Eggplant Parmesan

Eggplant Parmesan

1. 2 medium eggplants
2. 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup milk (may need more or less)
3. 1 cup wheat germ
4. 1 cup soft Italian breadcrumbs (see previous post)
5. 1 teaspoon dried basil
6. 1/2 teaspoon each dried oregano and thyme
7. 1 batch tomato sauce ( see recipe included... this is half the reason why this recipe is so good!)
8. 1 pound mozzarella cheese thinly sliced or grated
9. 1/2 cup or more grated parmesan cheese

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees
• Lightly oil a baking tray and #2 9x13 pans
• Cut eggplants in rounds about 1" thick
• Place the milk in a shallow dish; combine wheat germ with bread crumbs (if using) and herbs on a plate. Dip each eggplant in the milk, moistening both sides, then coat it thoroughly with the wheat germ and breadcrumb mixture. (I found that using a spoon to pile the mixture on each slice and then to lightly pat the breadcrumb mixture on each side helped get each slice well coated with breadcrumbs).
• Spread out the slices on the prepared baking sheet and bake until tender, about 20-30 minutes. You can flip the slices halfway through to crisp on both sides.
• After the eggplant is tender leave it to cool a bit on the baking sheet....you just want it cool enough to handle.
• Spread a little sauce over the bottom of the baking dish, arrange eggplant slices along the bottom of the 9x13 pan... you may need another 9x13 or just another 8x8 depending on how many slices of eggplant you end up with (9x13 holds 6 slices, 8x8 holds 4)
• Place one slice or about 3-4 tablespoons of grated mozzarella on top of each eggplant slice.
• Then spoon about 1/4 cup of the tomato sauce on top of the mozzarella.
• The sprinkle the tops of each mound with the grated parmesan.
• Bake at 375 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes (checking after about 25 to makes sure the sauce on the bottom isn't burning, add a little water (about 1/4 cup) if it's starting to) or until all the cheese is melted and starting to brown lightly.

We hosted our couples prayer group at our house this month and our being Catholic, and this being a Friday of Lent... we needed to serve something that did not have meat in it. I am a carnivore :) and usually always serve a meat centered main dish for company. Thanks to this beautiful season of prayer and fasting I was challenged to reach outside of my comfort zone and find something new to prepare. This recipe was FANTASTIC, and several of our guests requested the recipe after our gathering... a serious crowd pleaser! THANK YOU to my sister Jessica for sending me this gem!

Easy Tomato Sauce
3 Tbs olive oil
2 cups chopped onion
2 tsp dry basil
2 tsp dry oregano
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 large can petite diced tomato (or crushed tomato)
1 med size can tomato sauce
1 little can tomato paste
1 Tbs honey
lots of black pepper
4-6 cloves of minced garlic

1. Saute the onions in the olive oil over med heat. Season with salt and herbs and continue to cook until the onions are very soft.

2. Add the diced tomatoes, sauce, paste, honey and black pepper. Bring to a boil, lower heat and allow to simmer partially covered for 30 minutes.

3. Add the garlic, adjust seasoning (if needed) and allow to cook 10 minutes more (I let it simmer on the lowest setting for a few hours and it was fantastic!)

ENJOY AND BE BLESSED!

Love, Jocelyn

Homemade Soft Breadcrumbs

You can use this recipe to make different flavors and amounts of breadcrumbs... they're super simple, healthy, and delicious! I made these particular breadcrumbs for eggplant parmesan... but they can be used for all sorts of things. Be creative, try different spices and let us know what you discover!

Homemade Soft (Italian) Breadcrumbs

• 4 slices of whole wheat bread (I used the heels... they're drier and stiffer and made better breadcrumbs)
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
• 1 teaspoon basil
• 3/4 teaspoon oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Tear up the bread slices and place in the bowl of a food processor. Drizzle the oil over the bread and add all the seasonings. Pulse the mixture in the food processor until the bread has been broken down all the way to breadcrumbs.

Enjoy and be BLESSED!

Love, Jocelyn

Almond (not homemade... gasp) Scones

So it's been awhile since I've posted... have you noticed that some weeks just consume every minute? It's a hard thing to have a creative outlet as a wife and mama and homemaker. It's a sanity thing, and I know I need this, to enjoy the gift that I have in doing the work I do. To celebrate making the mundane beautiful, and bringing HIS light into our home through gift and glory. This past week was just full, and so here I am... back in business. These scones are not homemade... you know, in reality we aren't always able to make homemade treats to bless our families. That doesn't mean our homes need to be bereft of that sweet something-wonderful-is-in-the-oven scent that floats so gently over the things we see as failures (the dusty piano, the toys that need to be sorted and put away, the booster seat that could really stand to be dunked in a tub of bleach... again) and make them muted in comparison to the miraculous aroma of baking. In many ways I think the miracle of baking is a grace from God to cover over a multitude of "failures" and remind us that EVERYTHING that is good is His.

I made these scones according to the directions on the box and just added about 1/2 cup of sliced almonds that I pulsed in my food processor until they were very finely chopped. Then I added 1 tsp. almond extract to the milk before I added that into the mix. They could have used a little more extract... maybe 1/2 tsp. more... but they were pretty delicious as is. I used them to make blackberry shortcakes. Those were so scrumptious that I was distracted and didn't think to photograph them until they were already consumed. Sometimes life is just like that... we forget, we enjoy, and we live to tell another tale.

ENJOY AND BE BLESSED!

Love... Jocelyn

Dutch Babies

Ingredients:

6 eggs (room temp.)
1 cup milk (room temp)

1 cup flour (I used half white, half wheat)

1 t. vanilla

1/4 t. cinnamon

5 T. butter

Topping:

lemon juice

powdered sugar

strawberry jam (or whatever you like)

Preheat oven to 450. Place over rack in middle of oven. Place a large, heavy oven proof frying pan, preferably a cast iron skillet in the oven while its heating, prepare your batter.

In a large bowl, beat eggs until light and frothy; add milk, flour, vanilla extract, and cinnamon; beat for 5 minutes more. The batter will be thin, but very smooth and creamy.

Using a pot holder, remove the hot skillet from the oven; add the butter; tilting the pan to melt the butter and coat the skillet. Pour the prepared batter into the hot skillet, all at once and immediately return the skillet to the oven. Bake approximately 20-25 minutes or until puffed and golden brown.

remove from oven and serve immediately. Once out of the oven the pancake will begin to deflate. Top with your favorite topping, and gobble it down!

Maybe its because my grandma was Dutch that I'm sticking to the name Dutch Baby. Another name for these are German pancakes...but really they are very un-pancake like. They are however a delicious breakfast! This one turned out very even...but sometimes they puff up all cool, making it very fun for children to watch cook in the oven! They are very simple and easy to make, and you normally have all this stuff on hand. Hope you like 'em as much as we do! Love, Amy.

Taco Pizza

Dough Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups warm water (105°F-115°F)

1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) of active dry yeast (check the expiration date on the package)

3 1/2 cups bread flour (I used half white, half wheat)

1 teaspoons garlic salt

2 teaspoon sugar

1 In the large bowl of a heavy duty electric mixer (such as a Kitchen Aid), add the warm water. Sprinkle on the yeast and let sit for 5 minutes until the yeast is dissolved. Stir to dissolve completely if needed at the end of 5 minutes.

2 Attach a mixing paddle to the mixer. Mix in the olive oil, flour, salt and sugar on low speed for about a minute. Remove the mixing paddle and replace with a dough hook. Knead using the mixer and dough hook, on low to medium speed, until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. If you don't have a mixer, you can mix and knead by hand. If the dough seems a little too wet, sprinkle on a bit more flour.

3 Place ball of dough in a bowl that has been coated lightly with olive oil. Turn the dough around in the bowl so that it gets coated with the oil. Cover with plastic wrap. Let sit in a warm place (75-85°F) until it doubles in size, I only waited about 20 minutes but you can wait an hour or so.

4 Place dough on floured surface and press out with fingers or a small roller. Work slowly, letting the dough rest periodically, to avoid tearing. This is a homemade pizza so it doesn't have to be perfectly round ...don't stress.

5 Place on pizza pan that has been dusted with corn meal if you have it

6 Now its time to decorate with your favorite toppings...whatever you like on your tacos!

I used:

refried beans as the sauce

cooked hamburger with taco seasoning, onion and garlic

mozzarella and colby cheese

olives

7 Cook at 400 for 20-30 minutes

after its cooked add...

lettuce

tomatoes

avocados

sour cream

hot sauce!

Taco pizza is a crowd pleaser. This was delicious. Jon gave me a two thumbs up across the table after his first bite. Get ready to make a mess with the dough...but while its rising and while its cooking is a perfect time to clean up....Then after the pizza is cooked, all that's left to do is enjoy! Love, Amy.

Slow-Cooked Tapioca...

Ingredients:

8 c. of milk ( I used 6 cups milk and 2 cups heavy cream because I had it)

3 eggs lightly beaten

1 c. tapioca pearls

1 1/3 c. sugar

3 t. vanilla

Mix all ingredients in crock pot. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours. Stirring occasionally. Serve warm. This makes a whole pot full, and the recipe could easily be cut in half if you didn't want that much.

Oh my goodness! Did you ever dream you could make this delicious pudding in a crock pot! (No more standing at the stove and stirring forever!) Whoever has already heard of such a wonder, should have passed this information to me along time ago. Wonderful, dreamy, creamy....mmmmm!

Tandoori Chicken...

Marinade Ingredients:

1 c. plain yogurt

1 1/2 T. lemon juice

1 t. curry

1/2 t. cayenne pepper

1/2 t. pepper

1/2 t. ginger

3 cloves garlic

1/2 t. dried mustard

1/2 t. red pepper flakes

1 t. paprika

1 t. salt

( these are just approximate, I just kinda eyed it.)

Mix all marinade ingredients together in a bowl (minus the paprika which you use to sprinkle on top). Place 4 chicken breasts in casserole dish smother in marinade and refrigerate 5-8 hours or overnight. Bake at 350 for 40-60 minutes.

This is an Indian inspired recipe and its delicious. Not something I would want on a weekly basis, but something special when you are tired of the same old thing. It is perfectly accompanied with couscous or rice. So if you are needing a little spice in your life, try it out. Love, Amy.