Eggplant and Chicken Polenta Casserole

I wanted to make something that would use up the ripe eggplants that my husband has been growing in his garden, but I make Eggplant Parmesan all the time, and I wanted a change. I searched for a recipe into which I could also incorporate some of his ripe tomatoes, sage, and fresh basil.  I found a recipe for Eggplant Polenta Casserole in my vegan "Forks Over Knives" cookbook, but since my husband wishes he could get more protein, I added a chicken breast and two eggs. (If you do it my way and add chicken, you will end up with about three cups of extra chicken broth that you can use for something later.)

Polenta:

The recipe called for five cups of water and 1 1/2 cups of cornmeal, but I didn't have cornmeal, so I improvised.

5 cups water

1 cup washed quinoa

1 cup flaxseed meal

dash of sea salt

(handful of mushrooms)

(1/2 cup of grated cheese)

(2 eggs)

I boiled 5 cups of water and gradually added the quinoa and flaxseed until the mixture was creamy. It took about 15-20 minutes, stirring often. Then, I added a dash of sea salt. Once that was finished, I put it into a glass mixing bowl and set it aside to work on the next part. (Before I put it all in the oven is when I beat two eggs, 1/2 cup of grated cheese, and the mushrooms into it.)

Casserole Filling:

1 large onion, diced

1 large bell pepper, diced

2 eggplants, diced (My husband's organic garden variety are about half the size of the steroidal ones you get at the grocery store.)

1/4 cup minced garlic

2 large tomatoes, diced

1 cup fresh, chopped basil

1 sage leaf, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

Once I set aside the polenta from the cooking pan into the mixing bowl, I used the same pan to sear and then boil a frozen chicken breast. I boiled it in 3 cups of water for 10 minutes. While that was happening, I went ahead and chopped my onions, bell pepper, eggplant, and garlic. I came back to my chicken breast and let it rest on a plate while I converted the stock into a glass jar for using in soups later. I don't know why it looks cloudy in this picture, because it's actually translucent.

Then, I put my chopped vegetables into the same cooking pan and started sauteing them while I diced the chicken breast on its plate. After that, I diced the tomatoes and added them to the other vegetables and continued to saute (about 10 minutes overall). I preheated the oven for 350 degrees. While the vegetables were continuing to saute, I chopped the basil and one sage leaf and added them and the chopped chicken breast into a 9"x13" casserole dish.  Then I added the sauted vegetables to the casserole dish and tossed them all together. 

This is the point where I then beat two eggs, a handful of mushrooms, and 1/2 cup of grated cheese into the polenta. I poured the polenta on top of the vegetables and put them into the oven for 40 minutes. (You can see in the picture that I also sprinkled some dry basil on the top. That was just to make it more photogenic.)

After 40 minutes, I opened the door to take this picture, but then I turned the stove off and let the whole thing cool down on its own--Free cooking energy! (I also burned my finger when I pulled the shelf out to take the pictures, and I'm icing it while I type. . .which is so annoying, and I don't recommend it!)

The End.

3 Minute Quiche

This may be appalling to some, but just because you are in a hurry doesn't mean you can't have classy quiche.

Ingredients and Utensils:

1. 1 egg
2. Shredded cheese of your choice
3. Spinach (optional)
4. Mug
5. Fork
6. Microwave

Directions:

Put ripped spinach, cheese, and egg into a mug, and beat it all for about 30 seconds. Put immediately into the microwave on high for 2 minutes. The End.

Southern Pecan Cornbread waffles with bacon and cheese

This recipe was inspired by an obnoxious IHOP commercial. Apparently IHOP offers a bunch of new flavors of waffle. (That's all the information I get before I hit the mute button.) Anyways, one of them involves bacon and cheese. I took this as a personal challenge.

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup of buttermilk pancake mix.

2. 1 cup cornmeal

3. 1/2 cup milk

4. 1/2 cup water

5. Handful of real bacon bits (or you can fry and crumble your own if you wanna get fancy.)

6. Handful of chopped dates

7. Handful of chopped pecans

8. Handful of shredded asiago cheese.

Mix all the ingredients while your waffle iron is heating up. Spray the iron with olive oil each time to get a nice brown and crispy outside.

They are really good with maple syrup, but you can try some other toppings. Some of my favorites are: whole grain mustard, sriracha sauce, red cabbage, ketchup, and jam.

Take that, IHOP!

The End!

My Hallelujah Diet Day. . .Plus recipes for Eggplant Steaks, Sauteed Plantains, Garlic and Rosemary Fries, and Strawberry Walnut Salad

My small group at church is learning to adapt healthy eating habits and exercise based on the Hallelujah Diet (hacres.com). This week we were challenged to follow the whole plant-based food diet for an entire day. 

I started the day with a large glass of water with lemon and chili pepper. The HD recommends that you don't eat first thing in the morning because your body needs those first few hours for cleansing. After a few hours of being awake, I ate some oatmeal soaked in almond milk with walnuts and strawberries.

I snacked on raw veggies like carrots and grape tomatoes throughout the day. Most of the Hallelujah Diet requires eating raw food (because raw veggies have enzymes that get destroyed when cooked), but you are allowed to have one cooked meal a day.

This was my cooked meal: Eggplant Steaks, sauteed plantains, garlic and rosemary fries, and a strawberry/walnut salad. 

(**Disclaimer - Below is a picture of my husband's lunch. I put Gorgonzola on his steaks, but left it off mine since it is animal product. The picture of mine is at the end.)

GARLIC AND ROSEMARY FRIES

Ingredients: Olive oil, minced garlic, one chopped up onion, rosemary, a bag of Yukon gold potatoes cut into 1/4" pieces. 

Directions: Drizzle olive oil onto two baking pans. Put potatoes, onion, and garlic into the pan and mix with your fingers till it's about even. Sprinkle rosemary and drizzle a little more olive oil on top. Broil the pans on 500 for about 20 to 30 minutes--checking every 10.

EGGPLANT STEAKS

Ingredients: Worcestershire sauce, steak sauce, hot sauce, olive oil, honey, apple sauce, parsley, onion flakes, (Gorgonzola or Parmesan optional), and an eggplant cut into 1/2" slices.

Directions:  Mix the sauces and spices together so you have enough to spoon a little over both sides of your eggplant pieces. (Don't spoon yet!) Go easy on the first three sauces as they can be high in sodium. Coat one or two baking pans with a light amount of olive oil. Arrange the eggplant in the pans and spoon a little mixture on the face up side of each piece. Broil on 500 for 4 minutes. Flip the pieces over and spoon the rest of the mixture over each piece. If you want to add cheese, do that now, but be sparing. Broil for another 4 minutes. If you want the steaks more tender, cook for a bit longer.

SAUTEED PLANTAINS

Ingredients: Nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, chili pepper, olive oil, one plantain cut into 1/8" slices. 

Directions: Coat the bottom of a frying pan with olive oil and let sit over medium heat for a few minutes. Place plantains pieces into the pan and start seasoning, drizzling oil as needed, and flipping every few seconds. When they are the desired color of translucent yellow. . .stop.

STRAWBERRY AND WALNUT SALAD

Ingredients: Baby spinach, cut up strawberry, grape tomatoes, walnuts, light balsamic vinaigrette

Directions: If you don't know how to make a salad, I don't know what to tell you. . .

This was my plate. Everything is the same except no Gorgonzola.

And for dinner I will have a raw vegetable smoothie like I always do! Yay!

THE END!

Wholegrain (Wheat-free) Apple Crisp

Apples are stinkin' cheap this time of year (1 - 9 apple bag is $1.98 at Aldi!), so I'm currently making apple chips with 5 Granny Smith apples (How to make apple chips: Buy a dehydrator. Slice apples and put them in. Wait.). However, I had all these extra ends of apple. (You know how after you've cored them and you've sliced them, it gets to a point that you can't slice the end anymore without cutting your hand to pieces?. . .That's where these ends came from.) So, I decided to cut up three more apples and add the ends and make some apple crisp. I didn't know how, so I looked up a recipe, but. . .you know me and recipes! Here's my healthier option:

You will need: 

1. 4 or 5 apples

2. A handful of nuts (any kind...or not...)

3. A few tablespoons of flaxseed. I eyeballed...If you need exact, then do 3T.

4. No more than 1/4c of brown sugar. Maybe less, actually.

5. A dollop of Lite Maple Syrup or honey

6. A splash of lemon juice

Mix 2-6 up; then add the apples and mix them into the mixture. Put this mixture in an oven safe casserole dish. Preheat your oven to 350 and mix the following for the topping:

1. 1/4c (or an eyeballed pile) of flaxseed

2. 1/2c (or another eyeballed pile) of oatmeal 

3. 1/8c of brown sugar (or not)

4. A few shakes of cinnamon

5. A few shakes of cardamom (or not)

6. A shake or two of nutmeg

7. A handful of nuts (or not)

8. A splash of apple cider or a couple spoonfuls of apple sauce.

Mix 1-7 up and then add a splash of apple cider--just enough that the mixture balls and crumbles. I also pour a little apple cider over the mixture in the casserole dish before I add this topping to it (helps the apples get good and juicy).

Feel free to play around with ingredients. You don't have to be too exact, because you're not making a cake or nuthin'!

Bake for 35-40 minutes. Turn off the oven and let it stay in there for a few minutes before you take it out.

Fun Fact: My husband calls the country-fried chicken breast with a fried egg on it at Cracker Barrel "Chicken Porn." Since I use apples, apple sauce, and apple cider for this recipe, I call this "Apple Porn," but I figured that it wouldn't be appreciated if I put "Porn" in the title of my recipe, so. . .there. Now you know.

The End!

Calabazadillas...or UN-quesadillas

This is a recipe I posted earlier this year on Facebook.

RECIPE: Calabazadillas...or UN-quesadillas

("calabaza" is spanish for pumpkin)

Ingredients:
1. whole grain 8" tortillas
2. canned pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling and not with salt or anything added)
3. 1/2 onion 
4. 3 cloves of garlic
5. handful of fresh baby spinach
6. mushrooms
7. spices: chili pepper, cilantro (fresh is better tasting than dried), cumin
8. olive oil (or for even lower fat: white wine)
9. 1/2 a chicken breast (even lower fat: tofu)
10. lime juice
11. 1/2 an avocado

Also needed: medium sized cast-iron skillet

Directions:
Chop the onions, garlic, and mushrooms. Saute them in olive oil (or white wine) in a cast-iron skillet over medium heat (cast iron conducts heat better than steel, so you can save energy by cooking at lower temperatures). Once they are just barely sauteed, add the chicken or tofu. Turn heat down to medium low and continue cooking. Meanwhile, put four tortillas on a plate. Distribute 1/2 of the canned pumpkin among the four tortillas, spreading it evenly. Cut 1/2 an avocado into really thin strips (1/2cm) and put three-ish slices onto each pumpkin covered tortilla. Sprinkle lime juice over them if you want.

Once the chicken is slightly browned on both sides, take it out of the pan and cut it into very thin strips (3/4cm). Put it back into the pan and cook a little longer adding the cumin, chili pepper, and cilantro (according to your taste). Also, add the baby spinach. Once the baby spinach starts getting nice and wilty and the chicken is completely cooked, turn off the heat. Distribute this mixture among the four pumpkin/avocado-ed tortillas. Cover each tortilla with another tortilla.

Wipe off your skillet with a paper towel. Turn the stove back on medium heat and put a little olive oil (or white wine) in the skillet. Fry each tortilla turning each of them only once (smash them down before flipping with a wide spatula to keep them falling apart). Cut each one into fourths. Wipe your skillet out again and add a little more oil if it looks dry before storing it. (Keep the patina on it. Never wash an iron skillet with soap!)

You won't miss the queso! ;o)