Recipes

Lazy Layered Eggplant

Ingredients

  • 4 eggplants, sliced in 1⁄2 inch thick rounds
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 pound ground lamb
  • 2 cans diced tomatoes or 2 pounds tomatoes, diced
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 2 teaspoons ground coriander
  • 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 4 tablespoons parsley, chopped
  • juice of 1 lemon

Instructions

  1. Heat oven to 350*F.  
  2. Place eggplant on baking sheet and bake 30 minutes or until tender.  
  3. Meanwhile, prepare sauce.  Heat oil in medium skillet over medium heat.  Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring often, until onion is tender, about 15 minutes.  Add lamb and cook until no longer pink.  
  4. Add tomatoes, salt, coriander, black pepper, cumin, and cayenne.  Stir to combine and remove sauce to large bowl.   
  5. Layer half of the cooked eggplant in now-empty skillet.  Spread half of sauce over eggplant.  Top with remaining eggplant.  Stir parsley into remaining sauce then spoon sauce into skillet.  Continue cooking, over medium heat, 5 to 10 minutes.  
  6. Sprinkle with lemon juice before serving.  

Comments

This recipe is from Grok Grub and it had potential, but left a lot to be desired.  The eggplant was spongy and not super flavorful as a result.  I think this would have been better if the eggplant had been diced and sautéed first to give it some flavor and better texture.  The dish has some potential because the rest of the flavors were solid, so I might revisit it in the future.

Spicy Beef and Bell Pepper Stir Fry

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil
  • 12-16 ounces steak, sliced thinly - flank steak would work well, I used “stir fry meat”
  • 2 bell peppers, cut into thin strips
  • 3 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 1⁄2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
  • 2 teaspoons chili garlic sauce
  • 1 bunch green onions, cut into 2-inch pieces
  • 2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds

Instructions

  1. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add steak to pan, spread pieces out, and cook, without stirring, 2 minutes.  Add peppers and cook, stirring constantly, 2 minutes.  Remove mixture from skillet.  
  2. Add soy sauce, vinegar, ginger, and chili garlic sauce to pan and bring to boil.  Cook 1 minute or until slightly thickened.  Return beef mixture to skillet and add onions.  Toss well to coat.  Sprinkle with sesame seeds before serving.  

Comments

This recipe is from myrecipes.com, but ultimately from Cooking Light.  It’s a nice, simple stir fry with a nice bite due to the chili garlic sauce.  There weren’t any leftovers.

Summer Squash Gratin

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 pounds various summer squash, sliced 1⁄4 inch thick (I used zucchini, pattypan, and yellow squash.)
  • 2 shallots, minced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1⁄2 cup heavy cream
  • 1 cup panko
  • 1⁄2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

  1. Heat oven to 450*F.  
  2. Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat.  Add squash, shallot, and garlic to skillet, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until squash is just turning tender, about 4 to 6 minutes.  
  3. Add cream and cook until thickened, about 5 minutes.  Remove skillet from heat and stir in 1⁄2 cup panko and 1⁄4 cup parmesan cheese.  
  4. Transfer mixture to shallow 2-quart baking dish.  Sprinkle with remaining panko and parmesan, season with salt and pepper.  Bake until top is golden brown, about 8 to 10 minutes.  

Comments

This recipe is from Martha Stewart and I really enjoyed it!  The squash flavors really shone through and all of the other flavors were subtle and very pleasant.  I think this would be a nice dish to serve for company.  Yum.

Grilled Japanese Eggplant with Tahini Sauce

Ingredients

  • 3 pounds japanese eggplant, sliced in half and scored in a cross hatch pattern
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil

For the tahini sauce

  • 1⁄4 cup tahini
  • 1⁄4 cup water
  • 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon parsley, minced
  • 1⁄2 teaspoon sugar
  • 1⁄2 teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions

  1. Place eggplant halves on cutting board with cut side up and sprinkle with salt.  Let sit 20 to 60 minutes and prep your grill.  
  2. Meanwhile, prepare sauce by placing all sauce ingredients in immersion blender cup or mini chopper.  Process until smooth.  
  3. Brush eggplant with oil and place eggplant cut-side down on grill.  Press eggplant to grate and grill until well browned, about 3 to 5 minutes.  Flip eggplant and grill until cooked through, about 3 to 5 minutes more.  Brush with remaining olive oil then serve with tahini sauce.  

Comments

This recipe is from Simply Recipes and it was simply great!  I actually bought more eggplant the next week just to use up the remaining sauce.  The eggplant gets so creamy and awesome when cooked this way.  Yum.

Charred Pepper Steak Sauce

Ingredients

  • 1 large red bell pepper
  • 2⁄3 cup tomato puree
  • 1⁄4 cup orange juice
  • 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 3⁄4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground mustard
  • 1⁄2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1⁄4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1⁄4 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1⁄8 teaspoon ground allspice

Instructions

  1. Char bell pepper under broiler or over burner if you have a gas stovetop.  Turn the pepper often to get a good char on all sides.  Transfer bell pepper to zip top bag and cool until ready to use.  
  2. Add all remaining ingredients to blender.  Cut open pepper and remove seeds, membranes, and stem with fingers or a paring knife.  Add pepper, including charred skin, to blender and puree until smooth.  
  3. Transfer sauce to saucepan and simmer gently over low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  
  4. Serve with steaks or anything else.  

Comments

This recipe is from Smitten Kitchen and it was great.  It’s almost like a ketchup in flavor, but not quite.  We’ve had it over steaks and also potatoes, both are tasty.

Oven Roasted Tomato Caprese Salad

Ingredients

  • 1 1⁄2 pounds cherry tomatoes
  • 1 1⁄2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon maple syrup
  • 1 1⁄2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
  • 1⁄4 teaspoon sugar
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 pound fresh mozzarella, cut into small pieces
  • 1⁄4 cup basil leaves, finely sliced
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest

Instructions

  1. Heat oven to 375*F.  Add cherry tomatoes, olive oil, maple syrup, balsamic vinegar, and sugar to 9 by 13 inch baking dish.  Toss to combine.  Roast until just starting to char, about 40 minutes, tossing occasionally to cook evenly.  
  2. Remove from oven and cool 5 to 10 minutes.  Transfer tomatoes along with any any accumulated juices to large bowl.  Add mozzarella and basil.  Gently toss to combine.  Add lemon zest then season with salt and pepper.  Toss again and serve.  

Comments

This recipe is from Serious Eats.  It was super tasty, but I love anything with tomatoes and mozzarella.  Roasting the tomatoes added a nice layer to the flavors.

Pork Roast with Dijon Glaze

Ingredients

For the roast

  • 3 pound pork roast
  • 2 tablespoons paprika
  • 2 tablespoons ground cumin
  • 2 tablespoons garlic powder
  • 2 tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 1⁄2 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper

For the glaze

  • 1⁄4 cup olive oil or coconut oil
  • 3 1⁄2 tablespoons water
  • 3 tablespoons dijon mustard

Instructions

  1. Heat oven to 425*F.  
  2. Place roast in baking dish and score fatty side with sharp knife.  
  3. Combine paprika, cumin, garlic powder, salt and pepper in small bowl.  Rub spices on all sides of roast, getting into all of the scores.  Sprinkle cilantro over top.  
  4. Roast 15 minutes at 425*F then reduce heat to 350*F and cook another 15 minutes.  
  5. Meanwhile, whisk glaze ingredients together in small bowl.  After the roast has cooked 30 total minutes, remove from oven and brush all sides with glaze, getting glaze into all of the scores.  
  6. Return to oven and cook, still at 350*F, for another 40 to 50 minutes, or until an instant read thermometer reads 150*F.  Remove roast from oven and allow to stand 5 to 10 minutes before thinly slicing.  

Comments

This recipe is from Paleo Leap and, even though I didn’t make it that long ago, I actually don’t remember it.  I’m sure it was tasty enough since I certainly don’t have bad memories of it!

Maple and Thyme Glazed Pork Tenderloin

Ingredients

  • 1 pound pork tenderloin
  • 3 tablespoons maple syrup
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 4 1⁄2 teaspoons dried thyme
  • 3⁄4 teaspoon onion powder
  • 3⁄4 teaspoon paprika
  • 3⁄4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 3⁄4 teaspoon salt

Instructions

  1. Combine all ingredients except for tenderloin in shallow dish.  Stir well to combine.  Add tenderloin, cover, and marinate in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or overnight, turning occasionally.  
  2. Heat oven to 375*F.  
  3. Remove tenderloin from marinade and place on rimmed baking sheet.  Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until an instant read thermometer reads 140*F.  Exact cooking time will depend on thickness of meat.  
  4. Meanwhile, transfer marinade to small saucepan set over high heat.  Bring to boil them reduce heat to low and continue to simmer until sauce thickens.  Remove from heat.  
  5. Once tenderloin is almost finished, remove from oven and change over to broil.  Brush marinade over tenderloin, return to oven, and broil 5 minutes.  
  6. Cover meat with foil and let stand 5 minutes before thinly slicing.  

Comments

This recipe is from Against All Grain and it was pretty tasty!  The meat was tender and delicious, the glaze had a little bit of sweetness to it and a lot of flavor.

Spicy Tuna Cakes

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
  • 10 ounces albacore tuna, drained if canned
  • 3 green onions, thinly sliced
  • 2 tablespoons cilantro, minced
  • 1 1⁄3 cup mashed baked sweet potato (or white potato or mixture)
  • zest of 1⁄2 lemon
  • 1 tablespoon jalapeño, minced
  • 2 eggs
  • 1⁄2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

  1. Heat oven to 350*F.  Grease cups of 12-cup muffin tin (regular size) with 1 tablespoon coconut oil.  
  2. Mix all ingredients together and season with salt and pepper to taste.  I used my hands to mix everything up because that’s what works best.  
  3. Scoop 1⁄4 cup of mixture into each muffin cup and press down gently with fingers or the back of a spoon.  
  4. Bake tuna cakes for 25 to 35 minutes, or until they start to come away from the sides of the cups and release easily.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.  
  5. For serving, heat a small amount of coconut oil in skillet over medium heat and cook 1 minute per side or until the edges get crisp and the cakes are heated through.  

Comments

This recipe is my first from Nom Nom Paleo.  These were amazingly tasty.  I made a double batch right away and cooked them up for lunches for a week or so.  These would also freeze really well.  I can’t wait to make these again.

Fish Taco Cabbage Bowl

Ingredients

  • 4 (6 ounces each) tilapia fillets
  • olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons fish rub or seasoned salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1⁄2 teaspoon chile powder
  • 1 medium head green cabbage, thinly sliced
  • 1⁄2 medium head red cabbage, thinly sliced
  • 2 bunches green onions, thinly sliced

For the dressing

  • 1⁄2 cup mayonnaise
  • 2 tablespoons lime juice
  • 2 teaspoons green tabasco sauce
  • salt to taste

Instructions

  1. Combine fish rub, cumin, and chile powder in small dish.  Rub fish with olive oil then coat with seasoning mix.  
  2. Combine cabbages with green onions in large bowl.  
  3. Combine all dressing ingredients in small bowl.  Add enough dressing to lightly coat cabbage.  
  4. Heat 1-2 tablespoons olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add fish and cook until done, about 4 minutes on each side.  
  5. Remove fish to bowl and break up meat with a fork.  
  6. Divide cabbage salad between 4 bowls then top with tilapia.  Serve extra dressing on the side.  

Comments

This recipe is from Kayln’s Kitchen.  I double the rub ingredients and made some chicken tenders as well, since Art does not eat fish.  I thought this was pretty tasty, but ended up with way more cabbage salad than I needed for the amount of chicken and fish we had.  I sort of wish I had served this with soft tacos for the guys, that would probably have been a nice addition although it was certainly fine just in salad form!