30 Minute Mozzerella

Yes Friends, I have made the cheese! So very excited to get into cheese making... the root of this latest hobby stems from needing to have our cheese and general dairy product be raw. My eldest son, and I both suffer from eczema from consuming pasteurized and homogenized dairy. I have been able to buy cheese that is raw at a meer $4/8oz at the store and yes, surprisingly this is cheaper than buying it. And with the added benefit of using raw milk and intentionally keeping the temperature lower I can feel good about giving my family this cheese! Yay for me! :)

Meal Plan: 1/9 - 1/15

Turkey Rice Soup and Garlic Toast

Salisbury Steak, Mashed Turnips, Green Beans and Salad

Stuffed Bell Peppers and Sweet Potatoes

Egg Salad on Toast and Salad

Bicuts and Gravy, Scrambled Eggs

Mushroom and Black Bean Enchiladas

Turkey Pot Pie and Salad

Juice for Health:

I recently watched a life changing film called Fat, Sick and Half Dead. And, wow, did it make an impact. So here you can see a morning juice and a mid day juice. Both delicious and very very potent with lots of good nutrients scrubbing away at my run down cells. Very very good feeling here.

Egg Plant UMMMisean:

Ok, Really it's called Parmesan but, man was it good! Steve even said that this meal rated in the Top Ten! It isn't that dramatic really, maybe it was an average recipe and we just found out how Yummy Eggplant Parm really is?

Here's a funny little side note: in my brian when I was meal planning I was envisioning Eggplant Lasagna. Yet, the recipe turned out to be Parmesan. When I went to correct the wildly different recipe, I realized both recipes called for boiling pasta, both recipes fried the dredged Eggplant and both were equally delicious. Yet one had to be baked, and I was looking to maximize my preparation time. So the lesser time requirement won. And I'm kinda glad it did.

Here You will find the directions:

• 1 large eggplant, about 1 1/2 pounds
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 1/2 cups fine, dry bread crumbs mixed with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• olive oil
• 2 cans (8 ounces each) tomato sauce
• 1 teaspoon dried leaf basil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried leaf oregano, crumbled
• 16 ounces sliced mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation:

Directions for Eggplant Parmesan
Wash eggplant and cut crosswise into 1/2-inch thick slices. Dip into beaten eggs then dredge with seasoned bread crumbs. Place slices on a plate and chill for 30 to 45 minutes. Heat about 1/8-inch of oil in a heavy skillet. Fry eggplant on both sides until golden brown and crispy. Drain well on paper towels. In a saucepan, heat tomato sauce, basil, and oregano. Spread 1/3 of the sauce in a greased 12x8x2-inch baking dish. Layer half of the eggplant, half of the mozzarella cheese slices, another 1/3 of the sauce, and half the Parmesan. Repeat layers. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.
Eggplant Parmesan serves 6.

Variations:

Instead of saucing the eggplant I placed in on the plate with a dollop of tomato sauce and I used Heini's Raw cheese. The above makes more like a casserole, and I just wanted it to go along side the Spaghetti!

Meal Plan 12/29 - 1/5

My second installment of Meal Planning via blog has arrived. I know you were waiting with bated breath! On to the fun:

- Sweet Potato and chipotle soup Food Mag #68 Page 103

This didn't make the cut last week. I guess we'll aim for it again, but the subconscious truth of it all is my eldest is getting picky and doesn't care for this kind of soup. I can twist his arm to try new things easily enough, but when he doesn't get full at the table we always pay for it at bedtime. Usually cost of admission is a peanut butter sandwich.

- Eggplant Parmesan found here, and Salad

Last week I voluntarily made a meal with eggplant and I would say the eggplant in it wasn't that wonderful. Eggplant and I have never had a mutually respectful relationship, it always goes tough on me. Since we have eggplant in our Co-op box this week, I am forced to try again. It was recommended to try this type of recipe. Perhaps it bakes up nicer than it stews.

- Cauliflower Chowder here sounds like a good way to use up the head in my fridge. We shall see.

- Turkey Dinner: Roasted Turkey, gravy, Cranberry Sauce, Green bean casserole, Mashed Turnips and Salad.

Phew. This meal- if accomplished- will hopefully feed our family for a few days. We were blessed to be given a turkey recently and so why not ring in the new year with a big family meal?! Sounds yummy to me!

- Autumn Rice Casserole: This is a recipe I found a while ago and liked it. It features rice, apples and sausage. It's easy, filling and delicious! However it will take a wee bit of digging to produce the recipe... thus it goes last in the 'optional' spot. SCORE I found it!

I'm off to pick up our veggie box and hit the store for a few remaining items.

Oopse, Almost forgot the best part of the week! Homemade Creamsicles!

Marrakesh stew

I have no picture to show for this meal. I'm lazy this evening and wishing that I had daylight so that the lighting on said picture would be descent. Instead I will just talk. Sorry. So the meal was devoid of a few key ingredients however the flavor was good. I ran out of potatoes (gasp.) and I forgot to soak the garbonzo beans. I suppose I would continue to use the spice blend, but I'm not going to go out of my way to buy and cook eggplant. I just don't have success. However let me hyjak this post with the salad that preceded it. Lovely. The only way to describe it truthfully. And it was pure coincidence.

A bed of green leaf lettuce, sliced celery, broccoli, red onion slivers, chunks of pear and crumbles of cheese, dressed with a delicate Peach Mimosa Vinigarette. Wow.

I *love* biscuits!

I grew up eating biscuits. You know the white fluffy kind. And as I aged into an adult through college the biscuit became more and more a mystery. Now as I'm a homebody 98% of the time I enjoy the kitchen more and more. As breakfast is a main meal together at our house, add a love affair with venison sausage gravy, I had to overcome my fear of making biscuits. First step, learn to spell the word 'biscuit'. Enter voice of my mother echoing in my head from my, younger years: don't knead the dough too much! Why, mother? What qualifies as too much??? Furthermore how can I come to grips with the white flour???? So, necessity is the mother of googling. I found a recipe online and tried it. We ate the flat discs smothered in gravy happily, since we all were very hungry. But that was the start of a quest: Conquer Biscuits. A few times later I found my groove. Today however was monumental. The internet was down. WHAT WILL I DO!?!? Well, I will make biscuits. The verdict: Wonderful! A gold star on my chart for today!