauce, prepared ahead (recipe below)

2 tablespoons fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped

Parmesan cheese shavings, if desired

In large stock pot with salted water, cook pasta according to manufacturers directions to just al dente.

In large non-stick pan (important with the eggplant) heat oil over medium high heat. Add eggplant and cook, stirring constantly, until beginning to become tender, about 10 minutes. Add red pepper and continue sauteing until peppers become crisp tender, about 3-5 minutes.

Add prepared pasta sauce and stir to combine, bringing to a slight simmer. Add pasta, stir to combine, add parsley and Parmesan cheese as garnish and serve immediately.

If you want to freeze half, divide right after you add the sauce to the eggplant/red pepper mixture:

Spicy Red Pepper Sauce

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 small onion, finely diced

2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed

2 large red peppers, roasted (24-ounce jar of roasted red peppers)

1 large (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes, lightly drained and coarsely chopped

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon crushed chili peppers

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Pulse roasted red peppers in food processor until relatively smooth and set aside.

In large stock pot over medium heat, heat oil. Add diced onion and cook until translucent and just beginning to brown. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add pureed red peppers and chopped tomatoes and heat until starting to bubble.

Turn heat to a simmer and add remaining ingredients, stirring to combine. Simmer until begins to bubble and serve.

Black Bean Tortilla Casserole

Hmmm, I realized after taking these pictures that I could have added some garnish or something to make it look a little more appetizing. Now you will just have to trust me that it's really good! And meatless! I normally try to incorporate meat into every meal, but really, you don't even miss it here.

I changed some ingredient amounts from the original recipe, simply to adjust it to our tastes and what I had left in the refrigerator! This is a great weeknight meal complete with two types of cheese, beans, tortillas, and salsa! I made the mistake of buying HOT picante sauce so even Chuck, who does not like sour cream, was piling it on. Still delicious though and great for leftovers!

Black Bean Tortilla Casserole
from Reading, 'Riting, and Recipes (amounts adapted)
Makes 4 servings

1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 10-ounce can Rotel tomatoes
1 cup picante sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
4 ounces cream cheese
5 corn tortillas (7-inch), cut in half
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese (cheddar, Monterey, Pepper Jack, etc.)

In large skillet sauté onion until soft. Add tomatoes, picante sauce and cumin and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in beans and heat through. Add cream cheese and stir until melted. Remove from heat.

Spray bottom of a 8 x 8 baking dish with cooking spray. Spread 1/3 of bean mixture on bottom of pan, topping with a layer of tortillas (five tortilla halves) and half of cheese. Then another layer of bean mixture, tortillas and bean mixture. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top.

Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes. Let stand for 5-10 minutes before serving. Serve with sour cream, lettuce and guacamole as desired.

Apple-Cranberry Oatmeal Bars

I was looking for an easy bar that included some healthy oatmeal (like how I did that? healthy oatmeal counteracts butter, didn't you know?) and found this in what seems to be my cookbook of the week, Better Homes and Gardens.


You end up with a nice, chunky bar with a buttery crust and a fruity filling. These are great for dessert, but also a nice sweet treat for breakfast!


Apple-Cranberry Oatmeal Bars
from Better Homes and Gardens
Makes 24 bars


1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup quick-cooking or old fashioned rolled oats
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup cold butter, cut into small cubes


Filling:
1 cup (chunky or smooth) applesauce
2/3 cup dried cranberries
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
dash ground cloves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.


In a medium bowl combine flour, oats, brown sugar, and baking soda. Cut in butter using a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Reserve 1/2 cup of the crumb mixture.


Press the remaining crumb mixture into the bottom of an ungreased 11 x 7 baking dish. Make sure you press firmly into the pan - you are making a crust.


Combine all filling ingredients in small bowl. Spread over crumb mixture in baking dish. Sprinkle with reserved 1/2 cup crumb mixture.


Bake 30-35 minutes, until top is golden and filling is set. Cool on a wire rack. Cut into bars.

Lemonade Award

I was surprised and honored to be given the Lemonade Award by Kristen of Le Petit Pierogi. It is meant to be awarded to a "refreshing" blog. If I could, I would give this award back to Kristen because I love all of her fresh and delicious recipes that she posts on her blog. Thank you again, Kristen!

I have bestowed many awards in the past and I really do love all the blogs I read. Most of them are food blogs, and every so often even I get tired of reading about recipes. So that is why I am giving this award to my lovely goddaughter's blog, Carlyn Rose. She just turned one a few weeks ago and her mom, my cousin Katie, started it to share pictures and news of the little cutie. I always go over there when I need to see some pictures of Carlyn (although of course she is the wallpaper for all of my computers) and learn about how her day was!

So go check it out if you need something adorable to start your day with - the most recent post is how much Carlyn loves to watch the Pennsylvania Lottery and Jeopardy!

Meatball and Vegetable Stew

I saw this recipe while flipping through my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook and was astounded at how little prep time it entails. True, it's not a "made-from-scratch" stew, but it looked good enough for me to take for my lunches this week to work.

After reading the fat content on the original recipe I decided to look for turkey meatballs instead. I found them in the meat aisle, not the frozen food section - look for Shady Brook already-cooked turkey meatballs if you want to make this lighter as well (and cut them in half, as they are rather large). Also, the picture on the website is much more appetizing than mine; but what can you expect, it's comfort food!

Meatball and Vegetable Stew

from Better Homes and Gardens

Makes 4 servings

1 16- to 18-ounce package frozen cooked meatballs
1/2 of a 16-ounce package (about 2 cups) loose-pack frozen broccoli, corn, and red sweet peppers, or other mixed vegetables
1 14-1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes with onion and garlic, or stewed tomatoes, undrained
1 12-ounce jar mushroom gravy
1/3 cup water
1-1/2 teaspoons dried basil, crushed

Place meatballs and frozen vegetables in a 4 quart slow cooker.

In a medium bowl, stir together tomatoes, gravy, water, and basil; pour over meatballs and vegetables.

Cook on LOW for 6-8 hours or HIGH for 3-4 hours.

Roast Chicken with Pancetta and Olives

I think it's pretty much safe to say that when you serve a dish at a dinner party and it's all your guests talk about for the rest of the night, on the ride home, and AGAIN the next morning; then you can consider that a huge success!

And I must admit that I am now converted - I will never again, for any recipe that calls for a whole chicken cut-up, wimp out and buy skinless, boneless chicken breasts from the store. I knew that the chicken would be tastier with the bone-in and the skin-on so I finally called our local butcher and ordered two little guys cut up into 10 pieces each. And WOW did it make a difference!

This was one of the juiciest, most delicious chicken dinners I have ever eaten, and to quote one of the guests, "I would order this at a restaurant". I really don't think it was my cooking skills either - you pretty much spread the chicken out on a baking sheet and let the oven do the work!

Use the pancetta and olives even if you don't like them - just cooking them with the chicken will add another flavor profile that you shouldn't pass up. Seriously, make this for your next party - it will be a winner! And special props to Katie for pointing me in the direction of this recipe!

Roast Chicken with Pancetta and Olives
from epicurious.com
Makes 8 servings

2 chickens (about 3 1/2 pounds each), cut into 10 or 12 pieces
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped thyme
1 tablespoon chopped rosemary
1 tablespoon fine sea salt
1/2 to 1 teaspoon hot red-pepper flakes
10 garlic cloves, peeled
2 (1/4-inch-thick) slices pancetta, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup dry white wine
24 oil-cured black olives

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F with a rack in the middle of the oven.

Arrange chicken, skin side-up on a large, rimmed baking sheet (cover sheet with foil for easier clean-up). Combine olive oil, thyme, rosemary, salt, red pepper flakes and 1 teaspoon pepper; rub onto top of chicken pieces.

Scatter garlic and pancetta on top of chicken and roast until chicken begins to brown, about 20 minutes. Drizzle wine over chicken and roast another 8 minutes. Scatter olives over chicken and roast until skin is golden brown and chicken is cooked through, about 15 to 20 minutes more.

Let stand 10 minutes. Transfer to serving plate and top with remaining juices.

Mustard-Roasted Potatoes

Roasted potatoes are a great side dish because you can change the herbs and spices depending on what you are serving them with; and they are easy to prepare. Usually I just toss them with some rosemary and thyme, but when I saw this recipe I knew I wanted to try it.

It really pays to invest in some nice coarse-ground mustard for this. I used Grey Poupon's new Harvest Coarse Ground Mustard, and you can see the mustard seeds on the finished product:

I only used one onion since I thought 2 onions in comparison to the amount of potatoes would lead to the title of "mustard-roasted potatoes and onions" and that wasn't really what I was going for. Make these soon - they are delicious!

Mustard Roasted Potatoes

from Ina Garten

Makes 6 servings

2 1/2 pounds small red potatoes (I used regular size and cut them smaller)

2 yellow onions (I used one)

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard

kosher salt

1 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper

1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Cut the potatoes into one-inch cubes (halves or quarters for the small potatoes, several more cuts for the larger ones). Place potatoes into a large plastic bag with a zipper seal. Peel onion and cut in half. Slice crosswise to about 1/4 inch thickness to make half rounds and add to bag.

Add the olive oil, mustard, 2 teaspoons salt, and pepper to bag; seal, and toss together.

Line a sheet pan with foil and spread potatoes and onions onto pan. Bake for 50 minutes to an hour; until potatoes are lightly browned on the outside and tender on the inside. Toss the potatoes occassionally to prevent sticking and for even browning.

Garnish with chopped parsley and more salt if needed and serve immediately.

Note: These can be prepped a few hours in advance and left in the plastic bag until ready to roast.