Baked Pasta with Sausage and Eggplant

Posted by CK in cheese, eggplant, pasta, recipe, sausage

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YUMMY. Last night I actually had time to cook a nice dinner for M and I and it turned out great! Believe it or not, I actually found this recipe on a parenting website (no worries A, I wouldn't tell you on a blog ;)). The recipes on family websites are usually very little time-consuming (takes about 45 minutes from start to finish) and delicious as it needs to please the kids. This one was no exception! Although frying eggplants is not the best for your health calorie-wise (as it absorbs most fat and adds a hell of alot of calories in the process), you'd be fine eating small portions of it. Besides, this recipe is so packed with ingredients that you won't need a big portion to fill up that belly! :)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb dry pasta
• 6 links of your favorite pre-cooked sausage (beef, pork or chicken) (I used 3 large sausages that were on sale at Super C - the ones we use for the bbq - instead of 6 links of sausage)
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 large eggplant cut into 1-inch pieces (you'll see that this might look like ALOT of eggplant when you cut it up, but it's actually very proportional)
• 2 tablespoons of dry basil (the original recipe calls for fresh basil but I didn't have any and it still tasted awesome)
• 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• Pepper
• 1 can of Aylmer tomato soup
• 1 small can of tomato paste
• 1/3 cup of water
• 1 cup Parmesan cheese (optional - I didn't have any)

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook pasta only 6-7 minutes. It will be firm (and will soften when it's baked).
2. While waiting for water to boil, chop the sausages (into big pieces) and the onion and garlic. Cook together in olive oil in a skillet 3-4 minutes (they'll cook further when baked). Put sausages, onion and garlic in a large casserole dish.
3. In the same oil fry as many eggplant pieces as you can fit. Cook until both sides are browned and then add eggplant to casserole. Repeat with all of the eggplant pieces, adding more oil when necessary.
4. Add the cooked pasta (drained) and ½ cup of the pasta water to the casserole. Add the basil to casserole and add 1 cup of mozzarella. Grind in some black pepper.
5. In a mixing bowl, pour the tomato soup, the tomato paste and the water and mix well. Pour in pasta casserole. Stir until all ingredients are combined.
6. Optional: Sprinkle remaining cup mozzarella and Parmesan over pasta.
7. Cover with foil and refrigerate if making ahead, or immediately bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes.

I would like to apologize for the picture - it's not the best for this dish but take my word for it, it's absolutely amazing! I got my sausages a little spicy so it gave an extra umph to the dish!

Enjoy!

-CK

Healthy Stuffed Eggplant

Posted by CK in cheese, eggplant, recipe, rice, vegetarian, zucchini

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There are so many recipes that I'm finding online that I just can't wait to try, and this one is surely one of them!

Eggplants were never my favorite vegetables, but once in a while I don't mind eating them cooked or in purée form.

(source: http://operagirlcooks.com/2010/07/22/stuffed-eggplant-recipe/)

Ingredients (serves 4)

- 1 medium-sized eggplant (about 7″ long and 5″ in diameter)
- 1/4 C. extra virgin olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
- 1 small (4 oz) zucchini, diced
- 1 medium yellow pepper, diced

- 1 C. cooked short-grain brown rice
- 2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
- 1 Tbsp. Italian Herb Garlic Gold Nuggets

- 1 small (1 oz) slice whole wheat sourdough bread, processed into breadcrumbs
- 1 oz (1/4 C.) grated parmesan cheese

Preparation

1. Halve the eggplant, then scoop out the insides with a melon baller or tablespoon, leaving 1/4″ of flesh. Place hollowed out halves in a 9″ square baking dish and set aside.

2. Coarsely chop the eggplant flesh.

3. In a large (12″) non-stick skillet, heat the olive oil over medium flame. Add the onions, and cook until translucent and softened.

4. Add the eggplant and salt to the skillet, cooking until eggplant softens and is no longer opaque.

5. Add the zucchini and diced pepper to the skillet, cooking until softened.

6. Transfer sauteed vegetables to a medium mixing bowl, then add the brown rice, vinegar, and Garlic Gold nuggets. Stir until everything is combined.

7. Preheat oven to 400F.

8. In a small bowl, mix the sourdough breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese together.

9. Scoop the vegetable mixture into the eggplant halves, then top them with the breadcrumbs and cheese, patting it down to form an even crust. Bake for 25 minutes.

Nutritional Information

Serving size: 1/2 an eggplant half Calories: 318 Fat: 17g Sodium 307.9mg Carbs: 37g Fiber: 6.3g Protein: 7.6g