Eggplant Romano!

Don't mind the dumb-looking cheese.
I grabbed the wrong grater.

So, here in this house, we could eat Italian food every day. I mean, every. single. day. and probably never tire of it. The hubs and I both have family that came here straight off the boat from Sicily. We were basically raised on meatballs and sub sandwiches. And, sometimes, when you want a good Italian carb-heavy meal, you just have to say, "Mangia! Someone go get my fat pants!" So, I'm going to tell you about our delicious dinner from this evening. I'm not going to pretend, for even a second, that it was remotely healthy...or clean...or whatever. It was just delicious. That's all I'll give you. So, if you're trying to lose a few pounds this week, just go on and click out of this post and I'll be back with something healthy another day. Now, if you're a foodie who doesn't mind a non-MyFitnessPal-friendly indulgence now and then, listen up...

We all (even the kids) love eggplant parmesan (romano) in this house. I usually make a semi-healthy version (sautéing sliced eggplant in oil and then layering and baking with marinara, romano, and some mozzarella). My culinary skills have been diminishing since summer showed up. You know...salads, fresh fruit, burgers and veggies are DELICIOUS to eat all summer, but don't require too much effort. So, tonight, I thought I'd spend a little extra time.

My hubs was pretty much begging for angel hair pasta to be incorporated with tonight's dinner some way, somehow. I have this mental block, though, that tells me angel hair noodles just can't stand alone with sauce. They're too wimpy and need to be accompanied by something else substantial to be an actual meal. SO, I thought I'd bread some eggplant and fancy-up my usual recipe - just a little. SO, we ended up with breaded eggplant served over angel hair that was (and I totally am showing my own selfie here) SUPER DELICIOUS. You know it's good when all the kids ask for seconds (this was after they decided to practice stop-drop-and-roll because I filled the house with smoke while I was browning the eggplant, btw). So, without further ado...check it out!

Here's what you need: 

1. One good-sized pretty eggplant (aren't they all pretty, though?)
2. Cooking oil (for the pan)
3. 2 eggs
4. Flour (I really don't know how much - a bunch)
5. Pepper (1-2 tsp)
6. Garlic powder (1 tsp)
7. Panko Japanese style bread crumbs (MUST. GET. PANKO. - don't skimp!!)
8. Romano or parmesan cheese (don't buy crappy cheese, either!)
9. Mozzarella, shredded (about a cup)
10. 2 jars of basil marinara sauce (yes, I'm using jarred sauce again. At least I'm not doing drugs [Pops].)  

Here's what you do:

1. Fire up that oven and set it on 350.
2. Start warming up your skillet with oil.
3. Slice your eggplant (medium-thin slices)
4. Add flour and pepper to a gallon size zip lock. Put your eggplant slices in the bag; SEAL the bag (check it again to make sure it's really sealed); shake the crap out of the bag, covering the egg plant with flour.
5. Crack your eggs in a bowl and whisk
6. Add the bread crumbs, garlic powder and about 1/2 cup of romano to a pie plate, mix. 
7. Pour about a quarter to one half a jar of sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. 
8. Carefully remove eggplant from the bag, one slice at a time. Knock off any excess flour. 
9. Dredge each slice in egg (both sides); then, coat both sides with bread crumbs. 
10. Drop the slices into the hot oil in your skillet. Lightly brown the slices on each side and transfer to baking dish. You can probably do four slices at a time, depending on the size of your skillet. 
11. Keep doing this until all eggplant is browned up. You will probably have to add more oil as you go. If you have to make a second layer of eggplant slices, add a little sauce in between the layers.
12. When you're finished browning the eggplant, add one more layer of sauce and top with mozzarella cheese. 
13. Bake about 30 minutes, until cheese is nice and melty.

Serve over angel hair pasta and enjoy!! PS. After we had this fatty-delicious dinner, we decided to fire up the grill and make some of these: 

Grilled s'mores. Yes please.

And then, before blogging and bed, I needed some of this delicious blueberry tea. Zzzzzz. :)

Over the weekend...

The most amazing thing happened.

We ran through 12 hours of Saturday like nobody's business and then, all of the sudden, it was 7pm and we hadn't had dinner. Don't you hate it when that happens? Me, too. We're in the car and it's the usual we-waited-too-long-to-eat scene.

The hubs: "Where should we eat?"
Me: "My blood sugar is like 0, which means I have the decision making ability of a fly. You pick."

Our kids were begging for burgers and fries so - while someone was making decions - that's what they got. We got their grub and, meanwhile, the hubs suggested Jimmy John's sub shop (I really hope you have one of these places; please tell me you do). Subs aren't really on my "diet" (though I love Italian subs and they rank up there on my top 10 favorite foods of all-time), but I figured I could just not eat the bread. At that point - starving - who cares. I woud've eaten cardboard if you put some peppers and onions on it. Let's go.

So I pull up JJ's menu on my phone. To my amazment, they have a built-in calorie counter on their site (customizable for every ingredient you want - or don't want), which is awesome since I'm now addicted to MyFitnessPal. I started fumbling through some options when I saw, The Unwich. The un-what? Yeah. A lettuce-wrapped sub. Oh my word.

Now, processed meat (like capicola and salami aren't really clean; but, when you can't be clean - be close!). Besides, there's no way (not ever. never. ever.) That I'll be able to give up Italian subs for life - so, a compromise it is! I had my Unwich made like this: capicola, salami, cheese, onions, pepper, lettuce and the lettuce wrap itself. Yes, I ate lettuce on lettuce. The people at the restaurant thought that was funny, too. The entire meal was under 300 calories and every bit as delicious as a traditional Italian sub. AND, the best part, I didn't get heartburn. Bread does that to me.

So, if you and your friends are feeling jerseylicious and want to go for subs, there's no reason to be left out! Just order an Unwich instead. I'm going to try a cleaner version at home this week! YUM! I'm hooked.

Clean and Easy Eggplant Parm!

Yes, those are meatballs we made.
I didn't have a photo of eggplant parmesan.
Go ahead, sue me.

Since the clean eating movement has taken over this house, some of our favorite traditional meals have been put on the back burner (see what I did there?). One of those favorites is pasta. :: sigh :: Sadly, my favorite rigatoni is far from clean and even if we could find a whole grain variety, it wouldn't be the same.

So, to get that Italian food fill whilst staying "clean," we have eggplant parmesan instead! It's SO delicious, you guys, and not nearly as difficult as you may think. I've heard different things about how folks prepare their eggplant to be parmesan-ed, but I assure you, I do it the easy way.

The, four-kids asking-for-juice-and-snacks-and-ponies-at-dinner-time way.
The, I-don't-want-the-smoke-detectors-to-go-off way.
The, I-really-suck-at-breading-and-frying way.

So, I won't hold you in suspense any longer, here it is!!

Here's what you need:

• 1 large pretty eggplant.
• 1 jar of sauce (or make your own - Barilla Tomato and Basil tastes enough like my own that I use it without shame! I really hope my dad isn't reading this post!)
• Parmesan cheese (don't skimp here, get the good stuff! You can use a good romano, too).

Here's what you do:

• Slice up your eggplant (about 1/4" inch wide slices, maybe slightly thinner)
• Add a thin layer of sauce to the bottom of your 9x13 baking dish.
• Heat up your electric griddle (that's what I prefer b/c you can do so many pieces at once and the heat is somewhat controlled) or skillet and spray (or drizzle) with olive oil. 
• Flip the pieces as they sauté and, once tender, layer them up in your baking dish. The pieces can touch and just add sauce in between any additional layers. 
• Once you get to the top, add some more sauce and dust with parmesan (or romano or mozzarella...whatever you like/have). 
• Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes - until cheese is well-melted and maybe even a little golden brown (if you like crispy cheese, we do.). :) 
• Remove from oven, serve and enjoy!