Need a quickie meal? Me too!

It’s a week packed with all sorts of work projects and celebrations – our little guy turns 3! So, I’m planning a quick meal from “Weeknights with Giada” by Giada De Laurentiis, followed by a little downtime with the kids, party preparations, book editing and indulging in some Nashville drama (which I sometimes live tweet :) with my honey.

I’ve cooked most of my life and love sharing food and stories with family and friends. I aspire to be a New York Times Bestselling author, and you can imagine I stay pretty busy as a wife, mom, freelance writer and budding novelist.

Even on busy weeknights, I like to prepare meals at home. It gives me a chance to feed my family quick, healthy and delicious meals like this one for Wagon Wheel Pasta with Pancetta and Peas, and indulge my inner Food Network Star.

I have an entire bookshelf in my kitchen dedicated to cookbooks and recipes, so there are many choices. Giada’s cookbook was a gift, and I’ve found several recipes in it that worked for us. If you’re busy and need a good family-friendly meal, try this one. In order to use what we already have and keep the troops happy, I reduced the peas just a bit and added in some carrots. Even our kids love this!

Here’s a link to Giada’s website where you can learn more. If you want the full recipe, I think you need to sign up or buy the book. Check it out, she has other recipes available online.

Eggplant fries - Tasty!

I was making Chicken Parmesan. And no matter how many times I've made Chicken Parm there is always extra bread crumb mix leftover. So, I took the opportunity to use the extra breading I knew I'd have to make baked eggplant fries. (I'll say this more than once just to be safe - Make sure to dip the eggplant BEFORE the chicken, don't mix the two for safety reasons.)

Ever on the lookout for veggie recipes my family will eat, I'd come across two ideas similar to this, which is part of what inspired me to make these. Let's say they went over pretty well considering they were not made from potatoes, and they were not actually fried. They were delicious on their own, or dipped in a little marinara. Plus, they're easy. 

Buy an eggplant
Beat 2-3 eggs in a small to medium sized bowl
Mix 3/4 cup of flour with 1 tsp Kosher salt and dash of pepper in a separate bowl
Mix 3/4 cup of Panko breadcrumbs with about a 1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese in yet another bowl (see why I made them right before the chicken parm? If I'm making that many dishes already, it's just smart. Just be sure to make the eggplant FIRST!)
Cut the top and bottom of the eggplant off
Slice into 1/2-inch strips
Coat the eggplant 'fries' in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs
Place on foil lined cookie sheet and bake at 425 until golden, about 18 minutes

Here is a yummy recipe from Giada De Laurentiis served with Basil Ketchup, and another with cornmeal and a pinch of cayenne here. 

These are the unadorned fries, right out of the oven and just turning golden brown. I'll definitely make them again!

Slammin' Salami Tomato Sauce Recipe

If you want the recipe from the recently posted Success or Mess? vlog (video blog) you can find it on the Food Network site. I made a few minor changes to the Spinach Ravioli with Tomato Sauce recipe for convenience. I used some frozen cheese ravioli we had and added a little more salami than the recipe required. It was fun to blend up a bunch of salami pieces for this sauce. Also, my can of San Marzano tomatoes came with some basil in it, so I just reduced the basil I added later. You can even top it with the shaker Parmesan – that’s what I did because that’s what I had in house. Next time I think I’ll try some smoked mozzarella and see how it tastes. Enjoy!

P.S. There are active links above, just click and they should take you right to the site or the recipe.