Eggplant Parmesan

It has been a while since we visited the grocery. Living in a tourist town makes getting around over the holidays very tough. You really dont' want to go to the store the two weeks surrounding Christmas and New Year's. Needless to say the only time I went was at 7am. I think Dave had to go a few times on his way home from work but only to buy a few nessesities. So when we finally got to the grocery on a Tuesday after New Year's our cubbards were ready. We hadn't really made a firm list and decided our dinner menu as we walked through the produce section. Dave eyed the eggplants and we were off. Dinner would be Eggplant Parm with the leftover Puttanesca sauce we had in the fridge. (More on that sauce in a later post.) This was by far the best Eggplant Parm I have ever had. I truely mean it, amazing and obviously even better two days later for lunch. We always bake our eggplant rather then fry it. Its easier and less messy. I think it tastes just as good. This time around we decided to use up some ricotta we had in the fridge and this added yet another level to how delicious this dish was. The Puttanesca sauce put it over the top. Dave says we should keep this on hand at all times in our freezer. Thank you Rebekah for handing over this recipe!! I'm pretty sure that Dave likes it more then my traditional sauce!

Eggplant Parmesan

1 medium eggplant

1 large egg

1/4 C milk

bread crumbs

1/2 C ricotta

1/4 C grated Parmesan

1 C grated mozarella

2 C tomato sauce

Preheated oven to 400. Slice the eggplant. Whisk the egg and milk in a large bowl. Pour enough bread crumbs onto a plate. Place a few sliced of eggplant in the milk mixture and let them sit for a few minutes. Using your hands, take one eggplant allowing the milk to drip off and coat it in the bread crumbs. Place on a baking sheet. Repeat with remaining eggplant. Bake for 20 minutes until crisp and lightly browned. Pour a 1/4 cup of sauce and coat the bottom of a large baking dish. Place a layer of eggplant in the dish. Dollop ricotta on each eggplant and sprinkle with parmesan and mozarella. Pour sauce over eggplant and cheese. Repeat with remaining eggplant, cheese and sauce. Cook for 20 minutes at 400.

Grilled Chicken Tenders with Cilantro Pesto

No one ever told me that food photography and camera flashes don't mix. No one! I just found out this little tid bit of information on Friday. Hmm, maybe that's why I have no visitors to this site! My pictures make food look very unappetizing. Well things are changing around here! I will be taking much better pictures from here on out! This was a really great meal! As I was munching away, I even dared to say to myself that this was the best dish of the summer! I was different and fit our mood perfectly. I think I said this about the Chicken Gyros. Either way, it's definitely up for contention! I really try to find recipes that use ingredients that we always have on hand. In this case, we always have chicken in the freezer, soy sauce in the cubbard and fresh vegetables in the fridge. Add a few more ingredients and you have the making for this fabulous chicken. I love my EatingWell subscription. The magazine doesn't come every month so I subsidize my obsession for the healthy yet delicious recipes by going to their website. I found this recipe on their website and just increased some of the measurements. (Next time, I will double the Cilantro Pesto. It was that good!) I served this with a simple green salad tossed in evoo and balsamic and Quinoa with Latin Flavors (also found at EatingWell. Kate and Walid have been away and they gave us free range of their garden. We have been indulging in their lettuce and arugula for a week now!

Grilled Chicken Tender with Cilantro Dipping Sauce

1/4 C lime juice
1/4 C reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 T canola oil
1.5 t chili powder
2 Chicken breasts, sliced into tenders
1-2 bunches of Cilantro
2 scallions, chopped
2 T toasted sesame seeds

Whisk lime juice, soy sauce, oil and chili powder in a large bowl. Reserve 3 tablespoons of the marinade in a small bowl. Add chicken to the remaining marinade; toss to coat. Marinate in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Preheat grill to medium-high. Meanwhile, place cilantro, scallions, sesame seeds and the reserved marinade in a food processor and process until fairly smooth. Remove the chicken from the marinade (discard marinade) and grill until cooked through and no longer pink in the middle, about 2 minutes per side. Serve the chicken with the cilantro-sesame pesto.