Cook - Blog Posts

I know I’m late to watching this show but wtf Skins uk I cry when people accidentally step on slugs you can NOT get me emotionally invested and then end season 4 like that and not continue the storyline in season 5 how dare you (spoilers? at least let them find out he died) how could you I haven’t been able to sleep for a week

Eggplant Parmesan

Now, how mouthwatering delicious does THAT look? 

HOMEMADE Eggplant Parmesan!

When trying to figure out what recipe I wanted to try cooking for my first blog post, I could not think of anything. I was WAY overthinking it. I didn’t want anything too boring or too simple, but the fact that my cooking has been on a little hiatus I wasn’t feeling overly daring in the kitchen quite yet either. I kept putting it off and putting it off. The idea came to me when I was flipping through my mail and came across some coupons. Me wanting to live a more balanced and full life, being better with my money is definitely at the top of the list. So I decided to actually take a look instead of just throwing them into a drawer, never to see the light of day again. I saw some coupons for fresh produce and saw that eggplant was on sale for JUST 98 cents! Now i’m not sure how good of a “deal” that is, being that I have never bought an eggplant before but 98 cents sounded pretty good to me. Then I realized, I had all of the ingredients at home needed for eggplant parmesan, except for the star of the show….THE EGGPLANT. So I snipped my very first coupon and headed to the store.

This was PERFECT to make for my first recipe because I was being frugal with my money (Great Feeling!!) and I would be cooking something that I have never made before. Although picking out the eggplant was a little intimidating (there were all different shades of purple going on) I bit the bullet and just chose one. I mean hey if something went wrong, anything smothered in cheese and delicious marinara sauce cant be too bad right?

Now, it was time to get cookin’

My adventure in the kitchen with the eggplant parmesan has now begun :)

First step on the list was to slice the eggplant into slices and salt both sides. Ok, I can do that, CHECK!  As I read on, the recipe said to let the slices sit in a colander for an hour for all of the liquid to drain out. BUMMER! I have to be honest, my first thought was to just skip this step and move on. I can be a little inpatient and hey I was ready to move on to the fun and messy part, dunking those slices into the egg wash and breadcrumbs. But I wanted this eggplant parmesan to come out perfect so I did as it said and I waited…and waited…and waited. Man those slices were SWEATING! I had no idea how much liquid there was in an eggplant. Glad I didn’t skip this step, it seemed important ;)

Now the FUN part! As I went to whisk the eggs and milk together for the eggwash I realized I did not have any milk. Again my mind went straight to “Its just a half a cup, lets just SKIP the milk i’m sure eggs will be fine. But I wanted this to come out perfect so off to the store I went for a second time. It was a bummer having to run back out but I found a way to see the positive in it. My supermarket is having that monopoly sweepstakes giveaway game going on and I am only one more ticket away from winning a million dollars. This milk could be my winning  ticket!! Everything happens for a reason right?

Sadly, still not a millionaire. But back to the eggplant parmesan, now with the milk to make this a truly winning dish at least  ;) 

Now, I know I said earlier that this was the fun part, but honestly this was more intimidating than picking out the eggplant. I have never really fried anything either but I survived!  My eggplant slices came out fried to a perfect golden brown. Except for the first one…the burnt one that is strategically not shown in this picture. These fry up fast, so be sure to keep an eye on them not to make the same mistake I did with that stubborn first one ;)

I carefully constructed the layers of marinara sauce, eggplant slices and cheese in the baking dish. Maybe a little too careful, this step took me 3 times as long as it probably should. But like I said earlier I wanted this dish to come out perfect.  I even got a little daring by adding spicy Italian sausage and crushed red pepper flakes to my marinara sauce. Popped it into the oven and I can honestly say to my SURPRISE….

THIS DISH CAME OUT PERFECT! 

Following the recipe step by step and deciding not to skip anything really paid off! ;) This is definitely a dish I would make again and I can now check off  eggplant as something I have conquered successfully in the kitchen. Absolutely delicious.

INGREDIENTS

1 large eggplant, sliced into ½" thick slices

2 tbsp kosher salt

1 ½ cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs

3 eggs

½ cup milk

4 tbsp vegetable oil, for lightly pan-frying

3 cups marinara sauce

2 cups shredded mozzarella 

1 cup shredded parmesan cheese 

Handful of fresh basil leaves, chopped

INSTRUCTIONS

Salt both sides of your eggplant slices and place them in a large colander in the sink. Let the liquid drain for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

When your eggplant slices have finished draining liquid, brush off the excess salt.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In 2 bowls, add breadcrumbs to one and whisk eggs and milk in the other. Dip both sides of eggplant slice into milk/egg mixture then cover with breadcrumbs, shaking off the excess. Place on plate or large baking sheet.

Heat a skillet over medium high heat and add 1 tbsp. of vegetable oil into the skillet. Once the skillet is hot, add two eggplant slices at a time to the skillet and cook on both sides until golden brown, remove and set on a large plate lined with paper towels. Repeat with 1 tbsp. of vegetable oil for every 2 eggplant slices.

In a large baking dish, add 1 cup of marinara sauce to the bottom of the dish. Add a layer of eggplant slices then use about ¼ cup of marinara sauce to top each of the eggplant slices. On top of the eggplant slices, sprinkle a generous amount of mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese. Repeat the layers until you run out of eggplants slices. Top the casserole with more cheese before you place in the oven

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly and brown on top.  Use the broiler for 5 minutes to get the cheese nice and brown (keep a close eye on it not to burn)

Serve hot and top with chopped basil

An Abundance of Lemons!

It’s no secret that the hustle and bustle of todays world is enough to wear anyone down. Facing the daily challenges we all encounter is not necessarily the easiest thing to do. It is very easy to fall into a funk and lose the motivation and passion for things we all love to do. The things that make us HAPPY.

Good News!!  You are definitely not alone in this. 

Take it from someone who has had their fair share of insecurities, challenges, and struggles. I have allowed these things to bring me down and shift my outlook on life for a very long time. It was hard to find the beauty in anything. I was ready to throw in the towel and just give up on being happy and living to my full potential.

Today, I choose to live my life by the cheesy quote we all have heard a million times. “When life gives you lemons, MAKE LEMONADE!” 

Now, having had an ABUNDACE, and I mean ABUNDANCE of lemons thrown my way. I am choosing to well, make some Out-of-this-world LEMONADE!!!

Cooking has always been a passion of mine, but has definitely been put on the back burner. No matter how mouth watering delicious or how....interesting...the final product came out, I always found a sense of relaxation and accomplishment  after spending some time in the kitchen. Follow me on this journey of making life FUN again!

Its time to boost our health, calm our minds, and brighten our souls. Its time to make life SWEET AGAIN.

Lets get Cookin!

all the baking i have done during october it is like therapy to me 👩🏼‍🍳