Breaded Eggplant and Spaghetti w/ Tomato Cream Sauce

Source: Kuty's Kreations!

This is another recipe inspired by a long day at work and a craving for some rich hearty Italian food!  I didn't want to just make pasta and sauce out of a bottle, so I decided to make a semi-homemade sauce.

 Ingredients

• 8oz Spaghetti
• 28 oz dice tomatoes (I used Hunt's Fire Roasted w/ garlic)
• 1 Onion, chopped
• 6-7 Mushrooms, chopped
• 2-3 cloves garlic (if you don't use diced tomatoes w/ garlic in it)
• 1/4 cup - 1/2 cup cream
• 5-6 Baby Eggplants
• 1 Box Planko Breadcrumbs
• 2 Eggs (You can use buttermilk too)
• 1-2 Teaspoons Red Chili Powder 

Directions 

Breaded Eggplant

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Prepare a baking pan with oil/ cooking spray/ or foil with a little bit of oil
3. Wash and cut each baby eggplant into 4-5 thin round slices
4. Beat the eggs with a little bit of milk and keep aside in a bowl
5. Mix ~1 cup of breadcrumbs with salt, pepper, basil, and 1 Teaspoon of Red Chili Pepper
6. Dip each eggplant piece into the egg mixture, then the breadcrumbs mixture.  Make sure you press down firmly to nicely coat each side. Then place the breaded eggplant on the baking pan.
7. Bake each side of the eggplant slices for 10-15 mins.  You may need to drizzle a little more oil on each side in order for them to brown. 
8. If they don't brown, set the oven to the broil setting and cook for a few minutes on each side to get the eggplants slices crispy.

Sauce

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil
2. Saute the chopped onions until golden brown.  (You can add the garlic at this time.) Then add the mushrooms and remaining red chili powder.  Cook for a few minutes.
3. Add the diced tomatoes and salt. Cook to a boil.  Then cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Smash the tomatoes until you get the desired sauce consistency.  I wanted mine to be a little chunky.  If you want a smooth sauce, you'll have to use a food processor.
4. Slowly add the cream and simmer a few more minutes. You can add some parmesan cheese at this point if you want.
5. Add salt, pepper, basil for taste.

Pasta

1. Boil water and cook spaghetti al dente.

Kuty's Twist

If you want to save on some calories, you can grill the eggplant instead of bread it and skip the cream.  I feel that a simple sauce made from canned tomatoes tastes much better than the bottled tomato sauce.

I ended up making way too many breaded eggplants.  I'm just going to freeze them and maybe make some eggplant pizza or sandwiches next week!

Linguine with Pumpkin Sauce

Source: Indigo's Sugar Spectrum

Fall has come upon us, which means only one thing.. It's PUMPKIN TIME! I have never had pumpkin ravioli, but I heard that it's pretty amazing. After a long tiring Sunday of running errands around town, my tummy had the random craving to try this out. But of course I was lazy and thought, why not just make pumpkin sauce? And so I did... :-)

Ingredients

• 1 pound whole wheat linguine (or any pasta you prefer)
• 1/2 onion chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, grated
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 15-ounce can of pureed organic pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 Tablespoon red chili powder
• 2-3 cups chopped spinach
  
• 2 pinches ground cinnamon
• 1 pinch nutmeg
• Pepper to taste
• 7 leaves fresh sage, thinly sliced
• Grated Parmesan cheese
• Flour for thickening

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt it and add a little bit of olive oil. Then add the pasta and cook until al dente.
2. Drain the pasta and rinse with cool water to prevent from drying out and sticking together.
3. While the pasta is cooking, heat 2 Tablespoons of olive oil. Add the onions, garlic, and red chili powder until softened. Then add the chopped spinach.
4. After the spinach starts to wilt and is cooked, stir in the vegetable broth, pumpkin puree, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and pepper.
5. After this simmers for a few minutes, add the cream.
6. Lower the heat and let it simmer until it thickens to a desired consistency. (I had to whisk in about 1/3 cup of flour to thicken the sauce a bit.)
7. Stir in the sage
8. Serve the sauce over the linguine and top with shredded parmesan!
   

Kuty's Twist

I didn't have any "hot pepper sauce" so I went the predictable "kuty" route and added red chili powder. I also added spinach to add some more veggies into the recipe (I had a bunch of spinach which I knew wouldn't be used over the next few days.)

I also didn't have fresh sage, so I stirred in dried sage while I was cooking the onions.

I'm sure this would taste even better with ravioli or tortellini! But I was in a slightly healthy mood and felt like slurping up pasta :-) I am also LOVING this whole wheat pasta. It tastes great and is super filling.

Warning: This definitely is a dish for those whole like a combo of sweet and spice. Many people don't like that hint of sweetness to dishes. This didn't come out too sweet, but I would suggest adding more red chili powder if the level of sweetness isn't to your liking.

Summer Salads #1- Grilled Vegetable Orzo Salad

Source: Kuty's Kreation

So I think the majority of all of us have a desired "weight range" we strive to be within. Unfortunately summertime has arrived and all the delicious California food has caught up to me. I've found myself past my weight spectrum.. so it's time to buckle down and start cooking some Summer Slimdown dishes!

I'm hoping that this a first in a long series of Summer Salads. My goal is to find healthy yet flavorful recipes.


Ingredients

• 8 oz Orzo Pasta
• 1 Head of Broccoli
• 1 Bunch of Asparagus (8-10)
• 1-2 Tomatoes
• 1 Red Onion
• 1 Cucumber
• 1/4 Bunch of Coriander
• 1 Avocado
• 2-3 Tablespoons Feta (Optional)
• 2-4 Garlic cloves
  

Seasonings:

• Oregano
• Cayenne Pepper (for some spice)
• Pepper
• Salt
• Olive Oil (optional)
• Lemon Juice

Directions

1. Preheat oven to the broil setting (Can you tell that I LOVE to broil? :) )

2. Boil water and cook orzo until al dente (don't overcook!)

3. Wash and chop the broccoli into small florets. Chop the asparagus into 1 inch sections.

4. Spray a pan with cooking spray and toss in the broccoli and asparagus. Season with Oregano, Cayenne Pepper, Pepper, Salt, Olive Oil (optional). Broil for 5-6 minutes. Toss around and broil for another 5-6 minutes until fully cooked and charred.

5. Chop the onion, cucumbers, tomato, avocado into cubes

6. Toss together the orzo, all vegetables, coriander with garlic, lemon juice, and salt to taste

7. Sprinkle on some feta cheese for an extra burst of flavor

Kuty's Twist

You can either steam or broil the broccoli and asparagus. I prefer the taste of vegetables when they're broiled.

I wanted to pack this for lunch for a few days this week so I stored the orzo, broccoli, and asparagus separately from the other veggies. The salad has a nice flavor if the orzo, broccoli, and asparagus are warmed up and then combined with the other cold veggies. The avocado should also be added right before serving since it tends to go brown.

Baked Macaroni and Cheese w/ Jalapenos

Source: Over The Hill And Roll

It's only fitting that my first post is the cheesiest dish I've ever made! This one's for mom, who loves cheese as much as I do.


Ingredients:

• 8 Tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1 cup planko bread crumbs
• 5 1/2 cups milk
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 Tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 Tablespoon red chili pepper pepper
• 4 cups grated sharp white cheddar
• 2 cups grated gruyere cheese (I only used 8oz)
• 1 pound elbow macaroni
• 2 Jalapenos
  

Directions
Start boiling your water to cook the macaroni.

Warm milk and 6 Tablespoons butter over medium heat. When it starts to bubble, whisk in flour and continue until mixture bubbles and thickens, 8 to 12 minutes. Remove cheese mixture from heat and stir in salt, black pepper, red chili powder, 3 cups cheddar and all of the gruyere. Stir and allow to cool slightly. Taste a little and add more black pepper if necessary. (I like a lot of black pepper in mine.)

Cook macaroni for 2 to 3 minutes in boiling water (the macaroni will continue cooking in the oven). Drain and run under cold water. Add macaroni to cheese mixture and combine. Pour mixture into buttered/ sprayed baking dish. Sprinkle remaining cheddar cheese over top. Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Serve and enjoy!

Kuty's Twist
Slice up 2-3 jalapenos and pan fry them til they are crispy. Set aside.

Take 1 cup planko bread crumbs and lightly cover them with oil or melted butter.

After the macaroni has baked for 20 minutes, mix in the jalapenos and sprinkle the breadcrumbs on top. Bake together for another 10 minutes. If the breadcrumbs don't start to brown, set your oven to the broiler setting.

Serving suggestion for a dinner party: Bake the mac and cheese in individual ramekins.