Tasty Breaded and Fried Eggplant

I've gotten into the Paleo Diet lately, and although it involves not eating dairy products or wheat-based anything, I still had this big can of bread crumbs on my shelf that I was reluctant to throw out. Eggplant was on sale at the store this week, and so a delicious side dish was born! And coconut oil is my new best friend in this house. It's much easier to cook now that my daughter understands the phrase "back off" when referring to her proximity to the stove.

Ingredients:

One large eggplant, washed and cut into rounds, then halve the rounded slices
2-3 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups bread crumbs
1 Tbsp Italian spices (or a few dashes of parsley, oregano, basil, and thyme)
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup coconut oil

Beat the eggs in a large bowl and set aside. Mix the bread crumbs and spices in another large shallow bowl and set next to the egg bowl. Heat half the coconut oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat, until it just begins to steam. Dip pieces of the eggplant in the beaten egg, then drop into the bread crumbs and coat thoroughly. Drop gently into the heated oil and fry for about 1-2 minutes on each side, til the pieces are golden brown. Use the remaining coconut oil after each batch, as the breading will tend to soak it up. Continue the process until all the eggplant has been breaded and fried and set on a plate for serving purposes. Makes a great side dish, or a lunch by itself.

Butternut Squash and Carrot Medley

When I made this, it was supposed to be a side dish to meat and other things. Then I realized I'd totally forgotten to thaw the pork chops. So dinner it became!

Ingredients:

1 medium-large butternut squash, peeled and cubed
3 large carrots, peeled and chopped into rounds
2 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 tsp fresh thyme
salt and pepper

Turn a large frying pan on medium heat and add the butter, letting it cover the bottom of the pan. Drop in the squash and carrots, and stir around to coat.

Cover and let cook about 12-15 minutes, turning the heat to low if it burns and occasionally stirring.

Then add the other remaining ingredients and stir well, cooking another 5 minutes or until all the vegetables are tender. Serves 4-5 people.

Spiced Up Rice and Lentils

I made this for lunch today after a morning watching wilderness survival TV shows. They always puts me in the mood to go camping and eat whole grains. This can be made as a nice side dish to accompany a poultry dinner. You can replace the spelt grain with millet or barley if you like. The baby is walking now, so putting her in her play yard is the only way to keep her busy while I cook. Thankfully, she ate this happily in her high chair once it was done.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup long grain/brown/wild rice
1/4 cup lentils
1/4 cup spelt grain
1 chicken or vegetable bouillon cube
1/4 tsp seasoned pepper
2 cups water
fresh sprigs of herbs: I used about the equivalent of 1 Tbsp sage, 1 tsp thyme and 1 tsp basil

Throw all ingredients into a medium sized pot and mix well. Bring to a boil, then simmer on low heat for about 25-30 minutes, or until all water is sucked up by the grains. Makes about 4 cups.

Pea Salad (Side Dish)

It's been a long week or so of cleaning out the fridge, and the next few times I cook I'll actually be referring back to my own blog to find the recipes I need, so posting will be sparse til next week. However, last night I was able to try a new dish. I found a recipe online then tweaked it to my liking, and the results were very tasty. This only serves 4-6 people, though, so if you make it for a party you may want to double the recipe.

Ingredients:

4 slices thick-cut bacon
1 12oz package frozen peas, thawed and drained
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped scallions/green onions
2/3 cup light sour cream
2 Tbsp light mayonnaise
2 hard boiled eggs, peeled and chopped
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp salt

Fry bacon in a large skillet until crispy, then allow to drain and cool on a paper towel. Crumble and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine peas, celery, scallions, eggs, sour cream, mayo, and salt and pepper. Toss to mix well. Can be placed in the refrigerator for awhile until it's time to eat.

Just before serving, add the bacon pieces and mix well. Takes just a few minutes to throw together, but you should add at least 20 minutes to cooking time to account for boiling the eggs and frying the bacon. Very tasty!

Honey Glazed Carrot and Parsnip Side Dish

It's so nice having my husband home! I can just give our crawling, creeping baby to him and have my hands free to cook. We've been eating leftover Spareribs the last few days, but I wanted to add a real home-cooked side dish to our leftovers tonight. This is simple and feeds 3-4 people if you give small/normal servings (hubby and I ate it all ourselves though).

Ingredients:

3 large carrots, peeled and chopped
2 large parsnips, peeled and chopped
2 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp honey
1/8 tsp oregano
1/8 tsp basil
dash of cinnamon

Heat butter in a large frying pan on low-medium heat. Add the parsnips and carrots to begin cooking, coating in the butter. Then add the other ingredients, mixing all well and spreading out in the pan.

Flip the veggies over once and cook altogether about 6-8 minutes, until carrots are mostly soft. Yum!

German Cucumber Salad

This is my mom's recipe. We used to have this as a side dish with dinner sometimes, or it makes a great lunch or snack. It's pretty easy to make once you figure out what tool to use to slice the cucumber thinly enough.

Ingredients:

2 cucumbers, peeled and then sliced very thin and squeezed dry
1/4 cup vinegar
1/4 cup water
2 Tbsp light sour cream
1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Serve. Feeds 4-5 people.