The Easiest Breaded Eggplant EVER!

I have been completely obsessed with this recipe for the past month! A friend opened my eyes to the deliciousness that is eggplant and I'm a huge fan now! Apparently, all other eggplant I've ever tried was cooked wrong.

All you need to make this is:

Eggplant (thinly sliced)

Eggs

Progresso Italian Bread Crumbs

Whip the eggs before you begin.

Then, coat the eggplant in egg.

Next, coat the slide with bread crumbs.

Now, toss it in the oil. Let it simmer until you can see that the crumbs are turning golden. Then, flip it over and do the same for the other side.

Once both sides are golden brown, lay the slices on paper towel to cool and sprinkle with some grated parmesan cheese.

You can eat these like chips, or dip them in marinara sauce, or make an entree out of it! I layered my breaded eggplant on top of spinach and artichoke egg noodles with fresh tomatoes and basil. It was so scrumptious!

Do you have any fabulous eggplant recipes you love making? I'm dying to learn more!

Vegetarian Campfire Pasta Recipe

VEGETARIAN CAMPFIRE PASTA

from EAT+SLEEP+MAKE

Ingredients:

1 lb. Linguine

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

3 Cloves of Garlic

Dried Oregano

Dried Basil

Pink Himalayan Sea Salt

Fresh Cracked Black Pepper

1 Pack Cherry Tomatoes

1 Pack Sliced Baby Bellas

1 Bunch Fresh Basil

Shredded Italian Cheese (your preference - I like a Parmesan, Asiago and Romano mix)

Step 1: This part you do at home, pre-camping.  Make your pasta, drain it and place back in pot.  Add about 1/4 cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil and press the 3 cloves of garlic into the pot.  Add about 1 tablespoon of Oregano and Basil.. Salt and Pepper to taste.  Mix it up and let it cool.  Once it's cool, place in a large ziplock bag and refrigerate until you leave.  You'll need to keep this in a cooler until you're ready to cook it at the campsite.

Step 2:  Once you're ready to cook, cut 4 pieces of foil, pretty large, drizzle some olive oil on it, then ration out the baby bellas.  Drizzle a little more olive oil on top of the mushrooms.

Step 3:  Portion the pasta out over the mushrooms.  Drizzle a little more olive oil over the pasta.  You want to try and make sure the mushrooms are between the pasta and the foil on that bottom because the pasta can burn.  Now sprinkle some of your shredded cheese over the pasta.

Step 4:  Close up your foil cocoon.  I usually cut 4 more squares of foil to put over the packets and roll the sides together.  You want a little bit of air in the packets, so don't roll them too tight.

Step 5:  Place the packets on your fire or camping stove for about 5 minutes.  The pasta will warm up quickly... the length of cook time depends on how well done you want the mushrooms.  I like mine slightly raw.  

Step 6:  Open one end of your packs and empty onto a plate.

Step 7:  Add your garnish!  I love adding diced cherry tomatoes, chopped fresh basil and some more Italian cheeses.

Step 8:  DEVOUR IT!

This time, I paired mine with a simple Arugula Salad with Greek Vinaigrette.  It was the perfect crisp compliment.  And of course, wine is a necessity!  My favorite is Mirassou's Pinot Noir.  Also, for those that cannot live without meat, a great way to add protein to this dish is to roast some Italian sausage over the fire, cut it up and toss it into the pasta.  Easy peasy!

What are your favorite camping recipes?? I'm always looking for new, delicious stuff to try!

Get the printable recipe HERE

Macarons & Springtime In Paris Challenge

Macarons.  Those amazing pastries we all know and love. They're beautiful, mysterious, and tantalizing.  They are also a pain in the butt to make.  Fortunately, Michael's carries a line of goodies specifically for those of us with enough bravery to give these babies a shot ourselves.  Mastrad Paris offers a nifty silicon baking sheet with templates and guides for piping your meringue, and a cookbook with incredibly detailed instructions.  

When we were challenged with creating something Parisian themed this month, our minds immediately snapped to macarons.  We are fortunate enough to have sever french patisseries nearby in Pittsburgh with unbelievably divine macarons, but, of course, they are quite costly.  Why not try to get the goodness on our own?

I won't be posting a recipe here because, honestly, it's entirely too complex and you really do need the entire book to  help you.  I used cocoa powder to flavor the meringues and a Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramel Sauce for the filling.  It was heavenly!  I took a few photos of the process... which take a lot of patience and a lot of focus.    

My macarons did not turn out perfect by any means, but at least my meringues didn't crack!  I did a little happy dance when I opened the oven and saw these tiny little beautiful pastries.  I definitely recommend giving these products a shot.  But, beware, practice makes perfect!  You most likely will not get it totally right on the first try.  Hang in there, though.  When you do get it right, it feels SO good!

Now it’s your turn!  That’s right, you can enter to win the trip of a lifetime to Paris too. How? By creating your own Parisian-inspired art, floral, baking or paper crafting project and uploading a photo to https://paris.michaels.com/ through March 31. You can also share your project on social using #SpringtimeInParis #Contest.

What do you win? A four-night trip for two to Paris, 1,000 euros, a VIP tour of the Louvre, private classes including sketching, floral arranging, baking and more!

If you need a little Paris inspiration to get you started, take a look at some of the Springtime in Paris projects on Michaels.com.

Good luck!!

An InLinkz Link-up

Cranberry & Feta Cole Slaw Lettuce Wraps (Vegetarian, Organic & Gluten Free!)

Today I'm going to share with you a delicious (and very pretty, if I may say so) cole slaw recipe.  This is perfect for holiday gatherings or even just for no reason at all!  I chose to use all organic products. And not only is this organic and vegetarian, but it is also gluten-free.

Measurements:

1/2 cup Cranberries

6 cups chopped Cabbage

1 Carrot

1/3 cup Mayo

1 tablespoon Honey

Fresh Ground Black Pepper (to taste)

1 teaspoon Celery Seed

1/2 Squeezed Lemon Juice

Feta

1 teaspoon Raw Sugar

1 - Slice and dice your cabbage and carrot

2 - In a food processor, chop up your cranberries and Raw sugar.

3 - In a bowl, mix your cranberry/sugar into the mayo, lemon juice, and honey.

4 - Pour cranberry/mayo mix onto cabbage and carrots.  Add celery seed and black pepper - MIX.

5 - Once your cole slaw is done, clean and lay out one leaf of butter lettuce.  Fill it with your cranberry cole slaw, drench with feta and wrap it.

6 - Enjoy!

   

Check out our link party page to see where we link up each week!

7 Tasty Twists on Thanksgiving Traditions

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.  There's no pressure of buying gifts or even decorating... just eating, being with family and being grateful.  As a kid, it always meant seeing my cousins that lived so far away, putting on skits and dances, playing football and eating... so so much eating.  Of course, things change as you get older.  Thanksgiving signifies the beginning of Christmas shopping... the madness, the anxiety.  I've decided, though, that this year, Thanksgiving day will be only about counting my blessings.  And making sure that everyone I love knows that they're considered one of them.  That's going to be my kickoff to the holiday shopping season... giving my gratitude to those I love.

Now, I'm always looking for new ways to do old things, so I rounded up some AMAZING looking recipes that I am most likely going to give a shot this holiday season!  Check out 7 tasty twists on Thanksgiving traditions...

The Cranberry Sauce Twist

Kentucky Bourbon Cranberry Sauce via Jilly Inspired

The Mashed Potato Twist

Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes via Flavors of Mumbai

The Green Bean Twist

Green Bean Casserole Pie via Serious Eats

The Mac & Cheese and Dinner Roll Twist

Mac & Cheese Croissant Cups via Recipe by Photo

The Pumpkin Pie Twist

Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes via Une-Deux Senses

The Brussel Sprouts Twist

Quinoa with Brussel Sprouts & Pumpkin via Sassy Radish

The Sweet Potato Twist

Sweet Potato Corn Cakes with Garlic Dipping Sauce via Budget Bytes

   

Check out our link party page to see where we link up each week!

Mac & Cheese Bar Dinner Party (+ my super awesome mac & cheese recipe!)

Mac & Cheese Ingredients:

6 tablespoons of unsalted butter

Bread crumbs

5 1/2 cups milk

1/2 cup flour

2 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

4 1/2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese

2 cups grated gruyere cheese

2 pounds of fusilli pasta

Garnishes:

Green Onions

Sharp Cheddar Cheese

Sauteed Mushrooms

Light Sour Cream

Parsley

Real Bacon Bits

Diced Grape Tomatoes

Mac & Cheese Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Butter a lasagna dish and set aside
3. Heat milk over medium heat.
4. Melt butter in a high-sided skillet.  When it bubbles, add flour, continuously whisking cook for 1 minute.
5. Add hot milk to flour/butter mixture, continue whisking until it bubbles and mixture becomes thick.
6. Remove from heat.
7. Stir in salt, nutmeg, black pepper, cayenne pepper, 3 cups of cheddar cheese and 1 1/2 cups of gruyer cheese until melted and mixed.  Set aside.
8. Cook fusilli pasta 2-3 minutes less than suggested on package.
9. Add pasta to lasagna dish, pour cheese sauce on top and stir together.  
10. Top mac & cheese with remaining cheddar and gruyere cheeses, then with breadcrumbs.
11. Bake about 30 minutes.

Check out our Link Party Page to see where we link up each week!

Baked Cinnamon Sweet Potato Wedges

Up until this year, I always hated sweet potatoes.  Then I had one, singular sweet potato fry... and my world was changed forever.  Now, I will devour anything that contains sweet potatoes.  I took a swing at cooking them for the first time and upon realizing I didn't have any brown sugar in the house, I had to improvise.  I grabbed the cinnamon, crossed my fingers, and sprinkled away.  The outcome was amaaaaaazing.

Ingredients:

4 sweet potatoes (peeled and sliced into wedges/fries)

1/3 cup butter (sliced)

Cinnamon

Himalayan Pink Salt

Fresh cracked black pepper

1 - Preheat your oven to 450 degrees

2 - Peel and slice sweet potatoes into wedges/fry shape.

3 - Place slices of butter every inch or so on top of potato slices. 

4 - Add salt & pepper to taste

5 - Sprinkle cinnamon on top using fingers.

6 - Cover with foil and bake at 450 for 40 - 45 minutes

Now eat them and love them!!!

Check out our Link Party Page to see where we link up each week!