My Adventures With Moussaka

Looking through the latest Every Day with Rachael Ray magazine, I found a recipe I knew I would have to try for some friends coming to dinner. It's a healthified version of Moussaka, using ground beef instead of lamb. I actually used turkey, and it was fabulous. Time consuming, and totally worth it. I also had never used eggplant successfully, so this was my 2nd chance, and it worked. I didn't do everything in order the way it was written, because I didn't think I should preheat my oven before letting the eggplant sit for 40 minutes. Do what works for you!

2 eggplants (about 1 1/2 pounds), sliced crosswise 1/4" thick

4 zucchini (about 2 pounds), sliced crosswise 1/4" thick

Salt and pepper

1/4 C EVOO

1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

3/4 pound lean ground beef (I used more, and turkey instead of beef)

One 15oz can crushed tomatoes

3oz gruyere cheese, shredded

1 pint (16oz) low-fat cottage cheese

Preheat oven to 500. Line 2 baking sheets (I needed 4) with parchment paper (I used foil). Place the eggplant and zucchini in two bowls and season with salt; let stand for 40 minutes. Rinse the vegetables and pat dry. Arrange in a single layer on the prepared pans and toss with 3 tablespoons olive oil. Roast until golden, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a 9x11" baking dish (I used a 9x13 because it's what I had). Lower the oven temp to 350.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Add the scallions and garlic and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes; add the ground beef (or turkey) and cook, breaking up the meat, for about 4 minutes. Add the tomatoes and simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes; season with salt and pepper. Spoon the meat sauce over the eggplant and zucchini. Top with half of the gruyere.

Using a food processor, puree the cottage cheese. Spoon the puree onto the moussaka, top with the remaining gruyere and bake 17 minutes. Transfer to the broiler and cook for 3 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes before slicing.

Homemade Mac & Cheese

I needed the basic recipe for this, but made it with what was in my house already. I didn't want to spend nearly $10 on Gruyere cheese when I had blocks of extra-sharp cheddar and mozzarella waiting to be used up. I'm pretty sure macaroni & cheese can be made with whatever cheese you want! Here's what I did, using Ina Garten's technique for amounts of milk, etc.

4 C milk

1/2 C flour

8 Tbsp (1 stick) butter

6 C shredded cheese (I used extra-sharp cheddar, mozzarella and some jack)

Salt and pepper

1lb elbow macaroni

3/4 C panko bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 375.

Cook pasta in 6 cups boiling, salted water until al dente, 6-8 minutes; drain.

Meanwhile, heat the milk on the stove, but do not boil.

In a large pot, melt 6 tablespoons of butter. Add the flour and whisk until thickened, about 2 minutes. Add the warm milk and continue whisking until smooth and thick, about 3 minutes more. Off the heat, add the cheese, 1 tablespoon salt, and pepper. Add pasta and mix well. Pour into 9X13 baking dish. Top with remaining butter mixed with panko bread crumbs. (I estimated this amount...I just melted the butter and added the bread crumbs until it looked good!) Bake in a preheated oven 30-40 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly and topping is browned.

Stromboli-Oli-O

I made dinner for 8 adults last night, and like I predicted, it was fairly easy. I didn't go with tacos, I made a version of Rachael Ray's Stromboli, as I've done before. Seriously...I need to start trying NEW things. I'm pretty sure that's what I wanted this blog to be for. Regardless, they're easy, versatile, and tasty! If you don't like them, it's your fault, because you can determine what's in them! Here's what I did:

1 pkg refrigerated pizza crust dough (2 packages for 8 portions)

Cornmeal or flour (for dusting)

any pizza fillings you like: i did pepperoni & cheese (cheddar and mozzarella) and veggies (onions, mushrooms, sweet red peppers and black olives) & cheese

EVOO, sesame seeds, parmesan cheese, garlic powder and crushed red pepper flakes for topping

Roll the pizza dough out on a floured surface and stretch into a rectangle. That's the shape it's normally in, just stretch it a bit thinner. Cut into 4 equal pieces, cutting in half, and then in half again.

Top each portion with your fillings of choice, then roll it up on the diagonal, pinching each end and the seam closed.

Place on a cookie sheet. Mix together sesame seeds, parmesan cheese, garlic powder, red pepper flakes. Brush each strombli with some EVOO, then sprinkle topping over. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve with pizza sauce: homemade or from a jar. Next time I'll try homemade!

*Update 4/12/10

I made this again tonight. Most of them had a mix of provolone and cheddar cheese along with red onions, red bell peppers, spicy italian sausage and pepperoni. Again, they were delicious. And devoured!

Keep On Keepin' On

I haven't cooked anything this week! Ok, I boiled some brats in some beer, but that's it. Over the weekend we went to Iowa to visit some friends, on Labor Day we grilled brats, and then Zander started daycare, so it's been a bit crazy. I'm thinking of cooking for a friend who is in town from Texas, but if I do that, I'm cooking for 7 adults and a 4 kids. I don't often cook on that scale. I'm going to have to think about this one. Tacos would probably be so easy and (potentially) so good. If you have any ideas, let me know. I just wanted to stop in and let you know I haven't forgotten, it's just been busy. :)

Chicken Parmigiana and Pasta

I was looking for something quick (because I had little time) and with chicken (since I had some in the fridge) so I looked to Giada's recipe for Chicken Parmigiana and Pasta. Sounded good, so I looked quickly through the recipe before I went to the store for dry nonfat milk to make homemade hamburger buns. Who knew I'd have to buy a box that makes 8 quarts of milk? I only needed 1/3 cup. I passed and bought buns instead. While I was there, I was thinking of the recipe I was going to make, and I didn't remember seeing any tomato sauce in it. I bought a jar of spaghetti sauce anyway, just in case. Because how do you have Chicken Parmigiana without tomato sauce?

Anyway, when I got home I looked at the recipe again and the "dressing" was a balsamic vinaigrette. Not really what I was looking for, so I used the spaghetti sauce instead. Super easy and really yummy.

1 1/2 lb chicken tenders (I cut up chicken breasts into chunks)

1 C buttermilk

3/4 C Italian seasoned breadcrumbs (I used panko - it's what I had - and added Italian seasoning)

1 1/4 C grated Parmesan cheese

1lb whole wheat penne

1 jar spaghetti sauce of your choice (I used Classico Marinara)

Preheat oven to 500. Line a heavy duty sheet pan with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray.

Place the chicken in a bowl with the buttermilk and set aside; let marinate for 15-30 minutes.

Mix Parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs in a pie plate.

Cook pasta according to package directions, until al dente; drain

Preheat oven to 500. Line a heavy duty sheet pan with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray.

Remove the chicken from the buttermilk, letting the excess drain off. Dredge chicken in breadcrumb mixture, pressing to make sure it sticks. Line chicken up on prepared cookie sheet; top with 1 tablespoon olive oil.

Bake chicken approximately 12 minutes or until cooked through. Add chicken to cooked pasta and toss with spaghetti sauce.

BBQ Chicken Pizza

I tried another of Sandra Lee's recipes last night, and I LOVED IT! It's pretty darn easy, so to challenge myself I plan on making the dough next time.

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 pound chicken tenders

2/3 cup barbecue sauce (recommended: Bullseye Original)

Flour, for dusting surface

1 (13.8-ounce) package pizza dough (recommended: Pillsbury Classic)

3/4 cup shredded Gouda

1 cup shredded mozzarella

3/4 cup shredded Parmesan

1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced

3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken tenders and saute until golden brown, about 12 minutes. Remove from heat. When chicken is cool enough to handle, dice chicken to yield a little over 1 cup. In a small bowl, toss chicken with 2 tablespoons barbecue sauce. Set aside.

On a floured surface, roll out dough and place on a greased sheet pan. Shape to fill the sheet pan, about a 15 by 10-inch rectangle. Spread remaining barbecue sauce evenly over pizza dough. Sprinkle Gouda, mozzarella, Parmesan, onions, and chicken over top. Bake for 20 minutes or until cheese bubbles. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and cut into pieces.

I didn't add the cilantro, and instead of taking the time to cook the chicken and THEN cut it, I just cut it up so it would have shorter cooking time. Worked out well, and I have some yummy leftover chicken. I also just pressed the dough into a greased sheet pan instead of laying it out onto a floured surface. Worked well for me! Because I forgot to mix the bbq sauce with the chicken before topping the pizza, I just drizzled some on last-minute.

We are going out of town this weekend, so I don't think I'll be doing much cooking. However, I think this would be a great time to make something our friends would enjoy. Hmm, let's figure this out. I'll keep *you* posted...whoever *you* are!

Chili Cheese Omelet

The best breakfast I've had (at least in a long time) is the Chili Cheese Omelet from Original Pancake House. Just thinking about it, I can taste it. It's a baked omelet, super puffy and nicely spicy from the chili. Instead of paying $9+ for an omelet, I wanted to try to repeat it immediately, but wasn't sure where to begin. So when I was at Barnes & Noble the other day, paging through Semi-Homemade Meals 2 from Sandra Lee, and found a chili cheese omelet recipe, I figured I would give it a go. It isn't exactly what I was looking for, but it did taste pretty good. And at least I only dropped one omelet in the sink...and at least it wasn't on the floor.

Because Sandra Lee did it, I also used canned Hormel Chili (I used the turkey variety) with beans. I don't have sausage or chives, so I used bacon and green onions. And instead of mexican cheese blend, I used the colby-jack I had on hand. I think I will leave out the bacon and green onions next time. I didn't find the need. And I will work on making chili that would go good with my omelet instead of using canned.

Over medium heat, melt a tab of butter. Whisk together 2 eggs, reduce heat to medium-low and cook just until set, pulling up the edges of the eggs to let the inside run out and get cooked. I like my eggs fully cooked, so I flipped the whole thing. Right into the sink. On the 2nd try, I just used a spatula, and while it wasn't perfect, I got the eggs cooked. Top half of the omelet with 1/4 C chili and 1/4 C grated cheese. Fold other half on top and slide onto a plate. Top with some more chili and cheese, and a dollop of sour cream. Which I just realized I forgot. I guess I have to try again tomorrow. I'll be adding some red pepper flakes too.