Skillet Eggplant Parmesan

We love eggplant parmesan around our house. DH makes sure to plant eggplant in the garden every year. I love this recipe because I didn't have to turn the oven on and heat up the house.

Ingredients: 

2 eggs
1pkg. (8 oz) Italian Panko Bread Crumbs
 2 eggplants (1-1/2 lb.), each sliced crosswise
 2 tablespoons of oil 1 jar of spaghetti sauce
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 cups of Italian blend cheese

Directions: 

1. BEAT eggs in shallow dish until blended. Empty coating mix into separate shallow dish. Dip eggplant slices in egg, then in coating mix, turning to evenly coat both sides of each slice. Gently press coating mix into eggplant slices to secure. Spray both sides of eggplant slices with cooking spray.  
2. BRUSH 2 tsp. oil onto bottom of large skillet; heat on medium heat. Add 1/3 of the eggplant; cook 1 to 2 min. on each side or until crisp and evenly browned. Transfer to plate. Repeat with remaining oil and eggplant. 
3.  MIX spaghetti sauce and water; spread 3/4 cup onto bottom of skillet. Cover with layers of 1/3 of the eggplant, 3/4 cup of the remaining sauce and 1/2 cup cheese; repeat layers. Top with remaining eggplant and sauce; cover. 
4. COOK on medium-low heat 20 to 25 min. or until heated through. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Remove from heat. Let stand, covered, 5 min. or until cheese is melted. 
   

 Adapted from Kraft Recipes

Zucchini Casserole

Zucchini Casserole

1 large zucchini, with seeds removed, sliced thin
1 medium onion, sliced
1 sleeve of round butter crackers, crushed
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
2 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp salt
black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons butter

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Place squash, onion, and garlic in a large skillet over medium heat. Pour in a small amount of water. Cover, and cook until squash is tender, about 5 minutes. Drain well, and place in a 9 x 13 inch baking dish.
3. In a medium bowl, mix together cracker crumbs and cheese. Stir half of the cracker mixture into the cooked squash and onions. In a small bowl, mix together eggs and milk, then add to squash mixture. Stir in 1/4 cup melted butter, and season with salt and pepper. Spread out evenly into the baking dish.  Sprinkle with remaining cracker mixture, and dot with 2 tablespoons butter. 
Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Adapted from Allrecipes.com

Cheddar Herb Biscuits

2 cups biscuit mix
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup shredded Marble Cheddar
3 tablespoons margarine
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp oregano

1. Preheat oven to 450 F.
2. Stir biscuit, milk and cheese until dough forms a soft ball.  Drop by spoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
3. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown.
4. Melt margarine.  Mix in oregano and garlic.  Brush or spoon over the tops of the warm biscuits. 

Recipe adapted from Betty Crocker

Quick Asian Skillet

 

This was a recipe that I found this weekend and we had most of the ingredients at home which made it very desirable.

Quick Asian Skillet

2 packages of chicken flavored ramen noodles

16 oz bag of frozen stir fry vegetables

1 lb of pork tenderloin

3/4 cup honey

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 tablespoon oil

1. Prepare ramen noodles according to package directions and set aside.  Pour oil in a large skillet and place over medium heat.  Add frozen vegetables and cook, stirring often until veggies are tender, about 5 to 7 minutes.  Set aside.
2. In same skillet, place meat  Cook until browned, about 6 minutes.  
3. While meat is cooking, stir honey and soy sauce together until blended.
4. Remove meat from skillet and slice into strips or medallions.  Return to skillet and pour sauce over the meat.  Lower heat to medium and cook, flipping occasionally.  Cook about 10 minutes or until meat is no longer pink.
5. Remove meat.  Add vegetables and noodles and stir to coat with sauce.  Place meat on top of noodles and serve hot.  

Adapted from southernplate.com

 

Easy Taco Tamale Pie

Blogging has not been on my list of most important  things to do in the past few months, but I've tried out several new recipes and found a few that I wanted to share over the next couple of weeks.  I used a cast iron skillet so that this dish became a one  pan meal.

This taco tamale pie is one that look interesting, but after reading the reviews on the website, I knew that I wanted to change it up.

Easy Taco Tamale Pie

1 pound ground beef
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
1 can chili beans
1 can tomatoes with chilies
 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
2 boxes or packages of corn muffin mix
1 packet taco seasoning mix
3/4 cup hot water

1. Preheat the oven to 375 F.  Cook the beef in a 10 inch cast iron skillet until it is is browned, add the taco seasoning packet, can of corn, can of beans, hot water, and tomatoes.  Simmer.
2. Prepare the corn muffin mix according to package directions.  
3. Sprinkle cheddar cheese over the meat mixture.
4. Spoon the muffin mix over the top of the cheese and meat.  Gently smooth out the surface of the mix.
5. Bake in preheated over for 25 minutes or until the corn muffin topping is golden brown.
    
   Adapted from Campbell's Kitchen

Easy Cheesy Beef Broccoli Stroganoff

 

Last night we needed something quick and easy, I had to work late and had a call scheduled from college.  Hubby was getting himself and our son ready to take his mom to visit with her sick brother.  So it was another hectic Tuesday night.  Checking my e-mail, I found a recipe that looked interesting, but also looked like it could be improved a little bit.   Much better than hamburger helper and just as easy. So here's my take.

Easy Cheesy Beef Broccoli Stroganoff 

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef

1 12 oz bag of frozen chopped broccoli

2 cups water

3 cups egg noodles, uncooked (about 1/2 of a 12 oz bag)

1/2 lb Velveeta, cut into small cubes

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1 can cream of mushroom soup

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Brown meat  and onion in large skillet; salt and pepper to taste; drain.
2. While meat is cooking, heat broccoli, about 1/2 the time recommended on the package.
3. Stir in water,bring to boil. Add noodles and broccoli.  Cover and simmer on medium-low heat until noodles and broccoli are tender.
4. Add Velveeta, soup and more pepper; cook an additional 5 minutes or until Velveeta is melted and mixture is blended.  Stir frequently.

I used ground venison, so I would recommend a low fat ground meat.  Additionally, you could use whatever vegetables you had on hand.  I think this would be great with frozen peas and canned mushrooms.

Recipe adapted from:Kraft Recipes

Breakfast Bowl Casserole

Watching the morning news, hubby saw an advertisement for breakfast bowls and thought they looked really good.  I'm a cheapskate, plus I'm not a huge fan of buying frozen foods, maybe some frozen veggies or a frozen pizza for a quick dinner, but usually we don't each much frozen prepared foods.  After looking at the bowls, I figured I could make them pretty easily.  The first time I tried to make them, the sausage was overcooked by the time the potatoes were done, so I thought, let's try a breakfast casserole and see if it works.

Here's my take on the Breakfast Bowl, a breakfast bowl casserole, chocked full of sausage, potatoes, peppers, onions, cheese and eggs.  Sometimes hubby eats this with topped with salsa.

Ingredients:

1 lb ground breakfast sausage
2 cups chopped potatoes
1/2 green bell pepper
1 medium onion
1 cup grated cheese (I used a cheddar & jack mixture)
4 eggs
1 cup biscuit mix (Bisquick or Jiffy Mix)
2 cups milk
1 to 2 Tbsp oil
salt, pepper, and garlic powder

Directions:

1.  Chop potatoes into small pieces, about 1/4 to 1/2 inch. 
2.  Heat oil in large skillet, add potatoes and sausage, cooking about 5 minutes.
3.  Add pepper and onion. Salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste.  Cook until sausage is brown and potatoes are starting to turn golden brown.
4.  Pour into a prepared 9 x 13 inch baking dish.
5.  Top with grated cheese.
6.  Mix biscuit mix, eggs and milk.  Pour mixture over the sausage/potato mixture.
7.  Bake 25 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

Recipe adapted from: Cooks.com