Moussaka - Cheesy Eggplant Bake

Tired of the same old same old veggie?  This cheesy eggplant bake will help break up the veggie blahs.  The original recipe was a complete vegetable dish but uses a lot of separate bowls and pans creating a lot more clean up so I was inspired to limit my number of dirty dishes by one and decided to add my protein straight to the dish....oh lordy....what a great decision.

Moussaka1 medium eggplant
Ground Turkey
1 small white onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 14oz can of diced tomatoes
2 heaping handfuls of spinach leaves
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese|
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Brown ground turkey (seasoned Feldman style...see earlier posts).  Thinly slice your eggplant.  Drizzle with olive oil and season with sea salt and cracked black pepper.  Roast for 10 minutes at 350 degrees.  In medium sauce plan saute onions until tender. Add garlic and tomatoes to the onions. Fill the remaining space in the sauce pan with spinach.  Cook until the spinach has wilted.  Add the turkey to the sauce pan and stir well.  Combine all three cheeses in a separate bowl and mix well.  In a 9x13 pan layer the ingredients as in this order...roasted eggplant, turkey/veggie mixture, cheese.  Cook until bubbly and cheese is starting to brown. 

Feldman Quick Tip

Invest in a mandolin....doesn't have to be an expensive one but the right tool really does make life easier.

French Fries?

French Fries? French Fries! Ohhh French Fries. Well not the type we are accustomed to but they do work!  We all know that along with clean eating comes substitution and that is what this recipe is all about.  Now how did I do this...turnips.  

Turnip Fries
2 medium sized turnips
Olive Oil
Paprika (I used smoked...because that is what I have on hand)
Italian Seasoning
Sea Salt/Crcked Black Pepper

Peel and slice the turnips to resemble french fries.  Put sliced turnips in gallon bag.  Drizzle with olive oil then add seasonings.  Shake bag to coat evening. Spread out evening on a baking sheet.  Do not over crowd the fries.  Cook at 400 degrees for 10 minutes or until tender.  Set oven to broil and continue to cook until outside of fries are a bit crispy.

Feldman Quick Tip

Do note that I am not trying to fool you into thinking these are potato french fries.  Especially those that are deep fat fried.  But they are another way to get your vegetables and they works great along side a grilled burger.

Stuffed Peppers

Looking for a quick and easy weekday meal? This recipe has you covered.  It has your veggies and protein all in one so clean up is fast.

Stuffed PeppersAssorted colored peppers
Browned ground turkey
White onion
Diced Tomatoes
Chopped Mushrooms
Mozzarella Cheese
Sea Salt/Cracked Black Pepper

Brown ground turkey.  Add other veggies to turkey and continue to cook until tender.  Over stuff the peppers with the meat mixture.  Roast at 400 degrees until peppers are tender.  Top with mozzarella cheese returning to oven just long enough to melt.

Feldman Quick Tip

Have extra cauliflower for the week or missing rice?  Look for my future recipe for cauliflower rice.  This is a great addition to throw the veggies into overdrive in this recipe.

Smoked Cauliflower Bites

If I counted correctly this is my third different cauliflower recipe and I'm still not done!  As I mentioned before this is such a versatile veggie and definitely one of our favorites to keep the veggie scene anything but boring.  How heavy your hand is will determine how spicy this recipe ends up....I have a heavy shake but then we do like our food spicy hot.

Smoked Cauliflower Bites
1 head of cauliflower
Olive oil
Smoked Paprika
Chili Powder
Sea Salt
Cracked Black Pepper

Put the cauliflower in a gallon bag, drizzle with olive oil.  Add seasonings to taste.  Shake to cover.  Bake until tender at 425 degrees stirring every 10 minutes.
 

Feldman Quick Tip

If you are looking for cheap spices try Menards.  That is where I initially found the Smoked Paprika at a reasonable price. 

Moscow Mule

My dear Gary hates to drink alone and unfortunately married a girl that doesn't drink much.  But he knows I am a sucker for a good Moscow Mule and even more so for a pretty looking mug.  During our weekly trip to the market we found that HyVee has DIET GINGER BEER.  Do you hear me people, DIET GINGER BEER!  So get yourself a copper or stainless steel mug and enjoy.

Moscow Mule

1.5-2 oz of Vodka

1/2 tsp Fresh Lime Juice
Ice
Top the mug off with Diet Ginger Beer

Cheers!

Roasted Veggies

This is our all time go to vegetable recipe.  My dear friend, Teresa Schmidt, first made these for us and we now honestly will have these at LEAST once a week.  They are a quick way to use the last of your veggies for the week or a perfect impressive looking side dish to any protein. This picture was a "cleaning out the fridge" day so it has only cauliflower, mushrooms and broccoli.  The recipe below will list all veggies that we have used in this recipe.  Again....use this as inspiration for a wonderful dish.

Roasted Veggies
Cauliflower
Broccoli
Mushrooms
Assorted Peppers
Red Onion
Zucchini and Yellow Squash

Drizzle with Olive Oil and season with garlic powder, sea salt and cracked pepper to taste.  Cook at 400 degrees until tender (30-40 minutes).  Stirring every 10 minutes.

Feldman Quick Tips

The cauliflower and broccoli will take a bit longer to cook. If you are finding that your other veggies are too mushy before these two are tender try separating them from the other veggies and drizzle with olive oil and seasoning separately. Add the rest of the veggies (remember to season and drizzle these with olive oil as well) after the first 10 minutes of roasting.

Roast Chicken Pizza

Roasted Chicken Pizza...mmmm just the same makes my mouth water.  Ella stumbled across this pizza crust recipe and while it is not a recipe that is on our "normal" rotation it was the perfect way to celebration National Pizza Day on February 9th!

Roasted Chicken Pizza

2 Chicken Breast (Roasted and sliced)

Mushrooms

Spinach

Red Onion

Olive Oil/Garlic

Pizza Crust

1 1/4 cup Mozzarella Cheese

4 T of melted butter

1 egg

Garlic Powder/Red Pepper Flakes (to taste)

4 T Almond Flour

3 T Coconut Flour

Melt butter, add cheese and seasonings to the melted butter then return to microwave to melt.  Stir well.  Add egg and flour again stirring very well. Parbake crust for 8-10 minutes.  Top crust with the Olive Oil/Garlic mixture, add pizza toppings.  Bake at 350 until crust is done.  Broil for another 3-4 minutes to brown cheese.

Feldman Quick Tips 

Spray a piece of wax paper with nonstick cooking spray. Roll your dough out on this piece of wax paper.  Once it is at the desired thickness and shape flip it over onto your backing stone and remove the wax paper.  Perfect crust every time.