More Caprese

For breakfast, on toast:

Tomato Tart

Roasted tomato and goat cheese tart with green salad:

Eggplant Parmesan

Meeting the eggplant challenge head-on:

3 medium eggplants, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch slices
1/2 jar pasta sauce
8 oz. shredded low-fat mozzarella
Bake eggplant slices at 400 for 20 minutes
Layer in pan starting with sauce, then eggplant, sauce, then cheese, ending with cheese
Bake covered at 400 for 45 minutes, then remove cover and bake for 15 more minutes
4 servings, 275 calories each

Mac and cheese with a kick

Macaroni and cheese with green chiles:

1/2 pound dry macaroni, boiled and drained
1 can Campbell's condensed cheddar cheese soup
5 oz. milk
1 4 oz. can diced green chiles
Mix all ingredients together in a casserole, then top with
1 tbsp melted butter mixed with 2 tbsp bread crumbs
Bake at 400 for 25 minutes or until sauce is bubbly and crumbs are brown

4 servings, 275 calories each

More eggplant

The veggie box this week was virtually identical to last week's, so no new picture. It's a challenge to use some vegetables, like eggplant, which I like but wouldn't ordinarily have two weeks in a row. This week's eggplant (served with chicken Italian sausage):

Eggplant rollatini with goat cheese and mozzarella

1 large eggplant
3 oz. goat cheese
3 oz. fresh mozzarella
Tomato sauce

Slice eggplant lengthwise into six pieces, approximately 1/3 inches wide. Spread out the slices on paper towels and salt both sides, let stand for 1 hour, then rinse and pat dry. Bake the eggplant slices for 15 minutes at 400 degrees. Mix the cheeses together. When the eggplant slices have cooled, put 1 oz. cheese mixture at the wider end of the slice, then roll up and secure with toothpicks. Put the rolls in a baking dish, cover with foil, and bake for 25 minutes. Serve with tomato sauce.

Makes six rolls, 85 calories each.

Fruit and cheese please

Today's breakfast:

1 1/2 oz. feta cheese: 110 calories
1 oz. havarti cheese: 80 calories
3 oz. watermelon: 35 calories
1 oz. strawberries: 10 calories

Once a Year

Once every year, on a particularly gloomy winter day, I make cheese fondue. This Sunday was the day.

1/2 pound Gruyere cheese, shredded
1/2 pound Emmenthaler cheese, shredded
1 1/2 cups white wine
It also should contain 2 oz. of kirsch, but we were out of kirsch, and this being North Carolina we couldn't go buy some, because it was Sunday and the liquor laws here are ridiculous.

Cubed pumpernickel bread and sliced apples for dipping.

Calories: I don't want to know.

We didn't eat the whole dish on Sunday night, so I used the leftovers on Monday. I made French onion soup, topped with the remaining cubed bread and fondue cheese, and used what was left of the un-cubed pumpernickel to make grilled Reuben sandwiches.

A little bit of everything

I love meals that are made up of lots of little bites of different things. Tapas, meze, antipasti... I love them all. I also occasionaly enjoy meals that are more about shopping than about cooking.

Here we have: Mixed greens, tomatoes, watermelon and honeydew, salami and ham, tzatziki, hummus, couscous salad, pita bread, crackers, four cheeses, and a chocolate bar. All purchased from the good folks at Whole Foods.

Breakfast Quesadilla

Good morning!

1 8-inch flour tortilla
1 egg, scrambled
Sauteed onions and mushrooms
1/4 cup shredded low-fat cheddar cheese
Served with salsa verde and 1 tbsp. light sour cream

300 calories

Breakfast "Skillet"

My homemade version of a dish that many restaurants around here serve as a "skillet":

Home fries with onions, mushrooms, peppers and Muenster cheese with a fried egg on top. Served on a plate, because I don't have those cute little mini cast-iron skillets the restaurants serve them in.
Home fries: 100 calories
Cheese: 80 calories
Egg: 70 calories