Eggplant Parmesan

I have never made or really ever even eaten eggplant parmesan. I had been craving it since I tasted some on our vacation to Atlanta. I got the basic idea of how it is made and threw this together. It was pretty quick and easy. Mike and I both enjoyed it.

1 eggplant, sliced into rounds
Italian breadcrumbs
2 eggs
olive oil
1 can tomato sauce
mozzarella cheese (sliced or grated)
pasta (any kind you like)
salt

Heat enough olive oil to coat the bottom of a large pan. Place breadcrumbs in a bowl big enough for the rounds of eggplant. Crack eggs onto a bowl the same size. Beat the eggs. Salt eggplant. Dip eggplant slices into egg them coat with breadcrumbs one at a time. Place in hot oil. Fry a few minutes on each side until golden brown. Remove from oil and place on paper towel to drain. Using a 9 by 13 baking dish spoon a layer of tomato sauce into the bottom, enough to coat the bottom. Place the fried eggplant rounds on top of the sauce. Spoon additional sauce on top of eggplant rounds. Top with cheese. Place in a 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes. Then broil for about 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and slightly browned. Cook pasta as directed and mix with remaining tomato sauce. Place pasta on plates and top with eggplant rounds.

Hoisian Shrimp

Mike and I are in love with the Hoisian Chicken I made a few weeks ago. Mike came up with the idea to use it on shrimp and it was a great idea! I simply marinaded the shrimp and sauteed them in a pan. Delicious!

Good ol'Beans

I think I am addicted to recipes from Pioneer Woman. This is the second weekend in a row I have made one of her recipes for a BBQ. Homemade beans have always intimidated me. This recipe was super simple and turned out great. I added browned ground beef for some extra texture but I think they would be great without the beef also.

Source: Pioneer Woman

4 cups pinto beans
4 slices thick bacon (or you can use salt pork or ham hock or dices ham)
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
6 to 8 sliced jarred jalapenos chopped (optional)

Rinse beans in col water. Pick out any beans that look questionable. Pour beans into large pot, cover with water by 2 to 3 inches. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cover. Simmer 2 hours or until beans are tender. Add water to pot as needed. Beans should have a thick broth. Towards the end of the cooking time add salt and pepper and season to taste. Don't over salt. I added chopper jarred jalapenos at this point along with the browned ground beef.

Classic Potato Salad

Mike and I were having friends over for BBQ and game night and I wanted homemade potato salad and remembered seeing this recipe on the Pioneer Woman's website. It is a very classic recipe and very good. Sometimes the simplest ingredients came make the best tasting things!

Source: Pioneer Woman

5 pounds russet potatoes

1 1/2 cup real mayo

4 tablespoons prepared mustard (regular Dijon or both)

5 green onions, sliced up to the darkest green part

8 small sweet pickles (or dill pickles) chopped

1 teaspoon kosher salt (more to taste)

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

4 hard boiled eggs, coarsely chopped

Cut potatoes in halves or thirds, then boil until fork tender. (make sure the water is salted, salty like the sea) Drain. mash potatoes or run them through a ricer or food mill to make them extra fluffy. (I mashed mine to get some chunks). Fold potatoes together with mayo, mustard, green onion, salt, pepper and other seasonings you like. Fold pickles and eggs, then taste for seasonings, adding more salt. mustard or mayo as needed. You may also splash in juice from the pickle jar if salad needs a little moisture.

Hoisin Chicken

I was searching for one recipe and I stumbled across this one on foodtv.com. It is good. Spicy and sweet and so simple to make. Mike and I both loved it.
I served it with cucumber salad

Source: Food Network

3/4 cup hoisin sauce
3 scallions, coarsely chopped
5 cloves garlic
1 2 inch piece fresh ginger, sliced
1 jalapeno pepper, stemmed and halved (remove seeds for less heat) (I did not steam the jalapeno)
Zest and juice of 2 limes, plus lime wedges for garnish
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 pounds skin on chicken thighs and drumsticks (separate pieces)

Preheat a grill to medium heat on one side. In a mini food processor combine all ingredients excluding chicken. Process until smooth. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Reserve some marinade for basting. Toss the chicken with the hoisin mixture in a large bowl. Grill the chicken over direct heat until the skin is crisp, 5 minutes per side, basting with extra marinade. Transfer chicken to the cooler side of the grill, cover and grill until cooked through, 10 to 15 minutes.

Breakfast for dinner: Pancakes

Sorry for the blurry picture, I was in a hurry to eat! I love to have breakfast for dinner and so does Mike, yet another reason we are meant to be =] I have never made pancakes from scratch but this recipe from The Pioneer Woman is awesome! I had all the ingredients on hand and they came together to make some great cakes!


Mike always makes the pancakes in our house. I can cook a lot of things but for some reason I can't make good pancakes. Here is Mike cooking up the cakes:PW’s Perfect Pancakes

3 cups plus 2 tablespoons cake flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar
2 cups milk
2 large eggs
3 teaspoons vanilla
4 tablespoons butter
Extra butter
Maple or Pancake syrup

Mix together dry ingredients in large bowl. Mix together milk, eggs, and vanilla in a separate bowl. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients, stirring very gently until just combined.
Melt butter and add it to the batter, stirring gently to combine.
Cook on a greased skillet over medium-low heat until golden brown. Serve with an obscene amount of butter and warm syrup.

**note: we made maple butter by melting butter into maple syrup in a sauce pan. Don't know how I ever ate pancakes without it!**

Product review: Popchips

Popchips are good, real good. Mike couldn't stop eating them. I heard about them recently and finally found them at Target. I was at Target today and decided to buy some. I got BBQ because you can never go wrong with BBQ. They are so good, not greasy at all. The only have 120 calories and 4 grams of fat for one third of the bag! The chips are all natural which makes me feel better about eating chips. It is also nice to read the ingredients of a package and know what everything listed is. They have 7 flavors including BBQ, sour cream and onion and salt and pepper. I will definetly be trying a few other flavors.

www.popchips.com

Homemade Korean food

Mike and I took a trip to see his sisters in Atlanta during the 4th of July weekend. His mom and step dad also came down from New York along with his cousin from Alabama.

This is everyone:

Mike's mom and cousin taught me how to make Korean food. I could not tell you a recipe since it is a little of this a handful of that. Once we came home to California I decided to invite my parents over and make them Korean food. If you have never had homemade Korean food...you are missing out! It is better than any Korean restaurant I have ever eaten at.

This is Mike and his mom Katy:

This is fried tofu and it is awesome! My mom and dad both liked it which shocked me.

This is chop che, my favorite:

Tupperware

This is my loot from my recent Tupperware party. My sister recently started selling Tupperware and I needed some in my kitchen very badly! This stuff lasts forever. My mom still has the cake carrier she bought before I can remember and she made a lot of birthday cakes on that thing! I really needed big bowls and as you can see I really scored some! I am not afraid to admit that I love my Tupperware!

Chicken Tamale Casserole

This was super easy and very good. Tamales are a lot of work but this is not. I changed the recipe a little from the original recipe from Food alla Puttanesca. This would make a great week night meal since I use a store bought rotisserie chicken.

Adapted from: Food ala Puttanesca

1 cup (4 ounces) pepper jack cheese (separated 1/4 cup and 3/4 cup)
1/3 cup milk
1 egg
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 (14 3/4-ounce) can cream-style corn
1 (8.5-ounce) box corn muffin mix (I used Jiffy)
1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chiles, drained
Cooking spray
1 (10-ounce) can red enchilada sauce
2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast
1/2 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 400°. Combine 1/4 cup cheese and next 7 ingredients (through chiles) in a large bowl, stirring just until moist. Pour mixture into a 13 x 9–inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until set. Pierce entire surface liberally with a fork; pour enchilada sauce over top. Top with chicken and sprinkle with remaining 3/4 cup cheese. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until cheese melts. Remove from oven; let stand 5 minutes. Cut into 8 pieces; top each serving with sour cream.