Easy Baked Eggplant Parmesan

I made Martha Stewart's recipe for Baked Eggplant Parmesan a while ago and we both loved it. The wonderful thing about this recipe is that it is frugal, meatless, easy to prepare and best of all, delicious!

I made this again on Monday night and again we weren't disappointed. I halved the recipe and would say it makes about 5 servings. You will need:

1 eggplant
breadcrumbs
1 egg
dried basil and oregano
parmesan cheese
grated mozzarella cheese
1 jar tomato sauce


Slice one eggplant into half inch slices. (I didn't bother to peel it and we didn't mind.) Mix bread crumbs with dried basil and oregano, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. I didn't measure these ingredients, just dumped and mixed.

Whisk together 1 egg and 1 T water. Dip each slice in the egg mixture and then the bread crumb mixture. Lay them out on a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes, then flip and bake for 20 more minutes.


Pour enough tomato sauce into the bottom of square casserole dish to cover the bottom, layer with eggplant, more sauce, and grated mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers ending with cheese. Sprinkle a little parmesan cheese on top as well.


Bake at 400 for 15 minutes. While it bakes make a salad and some angel hair pasta.

Enjoy!!

Coupons...How I have missed thee!

Today for the first time in about a month, I couponed at Publix. It was wonderful! :) I know for some using coupons is a chore, but I honestly really missed it. Call me crazy or nerdy, but I enjoy researching the deals, clipping coupons, and then of course saving a lot. My laptop has been replaced and recitals are behind me, so hopefully this will mean much more savings in the coming months (and also more blogging too)!

Today's trip:

$16.97 Spent, $49.84 Saved!

What a Week!

Just when I feel like I am getting into a groove being a little more regular updating the blog life gets a little crazy! Between devastating weather, lots of dance recitals and a laptop that is on the fritz yet again, I have not updated so it's time for another catch up post as it has been a VERY full week and a half.

Last Wednesday morning we awoke early to tornado sirens. About 15 minutes later there were very scary strong winds and heavy rain. We lost power but didn't have any other damage. Sadly, my parent's neighborhood did not fair so well. They live in an older neighborhood with lots of beautiful tall trees. An F-2 tornado ripped right through their neighborhood and uprooted TONS of trees. Many landed on houses, cars, and blocked all the streets in the neighborhood. We are so thankful that my parents and their neighbors were all ok. We know that God was definitely merciful in saving lives when we see the many trees that smashed through houses. My parents lost lots of trees in their yard and had 2 and 1/2 trees on their house mostly above the kitchen. Thankfully they did not smash all the way through, although significant repairs will have to be made to the roof and the house frame.

My parent's house

I didn't get to see my parents house that day as the neighborhood was completely blocked by trees. In addition, things were getting canceled right and left as the weather guys reported even stronger storms and tornadoes headed our way for the afternoon and evening. They were quite serious about these storms and we decided that staying at our second floor apartment was not the best idea so we headed to our good friend's house with a basement and hung out there through the storm. As you have seen on the news these tornadoes were devastating to much of the state. Many lives were lost and the damage is unbelievable. Again, we are so thankful that our family was spared from damage and loss.

Aaron by a huge uprooted tree in my parents yard

Many of Aaron's students and coworkers live within the affected areas so it was a little nerve wracking waiting to hear news on them. In the end, we found out they were all ok. One student's family lost most everything to the storm and then lost even more to looters. With the help of friends and family we have been able to meet some of the needs of this student, but as more needs arise I might pass some of them on here on the blog.

The weekend came and it was time for my marathon of 3 CDF dress rehearsals and recitals. Wow....marathon is definitely the fitting term here! The kids were cute for sure and of course did some funny stuff on the stage. My older classes did beautifully and my little 3 year old classes were especially entertaining. I had 2 little girls discover a sequin on the stage and they were totally distracted by trying to pick it up. So distracted in fact, that the got into a fight over it. I had to intervene and remove the tiny sequin...needless to say, the audience was highly amused.

In all this craziness would you believe that I haven't used coupons at Publix in about 3 and 1/2 weeks?! I have been shopping at Aldi and also we have eaten a lot of the food that was in my parents refrigerator. They ended up being without power for about a week so we rescued their stuff and they ate here at our place some. Thanks Mama and Daddy for the food!

My dance classes are coming to an end next week. This weekend is my last round of recitals for the year! I will then be jumping into a new adventure for the summer. I will only have a few dance classes for the summer, so I will be working as a part time nanny 3 days a week for a family from church. I will be hanging out with a very cute set of 7 month old twins! I am looking forward to the change of pace for the summer. Aaron will finish teaching in the next few weeks and then plans to teach summer school in June.

Sorry for the very long post, but that is a little update on our lives. Hope that you all are well!

Movies

If you have been living under a rock like we apparently have and haven't yet seen The King's Speech, then I highly recommend that you see it! It just came out on DVD and it is also here at the local dollar theater.

Also go here and take a look at the trailer for the movie The Help. I loved this book and I can't wait until August 12 when it comes to theaters!

We DESPERATELY need some ideas for our Netflix que...please advise!!!

Fire Up the Grill!

The lovely weather outside and the desire to not heat up our small apartment with the oven has motivated us lately to fire up the grill. Need some more motivation to get grilling? Check out these delicious recipes:

Tender Grilled Pork Chops- This is another great recipe from Mel's Kitchen Cafe. These are delicious and super easy. We have made them several times in the last month. Grill some extras and enjoy them later on a bun with some bbq sauce.

4 boneless pork loin chops
1/4 cup olive oil
2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon steak seasoning

Mix up the marinade, then pour it over pork chops in a ziplock bag. Marinate for several hours and then grill! I have been using the extra lean thin sliced pork chops that Publix sells. Typically there are about 6 in the tray and it sells for about $3.

Grilled Chicken Kabobs with Mint-Feta Sauce- This is seriously one of my all time favorite recipes. My mother in law first shared this Martha Stewart gem with me. Please try these, you won't be dissappointed!

Photo from MarthaStewart.com

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into twenty-four 1-inch pieces (I use chicken breasts typically)
1 zucchini, halved lengthwise and cut crosswise into sixteen 1-inch pieces
1/2 small red onion, quartered, layers separated
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
3 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1/2 cup crumbled feta (2 ounces)1/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1 cup fresh mint leaves

1. In a resealable plastic bag, combine chicken, zucchini, onion, oil, oregano, and 2 tablespoons vinegar; season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and teaspoon pepper. Marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes (or refrigerate up to overnight).

2. Heat grill or grill pan to medium. Soak eight 6-inch wooden skewers in water for 15 minutes.

3. Onto each skewer, alternately thread 3 pieces of chicken with 2 of zucchini and 2 of onion. Grill skewers, turning occasionally, until chicken is cooked through, 12 to 14 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, make dipping sauce: In a food processor, blend feta, yogurt, mint, and remaining tablespoon vinegar until smooth. Serve kebabs with dipping sauce.


Tonight we grilled Pizza Burgers. I am not going to share the exact recipe that I used because I wasn't really satisfied with it, the patties fell apart way too easily. I'm not sure that it tasted like pizza as the recipe promised, but we did enjoy the Italian flare. You could totally make your own version by adding oregano, thyme, basil, rosemary, onion powder and garlic to your favorite burger recipe. Then just top it with sliced mozzarella, tomatoes, lettuce and fresh basil.

Now go fire up your grill!!

P.S. Got a favorite recipe for grilling?? Share it with me in the comments...would love some more to try!

For Mama

“Behold, God is my salvation;
I will trust, and will not be afraid;
for the Lord God is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation.”

Isaiah 12:2

A Little Catch Up...

A lot has happened since I last blogged. Terrible tornados swept through the South last Friday. Sadly they hit really hard in Clinton where we used to live and where Aaron's parents and grandfather live. They are all ok and didn't have a lot of damage and we are very thankful. Our old townhouse didn't fair so well:

During the bad weather on Friday, though unrelated, my laptop died. Sob! I knew the end was coming and backed up pictures, but it will be missed.

Due to the bad weather, the dress rehearsal for my first round of recitals was canceled. Needless to say this made me pretty nervous about how the recital would go on Saturday. All my little dancers did great though. This is one of my kindergarten classes. Aren't they just so cute?!

Today is Aaron's birthday...Happy Birthday Ronnie!!! We celebrated tonight by using a Living Social deal that we had bought to Mugshots Grill...the burgers were delish. Later he opened some presents...

and then I made this:

Banana Nutella Stromboli

I posted a pic of this recently on facebook and promised I would post the recipe. It is so terribly easy that you really don't need a recipe, but here it is finally:

Banana Nutella Stromboli

You will need a banana, a pizza crust, and a jar of nutella (optional: 1 T butter and a little sugar)

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees

2) lightly grease a cookie sheet

3) roll out the crust and then spread some nutella down the middle

4)top it with sliced banana

5) cut the sides with scissors into inch wide strips then criss cross them over the center. Optional step here is to melt a little butter and brush it on top and then sprinkle with a little sugar. This just gives it is nice sparkly and crunchy top.

6) Bake for 15 or so minutes and then slice and enjoy!!