Eggplant Lasagna Roll Ups

In the past, I have made lasagna roll ups with great results. I do a noodle outside with a ricotta cheese/spinach mixture on the inside. I had seen people do something similar with a zucchini outside (instead of the noodle). I have been intrigued to try this but it's not zucchini season yet so I did it with an eggplant!

I had pinterested about it and found a recipe (that for some reason refuses to open so I am unable to give credit) but I had to make some changes.

Ingredients:

• 1 large eggplant, cut length wise in slices (about 12 slices for 1 eggplant)
• about 1/2 cup sour cream
• about 1 cup ricotta cheese
• basil
• shredded parmesan cheese (I would've used mozzarella if I had it)
• pasta sauce of your choosing

Directions:

They talk about purging the eggplant. This is a process that gets rid of its bitter juices. I will probably not do this next time because I found my sink dry after doing it and even after rinsing, it make the eggplant really salty. If you are interested, you rub salt on your eggplant slices and let sit in a colander in the sink. Then rinse after about an hour. (Maybe I'm missing a step and that's why mine didn't work? I'm not sure).

Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add in as many eggplant slices that fit. Cook a couple minutes on each side, until browned. Repeat until all slices are cooked. 

Mix up the sour cream, ricotta cheese, basil, and some of the cheese in a bowl. Spread on each slice of eggplant and roll up. Put in a baking dish and cover with pasta sauce (I used about half a jar) and the remaining cheese. Bake at 375 for 10 minutes (just enough to heat everything through. The original recipe doesn't call for the oven at all. You wrap your eggplant with the cold cheese mixture and serve. Eww!). This also assures that your eggplant is cooked all the way.

This recipe was a HIT! I think David and I both rate this an 8+ out of 10! He says he would still prefer noodles but I almost don't notice a difference. The eggplant flavor is really mild and it cuts easily with your fork. With 3 roll ups a person, this serves about 4 people. Compared with a regular lasagna noodle and a serving of 3 roll ups, the eggplant saves you over 200 calories! Incredible! 

I love healthy recipes and substitutions that actually taste good! Now, this recipe is definitely not healthy but by swapping the noodles for eggplant, I believe it helps! 

Parmesan Ham Noodle Dinner

I tend to make noodle dishes on Mondays. I'm not entirely sure why that is but seeing as today is Monday, we had noodles! Tonight's was based very loosely on several recipes so I will post what I specifically did.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups of cooked ham, cubed
• 1/2 large yellow onion, diced
• 1/2 package (4 oz) of button mushrooms, chopped
• 2 cups frozen peas, thawed
• oregano
• basil
• parsley
• garlic powder
• 2/3 of a 16 oz box of shell noodles, uncooked
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
• 2 cups milk
• 3 cups water
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 cup sour cream

Directions:

1. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add in mushrooms, onions, and ham. Cook until the veggies are cooked. 

2. Add in seasonings and cook another minute.

3. Stir in milk, water, flour, and noodles. (You can use the entire box if it fits in your skillet but mine did not). Cook for 10 minutes, uncovered, stirring occasionally.

4. Add in peas. Cook for another minute or two. 

5. Stir in cheese and sour cream. Continue cooking until heated through.

This came together very quickly, especially after the veggies were chopped (I am very slow at prep work). David rated this an 8 out of 10 but wasn't sure what would make it better. I rate it about an 8.5. There was an unusual flavor to it and I'm not sure if it was the Parmesan cheese or the sour cream. I added in both because mine was still too liquidy with just a couple minutes of cook time left. Plus, I always seem to have sour cream I'm trying to use up. It is a very good dish though and I would definitely make it again (or something similar, depending on what I have on hand). You could easily adapt the veggies, cheese, or even the meat choice. The possibilities of this are endless! I love dishes like that! 

Avocado Chocolate Chip Cookies

My grocery store frequently has deals on produce like "buy 2, get 3 free". If you see a sign like that, you gotta buy it! That's better than 50% off! One of the items this past time was avocados. I do not like avocados but I want to like avocados. Actually, nobody in my family likes them. They're just an odd texture, odd flavor, odd appearance. I bought them anyway. We'd have to eat them if I buy them, right?

So we decide to cut one up to see if my toddler or 8 month old like them. My 2 year old said no without even trying it. Then she tried it but still didn't like it (but points for trying it!). My 8 month old made a face. Now, he makes faces at lots of things but then will gesture that he wants more. Not this time. We tried to give him more and he definitely said no. We left it on his tray (it was a slice) and he didn't touch it. My husband choked down a slice and said no more so that left me. I ate the rest of it mixed with our dinner. It was tolerable.

Then I pinterested about it (because really, where else do I look for recipes?) and I found something amazing. Avocado Chocolate Chip Cookies. They say that you can't taste the avocado in them at all! I decided to make them. Then, life got in the way so I actually convinced my husband to make them for me. He did things a little differently than the recipe so I'll write it out.

• 2 avocados
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 egg (the only non-vegan ingredient in these and easily replaceable!)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup whole wheat flour (he used as much whole wheat flour we had but it was almost gone so he substituted the rest for regular flour)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• pinch of salt
• 2 T coconut oil
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Line cookie sheet with silicone mat (or parchment paper). Scoop out your avocados and place into the bowl of your stand mixer. Add coconut oil and sugar and mix for about 5 minutes, or until avocados have broken down (chunks are okay.) Add the egg and vanilla. Mix until well combined. Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on, add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Stir until just combined. Mix in the chocolate chips. Spoon out dough into cookie-sized balls and put onto baking sheet. Bake for 10-11 minutes and remove from oven. Allow to cool slightly on baking sheet and then move to cooling rack.

And it turned out true! You get the health benefits of the avocado WITHOUT tasting them at all!! I was amazed. My toddler loved these cookies, as well as my husband and I. We stored them in the fridge because avocados go bad so quickly. This made them taste even better. There is nothing better than cold chocolate chip cookies. I would say eat them up in a few days before they can go bad but you probably don't have to try very hard because they're so delicious! I rate this a 10/10. 

I will add that they do turn out green. This can be a little off-putting if you are trying to hide the veggies in there but I liked the original poster's suggestion of making them at Christmas time and everyone assumes it's food dye! 

The Easiest Way to Make Hard Cooked Eggs

We have a lot of hard cooked eggs in this house. My toddler can't get enough of them so last weekend when we dyed some for Easter, she ate them all before Easter even got here! We decided to make some more but we obviously needed to do a big batch.

I usually do the method where you put them in a big pot of cold water, boil, then take off heat and let sit for 10 minutes. Then, dump in ice cold water for 10 minutes. It's not an exact science and if you choose the wrong boiling point to take them off the heat, you either have undercooked or overcooked eggs.

The best way to make them is to preheat your oven to 325 degrees (a lot of places out there say 350 but I feel that that is too high and will automatically overcook your eggs). Then you put your eggs in a muffin tin (to keep them from rolling around too much). Put the muffin tin (with the eggs) in your preheated oven and cook for 25-30 minutes. Then, put them in ice cold water for 10 minutes and you're done!

I don't know how you are supposed to know to leave them in for 25 minutes vs. 30 minutes but I guess you just make a judgment call the first time and adjust appropriately for your specific oven the next time.

This method is so simple, my husband even agreed to do it! We will probably make our hard cooked eggs like this from now on. It takes all the guess work out of it.

Spinach and Sweet Potato Turkey Burgers

We all know that turkey is healthier for us than ground beef. However, due to its lower fat content, it can be harder to make taste good because it has a tendency to come out dry. This is when you have to get creative. Luckily for me, someone else did all the work with coming up with this recipe for turkey burgers.

The recipe is really simple. Mix 1 1/2 cups of sweet potato puree with 1 pound ground turkey. Add in a handful of spinach (no need to precook, unless it already is precooked), garlic, and onion powder. Form patties and cook on medium-high heat, 3-4 minutes per side.

Mine came out a little crumbly and after the fact, I noticed in the comments that some people did have this problem. The solution is to either add an egg or chill in the fridge for about 15 minutes before cooking. They still tasted good crumbled. We ate them in tortilla shells instead of a bun then. I also served these with chips and salsa and I'm not entirely sure what a better side would have been. Maybe fries or potatoes of some sort? Or you could chop them up (or eat them crumbled) on top of a salad for extra veggies!

You can barely taste the sweet potato or spinach so this recipe is perfect for people who don't really like veggies. I actually used a blend of spinach, kale, and swiss chard and I don't think it altered the flavor too much (especially since you can barely taste it anyway!). I could also see adding cheese, chopped bell peppers, carrots, or seasonings (other than garlic and onion) and having them still turn out good. They seem very versatile and are easy. They're also quick! I will definitely make these again and I rate them an 8/10!

Stuffed Kielbasa

I love recipes that use leftover mashed potatoes. I usually end up making a big batch of homemade mashed potatoes and then we are eating them for a week. Plain, ordinary mashed potatoes get tiring after a day or two.

I came across this recipe and knew it would be perfect. It doesn't use a lot of mashed potatoes but enough. It also uses sauerkraut, which we always have an abundance of. In this house and in the reviews, there are people who do not like sauerkraut that do like it in this recipe so don't let the kraut turn you away! Of course, it is optional if you don't have any on hand.

I seasoned the potatoes once I stuffed them in the sausage. I'm not sure I would use cheese next time. Maybe I'd leave them plain for the oven and then add butter or sour cream once it's out of the oven. I know that adds more fat and calories to an already high fat dish but it sure sounds good, doesn't it?

I will also mention that I didn't warm up the kielbasa, sauerkraut, or mashed potatoes (all from the fridge) in any way before I put it in the oven. I just put them in the oven for 13 minutes instead of 10.

This recipe is definitely a keeper. We all rated it about a 7 or 8 out of 10. It's ordinary and simple but those can end up being the best recipes! It also comes together really quick for those busy weeknights!

French Onion Turkey Noodle Casserole

This recipe is in no way healthy but it got rave reviews in this house (9/10!). I know the original uses chicken but I had frozen leftover shredded turkey from Thanksgiving so I used that instead. I actually think chicken might taste better, especially with the cream of chicken soup but the turkey is great too.

I made my own French onion dip with 1 cup miracle whip, 1 cup sour cream, and a packet of French Onion Soup mix. (Those are the directions according to the box). I followed the casserole recipe according to the original recipe and it was really good. I do think it was a little too salty (from the onion soup mix and the french fried onions) and next time, I may use less than a full packet for the onion dip.

It held up great for leftovers too. I will definitely make it again but sparingly, given the nutritional content.

I would wonder if you could add any vegetables (peas, broccoli?) to make it slightly healthier but french onion is such a strong flavor, I'm not sure how well the vegetables would pair with it. I do think there's room for improvement and I didn't like it as much as my family did but I still think it was really good.