This was SO GOOD, and isn’t it pretty!!  You will love it too, if you just make the commitment to make it....go ahead, commit.  OK, now that you committed, it is a 'little' time consuming, when I say time consuming, I'm talking maybe 40 minutes or so, really not bad at all.  I did cheat a little and used jarred sauce, see in the back ground of the picture above?  I used my favorite sauce from Rao's.  If you live in the states, you can easily get it, just head to your local Whole Food, HEB, or Kroger & you should be able to find it,  unless you live on the west coast, I don't think they have it there yet. If someone reading this lives on the west coast, will you run out and see if you can find it?  Then would you mind posting the answer in my comment section?  Thanks!

OK, on to the recipe....I got the original recipe here, but I made a few changes, so here we go.....

For Sauce:
1 jar Rao’s Marinara

For Eggplant Stacks:
2  medium eggplants
6 tablespoons olive oil, divided, plus additional for drizzling
3/4 cup plain dry bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1/2 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 garlic cloves, minced, divided
6 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon hot red-pepper flakes
1/2 pound fresh spinach
1 cup packed basil leaves, coarsely chopped
1/2 pound cold fresh mozzarella, cut into 4 (1/2-inch-thick) slices

Bake eggplant:
Preheat oven to 450°F with rack in lowest position.

Cut 12 (1/3-inch-thick) rounds from widest portion of eggplants. Brush both sides with 2 tablespoons oil and season with 1/2 teaspoon salt (total). Bake on an oiled baking sheet, turning once, until golden and tender, 20 to 30 minutes. Transfer to a plate and keep warm, covered. Leave oven on.

Make egg patties and sauté spinach:
Stir together bread crumbs, parmesan, parsley, half of garlic, and 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper, then stir in eggs and water.

Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium heat until it shimmers. Drop 4 rounded 1/4 cups (the original recipe called for 1/3 cup, but I thought that was too thick for my clan, so I reduced it) of egg mixture into skillet and cook, turning once, until patties are golden brown and puffed, about 4 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain.( I had a few extra patties)

Add remaining tablespoon oil to skillet and cook remaining garlic with red-pepper flakes, stirring, until garlic is golden, about 30 seconds. Add spinach and basil and stir until just wilted, then stir in 1/8 teaspoon salt.

Assemble stacks:
Arrange 4 egg patties about 3 inches apart on a baking sheet. Top each with 2 Tbsp tomato sauce, 1 slice mozzarella, 1 eggplant slice, 2 more tablespoons tomato sauce, another eggplant slice, and spinach mixture. Bake until cheese melts, 5 to 10 minutes. Drizzle with additional oil and serve remaining sauce on the side. 

Ummmm.....heavenly!

So the picture isn't great for showing you details of the food, but you get the idea.....

For those of you that live her in Korea, you will need to get your friends in the states to send you tahini to make the hummus.  If I am incorrect, and anyone reading this knows where to get tahini here, PLEASE  TELL ME!! I am willing to drive, take the subway, bus or cab! :) 

HUMMUS
***From The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook (You will start to see a pattern here)
***Can be made in advance & last weeks in the refrigerator.

4 garlic cloves
2 cups canned chickpeas, drained, liquid reserved
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/3 cup tahini (sesame paste)
6 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
2 tablespoons water or liquid from the chickpeas
8 dashes hot sauce

 Turn on the food processor fitted with the steel blade and drop the garlic down the feed tube; process until it's minced. Add the rest of the ingredients to the food processor and process until the hummus is coarsely pureed. Taste, for seasoning, and serve chilled or at room temperature. 


Roasted Eggplant Spread

***Can you guess where I got this recipe?  That is right, Barefoot Contessa Cookbook!  I adapted just a little.

This roasted eggplant spread is divine! I have had this on my list to make for months, I am so mad I waited so long to make it!  You can server this warm or cold, it is very good both ways, my preference is warm, however I served it cold/room temperature at the reception.   I could not stop eating this, I was afraid I would have to make more even though I had already made a double batch.   You can make this in advance & store in an airtight container in the refrigerator – I made it 2 days prior to serving it.

2 medium eggplants, peeled
3 red bell peppers seeded and chopped
1 red onion, peeled
5-6 garlic cloves
5 TBLS olive oil
Kosher salt (however much you like - maybe 2 tsp?)
Fresh ground black pepper (however much you like - maybe 1 1/2 tsp?)
2 TBL tomato paste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Cut the eggplant, peppers & onions into 1 inch cubes.  Toss them in a large bowl with the garlic, olive oil, & salt and pepper.  Spread on a baking sheet, roast for 45 minutes or until the vegetables are lightly browned and soft, tossing once during cooking.  Cool slightly.  Place vegetables in a food processor, add the tomato paste and pulse till; blended well.  Add salt and pepper to taste.


Semi-Homemade Pita Chips

For these I bought flat pita bread, brushed the pita with olive oil, sprinkled garlic salt on top of the olive oil, cut the bread into 8 triangles and baked at 400 degrees F for about 4 minutes on each side.  Voila...it's that easy.  Store them in a ziplock bag!

You can get creative with your pita chips....instead of garlic salt, you could do a little cayenne pepper, or basil, or a greek seasoning...you get the idea.
 

The original recipe is here.  This was good, but next time I will do it a little differently.  First off I would add ham, maybe a little mushroom, chop the zucchini more or maybe even puree it, (for the kids) and add a little salt and pepper.  I know it wouldn't be a "vegetable" frittata anymore, but it would be good! 

Recipe:

8 slightly beaten eggs
1 TBL fresh basil or 1 tsp dried
2 TBL olive oil
1 cup frozen whole kernel corn
½ cup chopped zucchini
¾ cup chopped cherry tomatoes
½ cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

In a medium bowl combine eggs and basil; set aside.  Heat oil in a large broiler proof skillet; add corn, and zucchini.  Cook and stir for 3 minutes; add tomatoes.  Cook uncovered over medium heat about 5 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender, stir occasionally. 

Pour egg mixture over vegetables in skillet.  Cook over medium heat.  As mixture sets, run a spatula around edge of skillet, lifting egg mixture so uncooked portion follows underneath. Continue cooking and lifting edges until egg mixture is almost set, surface will be moist, sprinkle with cheese. 

Place under broiler 4-5 inches from heat.  Broil 1-2 minutes or until top is just set and cheese is melted.

My kids love this!  I think I got this recipe from Family Fun magazine many moons ago.

Recipe….

Whole wheat bun.
Spread peanut butter on the bottom of the bun. 
Slice a banana in half horizontal; put it on top of the peanut butter, put a little jelly on top of the banana, you know, so it will look like ketchup.  (You can leave it off if you would like in fact my kids like it better without the jelly, I just did it here for the picture.)

That’s it. Enjoy.

OH BABY, these were good!!  Hubby and I both LOVED these.  (I made grilled chicken sandwiches for the kids - they would not have touched these with a 10 foot pole.) 

The Recipe:

4 Portobello mushroom caps
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 TBL olive oil
1 tsp dried basil (I used fresh, about 8 medium size leaves)
1 tsp dried oregano (if you have fresh, throw it in instead of the dried!)
2 minced garlic cloves
Salt and pepper to taste
4 (1 oz ) slices provolone
8 slices whole wheat bread, toasted
Lettuce (your favorite kind)
4 big juicy slices of tomatoes

 Place mushroom caps, smooth side up in a shallow dish.  In a small bowl whisk together vinegar, oil, basil, oregano, garlic, salt and pepper.  Pour over mushrooms, let stand at room temperature for about 15 minutes, turning a couple of times. 

Preheat grill to medium high heat.

Grill mushroom caps for about 7 or 8 minutes, on each side (or until tender), brushing any remaining marinade on the caps during grilling.  Top with cheese the last 2 minutes of cooking time.

Toast bread, make 4 yummy sandwiches!!  (I didn’t use mayo or any dressing on the sandwich & I thought it was perfect without it, but if  you can’t make a sandwich without a dressing of some sort, go for it!)

 
I served this sandwich with a tomato/basil salad and garlic baked potatoes.

These were SO good!

½ cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves minced
1 TBL olive oil
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 TBL fresh squeezed lime juice
1 TSP dried oregano
1 TSP ground cumin
8 10 inch flour tortillas
1 ½ cup mashed cooked sweet potatoes
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Baby spinach

Salsa & guacamole on the side

In a large skillet, cook onion & garlic in olive oil till tender.  Stir in black beans, lime juice oregano, cumin; heat through & set aside.

Layer tortillas with ¼ sweet potatoes, 1/8 of the cheese, ¼ bean mix, a layer of spinach, another 1/8 of the cheese & top with another flour tortilla, make 4.

Grill uncovered on low for 4 minutes, flip and grill another 4 minutes.  (times vary per grill) You can also cook these in a skillet if you wish.

 

OH YUM!  Hubby told me if he had been served this in a restaurant, he would go back to that restaurant often. :)

I got this recipe from my friend Staci and have adapted it a little over the years to suit our taste.

EGGPLANT PARMESAN

1 fresh eggplant, peel the purple skin off (you don't have to, you can eat it, I just prefer not to).  Cut into ½ to ¾ inch slices.  Lay out on anything you want, sprinkle with salt on both sides, let rest for about 30 minutes, rinse off the salt after 30 minutes.  (This tenderized your eggplant & makes it less bitter and makes it OH SO much better – you can skip this step if you want, but I would not suggest it)
 2 or 3 eggs
flour
Canola oil
1 jar any pasta sauce you like.  I like Rao’s marinara for my Eggplant Parm, but since they don’t have it here, I made my own.  If you want the recipe, just ask & I will be happy to give it to you, but I know most of my readers just like to open jars and be done with it.
1 12 oz package mozzarella (I like fresh), cut into ¼ inch slices
Parmesan cheese (I like to use ½ parmesan, ½ pecorino romano)

Heat oil in skillet, coat eggplant slices in egg, then dip in flour.  Add to heated oil.  Fry for 1-2 minutes on one side, flip to other.  Eggplant is done when it is a golden brown and you stick your fork in and it is soft.  Drain on paper towel.

 In a single layer put eggplant in a 9x12 pan (or larger).  Put about ¼ cup sauce on top of each eggplant slice, top with a slice of mozzarella cheese, add parmesan cheese to top (as much as you want).  Bake at 350 about 20 minutes or until cheese is nicely melted.

ITALIAN SALAD


 I just threw this together; I was trying to mimic a recipe from my favorite Italian Restaurant, Buca Di Beppos.  If you are ever close to a Buca's, go eat there & have the 1862 Salad.  Ok, so I just went to the website, to find the correct name for the salad, and it is not on the menu...Aughh...I have no idea why they would take this salad off the menu, it is wonderful.  Eat there anyway & order the salad that starts with a year.

Romaine lettuce
Cherry tomatoes, cut in half
Kalamata olives
Pepperoncinis
Red onion
Parmesan cheese, slice with a cheese grater to make large flakes (or just use the packaged stuff if you must)
Pepperoni
Hard salami
Roasted red & yellow peppers, you can buy or roast them yourself

Italian Herb Vinaigrette – Now, you can use store bought, but it won’t be as good.  Take a few minutes to make your own, it is well worth it.

Italian Herb Vinaigrette
¼ cup olive oil
2 TBL red wine vinegar
1 minced garlic clove
1 TBL finely chopped fresh oregano, or ½ TBL dried oregano
2 TSP finely chopped fresh rosemary or 1 TSP dried
1 TBL ground mustard
Salt and pepper to taste

 Mix all ingredients together using a wire whisk.  Viola, you have dressing. See, that wasn’t so hard now was it?

Hubby and I loved this salad. It now has a permanent place in my recipe box.  Go ahead; give it a try, you are sure to like it!  I served it with grilled chicken breast.

This was adapted from a recipe in Cooking Light magazine.

1 bag of your favorite salad (I used Spring Mix)
1 6oz container fresh raspberries
¼ cup chopped fresh chives
1 ½ TBL apple cider vinegar
1 ½ TBL white vinegar
2 TSP honey
½ TSP Dijon mustard
¼ tsp salt
1/8 tsp fresh ground pepper
1 TBL canola oil
6 TBL sweet spiced almonds (recipe follows)

Combine first 3 ingredients in a large bowl. Combine vinegars and next 4 ingredients in a small bowl, add oil stirring with a whisk.  Drizzle over lettuce mixture, toss to coat.  Top with sweet spiced almonds.

 Sweet Spiced Almonds

1 cup sliced almonds
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 TSP cinnamon
½ TSP ground coriander
½ TSP ground cumin
1 large egg white lightly beaten
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 325/  Combine almonds & next 4 ingredients in a small bowl.  Add egg white, mix till incorporated. Spread evenly onto a foil lined baking sheet coated with cooking spray.  Bake for 10 minutes, stir, spread out evenly on cooking sheet again & bake for 15 more minutes or till crisp.  Transfer foil to wire rack and cool.  Break almond mixture into small pieces.