Baked Eggplant Croquettes

For the last 6 weeks, one of our local markets has been selling eggplants for 88 cents each, (great deal !).  So, I have been buying 2 each week.  It's a great way to prepare a meatless meal, (and my husband doesn't miss the meat, quite as much).  We have been enjoying eggplant parmesan, eggplant casseroles, and one of our favorites is baked eggplant croquettes.  It's easy, inexpensive, and one medium eggplant makes 5 good sized patties.  And you can easily double the recipe.

You will need:
1 medium eggplant
olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1/4 medium sized onion
1/3 medium sized green pepper
salt and pepper
cumin
Italian seasoning
1 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
dried parsley
1 egg
1 cup shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Peel and slice the eggplant in half

Drizzle olive oil on the eggplant, and rub it over the entire eggplant.

The eggplant will be like a sponge and absorb some of the olive oil, so be generous with the olive oil.  Sprinkle some salt and pepper, generously over the entire eggplant.

Place the eggplant on a baking sheet, bake for 30 minutes, turning over after 15 minutes.  You want to cook the eggplant until it is very tender, (and has a nice lightly roasted color).

While the eggplant is roasting, chop the green pepper, onion, and garlic.

Sometimes, I also add a chopped carrot, (it adds a little more sweetness to the patty).

In a saute pan, over medium heat, add 1 teaspoon of olive oil.  Saute the green pepper, onion, and garlic until softened.  Make sure to salt and pepper the vegetables.  When the vegetables are done, remove from heat and allow to cool.

Once the eggplant is done, you will be able to insert a fork very easily.  And the eggplant will have a nice golden brown color.  Your house will have a wonderful smell from the roasted eggplant and the vegetables that you have sauteed.   Allow the eggplant to cool until you can handle it.

Move the eggplant to a bowl and mash the eggplant.  Add the cooled sauteed vegetables.

Add 1 Tablespoon of dried parsley.

Lightly beat the egg, and add the egg to the mashed eggplant mixture.

Add 1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning.

Add 1 teaspoon of cumin.

Add 1 cup of Italian seasoned bread crumbs.

Add 1 cup of shredded cheese.

You can use cheddar cheese, a blended style, (like Jack and Cheddar, or whatever you like).

Stir the eggplant mixture to incorporate everything well.

Scoop out a small ball size amount of the mixture, and form a patty.  My patties are palm sized, (they are for dinner, so they need to be good sized).

Using the same pan that you roasted the eggplant on, place the eggplant patties on the baking sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, turning over after 15 minutes.

Your patties will have a nice golden brown crust and will be heated completed through.  They are now ready to serve.

I like to top my patties with a quick dill sauce
(some mayonnaise, with fresh chopped dill, and fresh lemon juice).  Add a fresh green salad and some sauteed vegetables and you have a complete meal.

You can also make a delicious sandwich with these patties for lunchtime.  I love them on a sesame seed bun with lettuce and tomato and a couple of deli sliced pepperoncini (yellow pepper) rings.

So the next time you see eggplant on sale, grab one or two and give my baked eggplant croquettes a try.  It's a great change for a meatless meal.
ENJOY!

Bonnie's Black Bean Soup

Back in the mid 1990's, my friend Bonnie would bring a black bean soup to our company potluck luncheons.  Every time someone would ask, "How do you make this?", Bonnie would just laugh and answer, "Honey, if you can open a can, you can cook this soup!".  When Bonnie gave me the recipe, I wasn't content to leave the recipe as it was.  I had to change it up, and make it my own.  After a while, it finally became a Southwestern Chicken and Black Bean Soup, but I still call it "Bonnie's Black Bean Soup".  So here is the soup, with my modifications, (highlighted in red).  This is all done in one pot, on the stove top, and takes less than 30 minutes - so it's a great weeknight dinner.  And, you can leave out the chicken to make it vegetarian - it's so versatile.

You will need:
1 Tabs olive oil
1/4 of a medium green pepper
2 cloves garlic
2 stalks celery
1/2 medium onion
1/2 cup long grain rice
2 cans black beans
1 qt tomatoes
1 qt chicken stock
1 cup shredded chicken
salt/pepper
1 teas cumin
1 teas chili powder
cilantro (for garnish)

Chop your onion, green pepper, celery, and garlic clove.

You will have approximately 1/4 cup of green pepper, 1/2 cup of celery, and 1/2 cup of onion.

Shred 1 cup of cooked chicken, (white or dark meat, it doesn't matter). 

If you want to make this soup vegetarian, leave the chicken out.

In a large pot, over medium high heat, add one Tablespoon of olive oil, the chopped vegetables, and 1/2 cup of rice.

Add 1 teaspoon of cumin powder, (this will give the soup a nice smokey flavor).  You want to add it now, so the oil will release the flavor. 

Add 1 teaspoon of chili powder,  You are also adding this now, so the oil will release the flavor of the chili powder.  Don't worry, the soup won't be hot, it will just have the flavor of the chilies. 

Make sure to salt and pepper the vegetables and rice, (about 1 teaspoon each of salt and pepper).  Stir every so often so the rice doesn't burn.  After the vegetables have started to soften, it is time to add the rest of the ingredients. 

You can either use canned tomatoes from the store, or home canned tomatoes.  Bonnie used to use stewed tomatoes, but I have substituted those with regular tomatoes and I use fresh vegetables above and saute them in olive oil.

Add in the tomatoes, use a spoon to break up the tomatoes.

At this point, Bonnie would also add 1-16 ounce jar of salsa, but because I modified the soup, and added the cooked vegetables, I have eliminated the salsa.

You can use either 2 cans of store bought chicken broth, or one quart of homemade chicken broth.

Note: If you are going to make the soup vegetarian, you will need to substitute vegetable stock for the chicken stock.

Add the chicken broth to the soup pot.

Add the 2 cans of beans, no need to drain the beans.

Add the shredded chicken.  Give the soup a good stir, to incorporate everything.

Add a tight fitting lid, bring the soup to a boil, then turn the heat down to medium low and simmer for 15 minutes until the rice is cooked.

And your soup is ready to serve.

Garnish with cilantro.

And you have a hearty, satisfying soup for a cold winter day.  The beans and the chicken give plenty of protein.  You can add a salad or a half sandwich to round out your meal.  Sometimes I also garnish the soup with a sprinkling of shredded cheese or tortilla chips.

This soup has a wonderful flavor, and is very filling.

Give it a try, and let me know what your family thinks.  You can change out the meat, or don't add meat.  You can double the amount of beans.
Enjoy!

Chimichurri Sauce topping for meats

One of the easiest, quickest, and inexpensive ways to brighten up beef, chicken, or even pork is with a chimichurri sauce.  It requires very few ingredients, and leftovers can easily be frozen in a zip lock bag for future use.  Here is my recipe.  This recipe makes about one half cup.

Because I don't like to put cold meat into a skillet, I let my meat sit at room temperature for 30 minutes, (this prevents uneven cooking).  I am just using a few simple ingredients to season my steaks, (some kosher salt, ground black pepper, garlic powder and onion powder).   The rest of this recipe will come together very fast.

For the chimichurri sauce you will need:
3 cloves of garlic, (unpeeled)
1/2 cup fresh parsley
2 scallions
1 Tabs. red wine vinegar
1/4 teas red pepper flakes
4 Tabs. olive oil
salt and pepper

In a large pan, (use the one that you are going to cook your steaks in), over medium-low heat, toast the garlic, (unpeeled), in the pan.  You will cook the garlic until it is fragrant and spotty brown.  Make sure to shake the pan occasionally, so the garlic doesn't burn.  This will take 3 or 4 minutes.

While the garlic is cooking, chop 1/2 cup of fresh parsley.

The garlic has cooked, and this is what it looks like - the outer skin has a light tan color, and there are a few brown spots.  You can also smell some of the garlic flavor.  Turn off the heat and remove the garlic to cool.

While the garlic is cooling, chop the scallions, both the white and green parts.

When the garlic is cool enough to handle, remove and discard the skin.

Into a food processor, (or blender), add the chopped parsley, chopped scallions, garlic, and 1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar.

Add 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes.

Pulse for a couple of seconds until finely chopped.

While the processor is running, slowly drizzle in 4 Tablespoons of olive oil and continue processing until the sauce is smooth and emulsified.

Give the sauce a quick taste.  Now you want to season it to taste.

Add salt, (I add about 1/2 teaspoon).

Add pepper, (I add about 1/4 teaspoon).

Pulse for a couple of seconds to incorporate.

Your sauce is now done and ready to use.

In the same pan that I cooked the garlic, I added 1 Tablespoon of olive oil, and now I will cook the steaks until they are well browned on the outside but medium on the inside, (just slightly pink), about 5 - 7 minutes per side.

Remove the steaks to a cutting board, and let them rest for 5 minutes, so the juices can redistribute back into the meat.  Then slice against the grain, plate, and add the chimichurri sauce.

And dinner is ready.

This sauce will brighten any meat.  And it's delicious anytime of year.  The red pepper flakes give just a slight bit of heat, but don't over power, and the fresh parsley is a welcome relief against any kind of meat or roasted vegetable.

Give this sauce a try.

Enjoy !