Eggplant Lasagna (kind of)

There isn't actually lasagna in this... but lack of a better term....
I kind of made this up as I went along.  Basically, opened my fridge and looked to see what was expired/going bad so I could make something quick and not have to waste a lot of food.  The great thing about this recipe is that minus the cheese... it's really  healthy!

Ingredients:
1 Eggplant
1 container silken tofu
1 jalapeno
1/2 green pepper or a full one julienned (optional)
1 small onion julienned (optional)
6-7 baby portabella mushrooms sliced (optional, or can be the white mushrooms as well)
salt
black pepper
4-5 cloves garlic
cheddar cheese
mozarella cheese
basil
Spaghetti sauce (any type will do)
olive oil

Prepare eggplant:
Slice 1/4"-1/2" inch.  Spread on paper towels and sprinkle salt to extract bitter taste.  Let sit for 20 minutes then pat dry.  Pre heat oven to 350 F.

In a blender, blend tofu, jalapeno and garlic.  Mix in chopped basil, cheddar cheese, salt, pepper.
Sautee onions, green pepper and mushroom in olive oil for 7-8 minutes on low-medium heat.  Add tofu mixture and heat up for 5-7 additional minutes.

 Brush olive oil in a baking dish (optional).  Place slices of eggplant on bottom until covered. Layer with tofu mixture.  Add another layer of eggplant and tofu, repeat until finished.  On top layer, spread Spaghetti sauce.  Cover with mozarella cheese.
Bake for ~ 40 minutes.

Delicious!

I have a picture of this somewhere... I will update this post when I find the picture...

Broccoli Casserole

Ingredients:
2 c. broccoli florets (if fresh, steam them; if frozen, let them thaw- no need to use a steamer)
1 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese + extra cheese for topping
1 c. milk
2 tblsp. flour
salt and black pepper for taste
olive oil
1/2 c. onion chopped
bread crumbs

Optional ingredients:
Red pepper, garlic powder and onion powder to taste

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350 F.
Heat oil in pan
Place chopped onions in pan, wait until translucent, then add milk
Add flour through a sifter to make sure no clumping occurs
Add desired spices
Stir constantly
Add grated cheese
Mix in broccoli
Place in casserole dish or loaf pan
Sprinkle cheese on top
Sprinkle bread crumbs over cheese
Bake for ~45 minutes


Yum! delicious!  I don't really like broccoli (bad experience once with Chinese food and broccoli) but if you drench it in cheese, it tastes really good!  Definitely making this again!  Although, probably not that healthy for you.  I tried to minimize the amount of cheese used as much as possible.  You can also add some Parmesan cheese if you want to use less cheese since Parmesan has a stronger flavor.  As you can see from the picture, I already dug in before I could take nice artistic pictures... it turned out that well!

Stuffed Mushrooms

~20 white mushrooms stemmed
1 c. plain bread crumbs
3/4 c. Parmesan cheese
2 tbl. parsley flakes
1 tbl. onion powder
1 large roma tomato diced
3 garlic cloves
black pepper to taste
olive oil

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 400 F.
Grease baking sheet with olive oil
Mix all ingredients, add a little bit of olive oil to mixture.
Place in mushrooms.
Place on sheet.
Bake for ~20 min.

I don't really have a very good picture of the stuffed mushrooms... and as you can see, they were eaten before I could get a picture.  This is a really easy recipe.  The secret to good stuffed mushrooms is removing the stem and NOT using them for the stuffing.  Enjoy!

Blueberry Muffins

Another recipe from a friend.  I'll post it later.  For now, here are the pictures.  I'm thinking of moving my food blog over to tumblr because it's easier to format words and text... hmm... we shall see...

Honey Oat Bread

Ingredients

3/4 cup water

1/2 cup quick oats

1 Tbsp oil

1/3 cup honey

1 tsp salt

1 tsp. yeast

a pinch of sugar

1/4 cup warm water

2 cups flour

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 F.

1. In a large bowl, mix 3/4 cup water, quick oats, oil, honey and salt.

2. In a smaller bowl, activate yeast in 1/4 cup water and a pinch of sugar.

3. Add the yeast mixture to the wet ingredients.

4. Add the flour and mix well. If you’re going to attempt to knead it, do it on a lightly floured surface.

5. Cover the dough lightly with oil and transparent wrap, and let it rise in a warm place for an hour. What I do is heat a cup of water for about 4 minutes in the microwave, push it to the corner and put the bowl of dough in the microwave as well.

6. Deflate the dough and form a loaf, or loaves if you’d like and place them in loaf pans. Let the dough rise again for 40 minutes.

7. Bake for 30 minutes or until the top is golden.

8. When the bread comes out, brush the top with honey and sprinkle quick oats on the top.

THIS RECIPE IS TAKEN FROM ONE OF MY FRIENDS!!!!! (And it's delicious!)

Zucchini Bread

Ingredients:
3 eggs
1 cup sugar (splenda)
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups grated fresh zucchini
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons baking soda
Pinch salt
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Mix together the sugar, eggs, and vanilla.
3. Mix in the grated zucchini oil. Then the baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
4. Add the flour in slowly while stirring.


















Notes: This won't be very sweet so if you want to put more sugar you can. The bread will be very moist and will stay moist for days. I might use one less egg next time...

Banana Nut Bread

Did not want to do work again... so I baked! Story of my life...


















Ingredients:
4 ripe bananas
1 1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup yoghurt
1/2 cup sugar (splenda)
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup walnuts

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Mash bananas and yoghurt together.
Mix in sugar, egg, vanilla, baking soda, and salt.
Mix in flour.
Add walnuts.
Mix well.
Pour into greased loaf pan.
Bake for about an hour.

Note: I used a nonstick loaf pan so I did not grease it.

Black Forest Cake

Ingredients:
2 cups sugar (1 1/2 cups splenda)
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder (1 1/4 cup cocoa powder)
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup sour milk [add 1 tbs vinegar to milk to make sour milk] (1 tsp. vinegar plus skim milk)
1 cup coffee [not coffee grounds]
1/2 cup oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Mix dry ingredients.
Add rest of the ingredients.
Mix well.
Place batter in well-greased 9 inch pans.
Bake for about 35 min.

Notes: recipe adapted from Hershey's recipe.
I increased the amount of cocoa used and decreased the amount of sugar so that cake does not taste that sweet. I would probably stick to the recommended amounts to get a sweeter taste.