Quick and Easy Eggplant Parmesan

1 medium size eggplant

Olive oil

1 jar favorite spaghetti or marinara sauce

1 tsp. garlic powder or favorite Italian seasonings

Salt and pepper

1/2 cup flour

16 oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded or sliced

1/2 cup fresh Parmesan cheese, shredded

Fresh parsley

1 2qt. casserole dish OR 3 individual ceramic dishes

Heat around 2 tbsps. oil in pan

Place flour in shallow dish, sprinkle with the garlic powder or Italian seasoning, salt and pepper and combine

Cut the ends of the eggplant

Cut into six slices

Dredge the eggplant slices into the flour mixture.  By this time the oil should be hot

Brown each side for about 7-10 minutes until golden brown

I added a touch of olive oil into the bottom of the ceramic dishes

Add enough sauce over the olive oil and to cover the bottom of the dish

Add a slice of eggplant, mozzarella and sprinkle some parmesan cheese.  Repeat one more time

I had enough to make three individual ceramic dishes

Dress with a sprig fresh Parmesan and serve

How yummy does this look?? 

I love Eggplant Parmesan.  It's one of my favorite dishes to order at any Italian restaurant we go to.  It took me about an hour to put this whole dish together and bake it.  I had planned to serve this over spaghetti but I completely forgot.  My favorite Italian restaurant here in town does it and it's so delicioso!  

Did you have a good weekend?  It seems to have gone by really fast for me but I savored every moment and pray you did too!

Spaghetti with Meatballs by Betty Crocker

I was in the mood to make some meatballs with spaghetti.  I looked through several cookbooks and then wondered how did Mrs. Cleaver, Beaver's mom, make spaghetti?  My mother-in-law now in her upper  80's was a wife, mom of two back in the late 40's-early 50's so she would definitely know.

I pulled out her old "Betty Crocker's (BC) Picture Cook Book" (published by McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc. and General Mills Inc.) pictured above.   It's in fairly good condition even though the binding is held together with clear packaging tape.  Looking closer into this cookbook, I realized it also has a wealth of knowledge with tons of kitchen tips.  As I featured Mary Ellen's (from the Waltons) Cookbook about a year ago, I will every now and then feature some recipes from BC's cookbook, I will also include some of her nifty kitchen tips.

Here is the first recipe I will be featuring, "Spaghetti with Meat Balls", exactly what I was looking for.  I will do my very best to stay true to the recipes.  Click on the image for a closeup view of the recipe if you need to.

 In a medium bowl, combine well the meats, bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, parsley, garlic, milk, eggs, salt and pepper.

Shape into 1 1/2" balls

In the hot fat - yes, she does ask for "fat" -  add the onions and then enough meatballs where not to crowd them in the pot.  Repeat the process until all the meatballs are cooked.

Remove all the meatballs from the pot and set aside.

On medium heat, add the flour to the oil in the pot and whisk, be careful not to burn it.

Add the tomatoes, parsley and green pepper (in this case I only had red and yellow peppers).  Stir well.

Add the sugar. . . . (Sugar??...really??? - well, ok), salt & pepper and bay leaves.  Combine well.

Return the meatballs to the pot, stir in gently being careful not to break apart the meatballs.

Simmer on low for 1hr. 20 min. stirring gently, occasionally.  Start on the spaghetti pasta  (according to package directions) about an hour into the simmering.

Serve over a hot bed of cooked spaghetti.

What a thrill that this recipe came out so amazing.  As simple as it is, nothing fancy, do you think the "fat" had anything to do with it's savory, grandma style , oh so awesome deliciousness?  I do admit that I was very apprehensive when I read that the recipe was asking for fat.  I did end up using it but figure that since it's the weekend, I will "splurge" in my fat intake and promise not to pick too many other recipes asking for fat in the near future.  Staying true to the original recipe will prove to be very interesting and hopefully not a gain in weight but appreciation to the way they cooked back in Donna Reed's days.

Ever get a recipe from your great Aunt Gertrude with strange measurements asking for a can size of No. 2 or No. 10???  What do those mean???  Well, now you know.  Thanks BC!!

Hope you're having a great weekend and remember to savor every moment :)

Italian Chicken Soup

by Ree Drummond - Pioneer Woman

1 box Ditalini Pasta
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 whole Cut Up Fryer Chicken
8 cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth
1 whole Medium Onion, Diced
2 whole Green Bell Peppers, Diced
2 stalks Celery, Diced
2 whole Fresh Jalapenos, Diced
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 can (28-ounce) Can Whole Tomatoes
2 cups Heavy Cream
⅓ cups Extra Virgin Olive Oil
4 Tablespoons Minced Fresh Oregano
Salt And Freshly Ground Pepper, To Taste
Parmesan Cheese Shavings, For Serving


I had hubby slow simmer some chicken breasts for me today.  He also shredded it and set it aside until I got home from work.  I also made sure he reserved the broth the chicken was simmered in.  So now, cook pasta according to directions on the box.

I already had these in the freezer so he took them out for me to thaw out.  Once I got home, they were ready to put in some hot oil in my dutch oven.  Cook these peppers/celery for about 10 minutes, until tender.

In a small pan, heat the olive oil, add the oregano and immediately remove from heat.  Stir the oregano in the hot oil and then set aside.

Throw in the tomatoes and the broth into the pot with the peppers

Add the shredded chicken (didn't my hubby do a good job at shredding it?)  Bring to a boil and stir completely, turn the heat to low.

Add the pasta and stir

Add the oregano and the oil

Add the heavy cream, stir in completely.  Salt and pepper to taste then remove from heat..

This pot was full to the brim!  Plenty for my football team plus leftovers :)

Top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.  We also ate it with some Tuscan style bread I bought at Kroger.

This was so delicious and filling.  The cream, with the savory broth and tomato base makes your taste-buds shout out with joy!  Yum!!   It was a cool evening, we had the windows open, we could smell "Fall" in the air and this was the perfect meal along with the bread.  Hubby liked it, got seconds.  Grandma on the other hand thought it was "interesting".  I don't think she 's crazy about creamy soups.  Oh well.  I look forward to taking some to work to warm me up on a beautiful, chilly day.

 

I shared this recipe at:

Miz Helen's Country Cottage - Full Plate Thursday