Fried Eggplant

I slightly followed this recipe by Emeril, but kind of just made things up as I went along. These were so good! I highly recommend serving them with a side of marinara sauce.

Ingredients:

• 1 eggplant
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup (or more) flour or cornstarch
• 1 cup (or more) Italian bread/panko crumbs
• salt
• Expeller Pressed Coconut oil for frying (if you're going to fix anything at a high heat, it's best to use coconut oil as it is much better for you than canola or any other kind of frying oil. Olive oil is not recommend at high temps.

Directions:

1. Slice eggplant into 1/4 inch thick rounded slices.
2. Salt generously and allow to "sweat" for about 30min in a bowl or colander. Place on paper towels to remove excess moisture.
3. Dredge eggplant slices in flour or cornstarch, then egg then bread crumb mixture.
4. Place on a paper towel to dry a little before frying.
5. Heat oil in large pan over medium-high heat. You'll know it's hot enough when a little water hitting the oil causes a big sizzle.
6. Place eggplants into the frying pan. They will brown really quickly, so be sure to watch them carefully. Repeat this process until all the eggplants have been fried. You may need to add more oil after each batch.
7. Place fried eggplant on a paper towel to dry.
8. Top with some Parmesan, serve with a side of marinara and Enjoy!
   

Fried Cabbage

I had never tried making cabbage before, but really enjoyed this method to cooking it. I did think it was a little heavy on the butter, so I just 1/2 the recommended amount the next time I fixed this dish. Another kellythekitchenkop recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 bag of shredded cabbage (or head of cabbage rinsed and shredded...your preference)
• 2 Tbsp butter for every 1 cup of cabbage (again, I decreased the amount of butter)

Directions:

1. Fry until golden brown and crispy
2. Make sure to have your heat fairly high to brown the cabbage
   

Cilantro Lime Rice

We probably eat rice at least once a week, so this was a nice change up from the usual plain brown rice. This dish is meant to be served with the Chicken Ropa Vieja and Southwestern Black Bean Salad.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup extra long grain rice or basmati rice
• 1/2 lime, juice of
• 2 cups water
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp fresh chopped cilantro
• 4 tsp vegetable oil

Directions:

1. In a small heavy pot, add rice, water, 1 tsp oil and salt.
2. Boil on high until most of the water evaporates. When the water just skims the top of the rice, reduce to low and cover about 15 minutes. Shut off flame and keep covered an additional 5 minute.
3. In a medium bowl, combine chopped cilantro, lime juice, rice and remaining oil and toss until completely mixed.
   

Southwestern Black Bean Salad

I recently stumbled across a fabulous food blog called skinnytaste.com With every recipe I read, my mouth watered and before I knew it my menu that week consisted of 3 skinnytaste recipes. The funny thing is, I am not a fan of most "low fat" or "non-fat" recipes (read more about why here), but each dish I tried was filled with fresh ingredients. On the off chance that a "low fat" ingredient I didn't care for was used, I just substituted it with something else (I'm a huge fan of butter) Each recipe we tried was so delish! This is my new favorite food blog and I highly recommend you trying every recipe on the skinnytaste blog!

Ingredients:

• 1 15.5 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained (I like to use organic black beans from Trader Joe's)
  
• 9 oz frozen corn, thawed
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 1 small avocado, diced
• 1/4 cup red onion, chopped
• 1 scallion, chopped (I didn't have any scallions, so I just used a sweet onion instead)
  
• 1 lime, juice of
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp cilantro
• salt and fresh pepper

Directions:

1. Combine beans, corn, tomato, red onion, sweet onion, cilantro, salt and pepper
   
2. Mix with lime juice and olive oil
   
3. Marinate in the refrigerator 30 minutes
   
4. Add avocado before serving

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

I had never tried brussels sprouts mainly because I didn't think a vegetable with the name sprout in it could actually taste good, but that all changed about 3 weeks ago when I found this recipe over at Cheap Healthy Good. I can't say that I have fallen head over heels for these little round, green veggies but I love the fact that they are loaded with nutrients and offer a nice change to our vegetable repertoire. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 lbs Brussels sprouts, ends cut off and yellow outer leaves removed
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and if you like, spray with cooking spray.
2. In a medium bowl, mix Brussels sprouts, oil, salt, and pepper. Stir to coat. Pour mixture on baking sheet. Roast 35-40 minutes, shaking pan occasionally, until sprouts are browned and beautiful outside, tender and wonderful on the inside. Salt to taste. Serve.
   

Roasted Peppers

This is another recipe from my friend Monica. She's an awesome cook and should really start a blog. ;) Anyway, Walter had these peppers one night at their house and raved about them. I have yet to try them, but hope to soon.

Ingredients:

• Red and green peppers, the quantity is up to you ( Monica used 2 green, 3 red)

Directions:

1. Cut the peppers in half and clean out the seeds and innards
2. Place them on a baking sheet, skin side up
3. Place the sheet in the oven set on broil
4. The skin will start to blacken and soften, about 15-20 minutes (maybe more)
5. Once the skins are brownish-black, remove the peppers from the oven and put them inside a large zip lock bag
6. Close the bag and let the peppers sit in there for 15 minutes
7. Take each pepper out and peel the skin off, it should come right off, you can use a knife to give you a head start on the peel
8. Once roasted, chop the peppers, not too small
9. Mince one clove of garlic
10. Place the chopped roasted peppers in a pan with olive oil
11. Add the garlic
12. Sprinkle with a small amount of salt
13. Cook on medium high heat for 5-10 minutes and you're done!
    

Roasted Carrots

My mom has always tried to get me to eat my carrots, but I always turned my nose up at them unless they were cooked in a soup. Even then, I'd usually eat around them. Well, my sister-in-law (check her out at Our Kitchen, Sweet Kitchen) fixed roasted carrots for us for dinner one evening and low and behold, I actually enjoyed them. It's still a taste I'm getting used to, but I will definitely be fixing these again. She got the recipe from her cousin-in-law over at Casual Cuisine.

Ingredients:

• Carrots (I just lined a small casserole dish with baby carrots)
• EVOO
• kosher or sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
  fresh rosemary sprigs (I only had dried rosemary and it worked out just fine)
  honey

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Rinse and peel carrots and cut into large pieces (if you're using whole carrots).
   
3. In a baking dish, drizzle some EVOO to coat the bottom.
4. Place carrots in baking dish. Top with a few rosemary sprigs, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
5. Drizzle some honey and additional EVOO over top.
6. Roast, uncovered, for 30-45 minutes or until carrots are brown and tender but not overcooked.
   

Chickpea Salad

So, so good! Walter and I tried this recipe the other night and it's now one of our favorites. I tweaked the recipe a little since I didn't care for some of the ingredients. I took the leftovers for lunch and it was just as good the next day. The is another My First Kitchen recipe.

Ingredients:

• one small-ish red onion, diced (I used a yellow onion and it tasted just fine)
  
• 2 cups of frozen spinach, thawed and drained (I used 1 whole package of fresh spinach)
  
• half a can of quartered artichokes (in water), drained, and roughly chopped (I left this out and added diced red pepper instead)
  
• one can of rinsed and drained chickpeas or garbanzo beans (same thing, different name)
• the zest of one lemon and maybe even a squeeze of the juice
• a few drizzles of extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup or so of feta cheese
• a spoonful of pesto (or fresh basil if you have it)
• a good handful of fresh flat-leaf/Italian parsley (I used dried parsley)
  
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Heat a medium skillet over medium-low heat and add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Add the onion, season with salt and pepper, and cook for a couple of minutes, stirring once or twice.
2. Add the spinach, season, and cook another minute or two.
3. Add the artichokes (or other vegetable), season, and cook long enough to rinse and drain the beans.
4. Add the beans, season, and cook about two minutes to gently warm the beans.
5. Add the lemon zest, feta cheese, pesto, parsley, another drizzle of olive oil, and another pinch of salt and even some crushed red pepper flake if you'd like some heat. Turn off the heat, stir together, and serve.

Quinoa

I had been hearing a lot about quinoa and it's nutritious value, but had been a little reluctant to try it until I found the following recipe. It's really, really good and is now a new side dish on my menu rotation. I'm just going to post the link to recipe so that you can read a little bit about what quinoa is and how it should be prepared. Enjoy!

My First Kitchen- What Is Quinoa?

My First Kitchen- Quinoa with Grilled Vegetables

Sweet Potato Fries

Walter and I fix sweet potato fries at least once a week. We absolutely love them! They're easy and good for you. What more could you ask for in a side dish.

Ingredients:

• 1 medium/large sweet potato (serves 2)
• olive oil
• salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees
2. Peel and cut the sweet potato in half and then length-wise into about 1/2 inch thick strips.
3. Spread the fries out onto a baking sheet.
4. Drizzle with a generous portion of olive oil.
5. Salt to taste
6. Place in the oven and bake for 15-20 min. then flip the fries, drizzle with more olive oil and place back in the oven for another 10-15 min.
7. You will know they're done when they start to brown and are soft.
8. You don't need cinnamon or sugar because the sweet potatoes have enough sweetness by themselves.