...That's what I've been up to lately! Now let me see how I can tie these bad boys together!
Walks.
I woke up to a beautiful morning up here! The sun was shining and it was 52 degrees outside! I jumped out of bed and put on my staple outfit for a morning like this - my Nike shorts, my Auburn hat, and a fleece. Ready to head out for a walk! I drove over to a park in Blairesville...and look what I found!
Pretty fantastic, huh?
I felt like I was one with nature at good ole Meek's Park! I saw catfish, birds, geese, butterflies, frogs, and some old ladies feeding the squirrels. I know, random!
So why did I go on a walk this morning?
To pray and talk to God? Yes.
To get outside and enjoy this beautiful weather? Yes.
To work off this bad boy below? Ummm, yes. Guilty.
That brings us to Eggplants. Vern and I were driving in the car on Sunday and decided that eggplants are underrated. We eat lots of broccoli and corn, but never do we do anything with eggplant. (Yes, when you are married you start to have conversations about things like this. I'll spare you the detailed reciprocation.)
That got me thinking! I wanted to find a recipe so I could cook with an eggplant. Our family of two has gone about as far as you can go with spicing up spaghetti... so I decided to try out this twist on Italian with (you got, it) eggplant! I found this recipe on allrecipes.com and it was awesome! And... it really isn't that bad for you either...I substituted turkey ground beef for the real stuff!
Eggplant Lasagna
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef (or if you're like me, turkey ground beef)
- 2 onions, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
- 2 1/4 cups water
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can peeled and diced tomatoes
- 1/3 cup dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 2 eggplants
- 1 onion, sliced
- 1/2 cup dry bread crumbs (I used croutons and threw them in the food processor!)
- 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (I recommend sticking with grated - I went a little crazy and used grated and shredded. The shredded got a little crisp on top!)
To start, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Then in a LARGE saucepan on medium high heat - mix the beef, the 2 chopped onions, and the minced garlic (I used the garlic in a jar rather than fresh garlic, and that worked fine)!
After the beef is thoroughly cooked, drain it.
Then place it back in the saucepan and add these guys!
Diced tomatoes, tomato paste, dried parsley, dried basil, dried oregano, dried thyme, and the 2 1/2 cups of water! These seasonings brought SO much flavor to this dish!
After after you've stirred the beef mixture together for a few minutes, you can reduce it to low heat.
Then chop your eggplant into 1/4 inch slices and arrange them in a lightly GREASED baking pan.
Pour half of the beef mixture over the eggplant. Then top that with the sliced onion.
Top the sliced onion with half of the breadcrumbs and half of the parmesan cheese! Second verse is same as the first! Layer with another set of eggplant slices, remaining beef mixture, sliced onions, bread crumbs, and cheese!
Cover that puppy with foil and bake it for 1 full hour. After the hour is up, remove the foil and bake it for 20 more minutes! By this time, the house is smelling pretty darn good!
Clearly, the "after picture" was taken after we ate dinner! We dug in immediately!
The best part part about this meal is that you don't even need to serve it with sides! It's got everything you need in one - veggies and protein. The only side I served with this meal, was wine!
Speaking of wine... (great segway, eh?)
Wine.
Remember when I told you that I had my own plans today? Well don't call me between 4:30 and 6:00, because I will be here!
That's right! I have a Girl's Day planned and couldn't be more excited! Clayton's coworker Frances (the Friendship Bread girl) emailed me yesterday inviting me for a Girl's Day! We will be relaxing on a deck, sipping on vino, just us girls.
Don't wait up for me, Vern!
