Eggplant and Goat Cheese Open-Faced Sandwiches

Make these.

Bread:
I used a boule-shaped Italianish bread from Smith's, sliced to 1/2 in. slices, brushed with olive oil, and toasted at 375 degree for seven minutes (flip once).

Eggplant:
Also sliced to 1/2 in., dunk in egg and then bread crumbs, pan-fry in a drizzle of olive oil for about 3 minutes on each side.

Tomato Mixture:
I dumped a can of petite diced tomatoes into a pan over medium, added in a few whole garlic cloves, a heavy pinch of kosher salt, and a swirl of sherry vinegar and reduced it about 20 minutes. Remove the garlic cloves.

Assembly:
I made these open-faced, piled on the eggplant, then a smear of tomato stuff, a dab of goat cheese, and a fresh basil leaf.

Eat fresh (they don't keep for more than about an hour!) and enjoy.

Greek Salad

I know it's another boring salad recipe, but the vinaigrette in this one makes my taste buds say it's good to be alive. Plus my garden lettuces are going nuts and as discussed, my house is way too hot. This is a salad with more chunks than lettuce, and tastes super fresh because of the cucumber.

A bunch of leafy (not iceberg) lettuce, washed and torn into bits
1/4 to 1/2 of a cucumber, sliced thick then quartered into bite sized pieces
2 Roma tomatoes cut in half slices
1/4 small red onion cut in skinny, skinny slices
olives of your choosing
fresh basil or oregano
1/4 C feta
a couple of glugs of good olive oil
a couple of glugs of red wine vinegar
coarse salt and pepper to taste

Toss everything together and taste. Adjust oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, or feta to preference. Serve immediately.

Makeover Mac 'n Cheese

So, I am a subscriber to the Taste of Home brand magazine, Healthy Cooking. I love it. One of the things I love most about it is that readers can submit their favorite recipes that are, shall we say, not exactly "lite," and ToH's cooks will revamp the recipe and make it a million times better for you, but still really, really yummy. It's pretty cool. I have yet to submit a recipe, but I will someday. As you can probably gather from the title of this post, someone submitted a recipe for homemade mac 'n cheese. When I saw it I thought, yeah, no way that is going to be as good as regular homemade mac. But I tried it anyway. SO good. I love it. Beware, it makes a LOT. We STILL have leftovers and I've been eating some every day for a bit. Here you go...

Makeover Macaroni and Cheese

1 pkg. (16 oz) elbow macaroni (or whatever noodle you want)

2 T. flour

2 c. milk

1 pkg. (16 oz) reduced-fat process cheese, (e.g., Velveeta) cubed

1 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided

Cook noodles according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, combine flour and milk until smooth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in process cheese and 1/2 c. cheddar until smooth. Drain macaroni. Stir into cheese sauce.

Remove from heat; sprinkle with remaining cheddar cheese. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes.

Now, for the best part. Get this:

Nutrition Info for 1 serving of the original Mac n Cheese:

Calories: 593

Fat: 32 g

Saturated fat: 20 g

Cholesterol: 100 mg

Nutrition Info for 1 serving of the makeover Mac n Cheese:

Calories: 403

Fat: 11 g

Saturated fat: 6 g

Cholesterol: 36 mg

Carbs: 54 g

Fiber: 2 g

Protein: 23 g

And really, this makeover recipe was yummmmy. Mac n Cheese is one of my favorite comfort foods. I am so glad I found a recipe that will let me eat it without killing myself slowly. :)

Swedish Apple Pie, or, Swedish Breakfast Cake

This recipe is actually called Swedish Apple Pie. But, I'm not sure why. To me, it is more of a crumbly apple cake, and even though the recipe specifically says to serve it warm, I found it more enjoyable the next morning for breakfast. So... either I'm weird, or this recipe was a bit off. Either way, it's super easy, very healthy, quite tasty, and a great way to use up some apples.

Swedish Apple Stuff

1/2 c. sugar

1/4 c. whole wheat flour

1/4 c. white flour

1 t. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. cinnamon

1 egg

1/4 t. vanilla extract

2 medium tart apples, chopped (I used green)

3/4 c. chopped walnuts or pecans, toasted (I used untoasted walnuts)

confectioner's sugar, optional (I used a cinnamon/white sugar mixture)

In a large bowl, combine the sugar, flours, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. In a small bowl, whisk egg and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients until just moistened. Fold in apples and walnuts.

Transfer to a 9" pie plate coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. (Or do as I did and sprinkle with cinnamon and regular sugar.) Serve warm. (Or, the next morning for breakfast.) :)

Mediterranean Tuna Salad

I think there is a sad lack of seafood on this blog. I made this recipe for dinner last night and it was pretty good! Very healthy, too. So, if you're looking for a good way to use up some regular canned tuna, this maybe for you. (I actually think this would be delicious with a grilled tuna steak or some other type of fish as well...)

Mediterranean Tuna Salad

1 can (15 oz) garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained

3 celery ribs, chopped

1 small sweet red pepper, chopped

4 green onions, chopped

2 T. olive oil

2 T. balsamic vinegar

2 T. spicy brown mustard

1/2 t. dried basil

1/4 t. salt

1/4 t. pepper

2 cans water packed tuna

lettuce

1/2 c. crumbled feta

In a large bowl, combine the beans, celery, red pepper, and onions. In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar, mustard, basil, salt, and pepper. Pour over bean mixture; toss to coat. Gently stir in tuna. Serve over lettuce, with feta sprinkled on top.

Nutrition facts: 1 1/2 c. tuna salad with 1 c. lettuce equals 282 calories, 11 g fat (2 g saturated), 30 mg cholesterol, 682 mg sodium, 23 g carbs, 6 g fiber, 23 g protein. (calculated w/o cheese!)

The garbanzo beans in this salad add 4 g fiber and boost protein by a full 4 g per serving. Pretty awesome.

Note: I wish I had had some pita bread to eat with it on the side. I love me some pita bread. :)