Hot Mess

No… I’m not talking about myself. I’m talking about this fantastic dinner I made the other night and subsequently have been eating the leftovers from for the past three nights. That’s good for something because this girl usually can’t stomach eating leftovers more than one time.

Isn’t it a beauty?

I kid.

But who cares when it tastes incredible and leaves me so full and satisfied?

Not me.

As a Foodbuzz Tastemaker, I received these three bottles of Crisco Olive Oil at no cost to sample and review. You know I love olive oil, I use it all the time. So, as you can imagine, I was pretty psyched. I was sent Crisco’s Pure Olive Oil, Extra Virgin and Light. As you can see in this picture, I cracked open the Pure. It sounded like the perfect one to use for roasting the veggies in the above dish.

Oh yes, more about that. What you see there is Vegetable Moussaka. Apparently Moussaka is a “Greek favorite”. Anyone out there who is Greek/more worldly than me (probably most everyone), is probably rolling his or her eyes. But listen, I’d never heard of Moussaka and fortunately now I have because this is going to be a regular around here.

Vegetable Moussaka adapted from The Illustrated Kitchen Bible

Ingredients:

• 1 large eggplant, cubed
• 1 medium zucchini, cubed
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into strips
• 4 T Crisco Pure Olive Oil
• salt and pepper
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 t dried Thyme
• 1 14.5 oz can crushed tomatoes, undrained
• 1 15 oz can lentils, drained
• 1 1/4 c plain non-fat yogurt (or Greek if you have it)
• 2 extra large eggs, lightly beaten
• pinch of paprika
• 3 oz feta cheese, crumbled
• 2 T sesame seeds

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Toss eggplant, zucchini and red peppers into roasting pan. Drizzle with oil and toss. Season with salt and pepper.

Roast for 10 minutes. Stir in garlic and thyme. Continue roasting for 35 minutes or until tender. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.

Stir in tomatoes with juices and lentils into roasted vegetables and season with salt and pepper. Transfer mixture to a four quart baking dish.

Beat the yogurt, eggs and paprika together and season with salt and pepper (if desired). Spread over vegetables and sprinkle with feta. Place on baking sheet and bake for 40 minutes. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and bake for 10 minutes more, or until top is golden brown. Let stand for 5-10 minutes. Serve hot.

Makes 4-6 servings.

Grown-Up Franks & Beans

Well there is no question about it, summer is here.

All I want to do is drink these. Go here. And make/eat food that doesn’t require the use of heat-producing appliances.

The other night I whipped up what I’ll call “Grown-Up Franks & Beans”. The franks are actually Smart Dogs which were kind of meh, in my opinion. I warmed them up on my grill pan (love, love, LOVE that thing) and served ketchup alongside. They were a bit too smoky tasting for me but I’ll give them another shot. Using one whole organic zucchini I made zucchini fries, recipe here. I used whole wheat panko on mine which resulted in an uneven coating. They were still very tasty though.

I made a quick dip for them: 1 container Greek yogurt, 1/2 Italian style diced tomatoes and lots of fresh basil from my basil plant which is amazingly still alive.

The real stunner here though? This incredibly simple bean “salad”. I don’t even know if salad is an appropriate term because it’s really just beans.

{Cannellini Bean and Basil Salad}

• 1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• ~20 basil leaves, cut into strips
• 1 t olive oil
• juice from 1/4-1/2 medium sized lemon
• salt and pepper, to taste

Combine cannellini beans, olive oil and lemon juice. Toss until well combined. Add basil leaves and gently toss until evenly distributed. Garnish with salt and pepper to desired taste. Serves ~4 as a small side.