Eggplant Parmesan Lasagna

Eggplant Parmesan Lasagna (slightly adapted from Woman’s Day, Servings: 8, Total Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes)

Ingredients

·         2 Tbsp. olive oil

·         1 large egg

·         4 egg whites

·         1 ½ cups panko bread crumbs

·         ½ cup all-purpose flour

·         2 medium (about 2 ¼ pounds total) eggplants

·         1 container (16-oz.) lowfat small-curd cottage cheese

·         1 container (15-oz.) part-skim ricotta

·         1 ½  cups part-skim mozzarella, grated

·         ½ cup grated Romano or Parmesan cheese

·         2 Tbsp. grated Romano or Parmesan cheese

·         Black pepper

·         1 cup roughly chopped fresh basil

·         ½ cup roughly chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

·         1 jar marinara sauce

Directions

1. Heat oven to 450 degrees F. Cover two large rimmed baking sheets with foil, spray with non-stick cooking spray. Beat the egg and egg whites together in a shallow bowl. Place the bread crumbs and flour in separate shallow bowls. Add 2 Tbsp. oil to the bread crumbs and mix to combine.
2. Slice the eggplants into 1/2-inch-thick rounds. Dip the eggplant rounds in the flour, then the eggs (letting any excess drip off), and finally in the bread crumb mixture, pressing gently to help them adhere; transfer to the prepared baking sheets. Roast until the eggplant is golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees F.
3. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the cottage cheese, ricotta, 1 cup mozzarella, ½ cup Romano or Parmesan, and ½ teaspoon pepper. Fold in the basil and parsley.
4. Spread ½ cup marinara on the bottom of a 9- by 13-inch baking dish. Top with a layer of eggplant (8 to 12 slices) and ½ cup marinara, and dollop with a third of the ricotta mixture (about 1 ½ cups). Repeat eggplant, marinara, and ricotta layers twice. Top with the remaining ½ cup marinara. Sprinkle with the remaining ½ cup mozzarella and 2 Tbsp. Romano.
5. Cover the dish tightly with a piece of foil (sprayed with non-stick cooking spray) and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake until the top is light golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes more. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

I’ll start off by saying that I did not have enough eggplant to have three layers, so I ended with the cheese mixture and topped with more cheese!  I also used dried basil and parsley instead of fresh (1/3 of original amount) and a garden vegetable marinara sauce.  I used more panko and egg white than originally called for; the above accounts for those additional ingredients.  I used slightly less flour, but I kept the above at ½ cup.

This dish is very Italian – and very cheesy.  Now, I love cheese, but I would not use so much next time.  I think that I would cut it back, maybe using 2/3 of the amount called for in the original recipe. Of course, my husband didn’t think there was too much cheese.  He loved this and enjoyed helping to make it.  The cheese and sauce make the dish very creamy.  The eggplant remained tender and was fairly easy to cut through, I didn’t even need to use a knife.

This dish reheats well, so great for leftovers.  I look forward to making this again.

Orecchiette with Creamy Chipotle and Corn

Orecchiette with Creamy Chipotle and Corn (slightly adapted from Woman’s Day, Servings: 6, Total Time: 25 minutes)

Ingredients

·         1 pound orecchiette pasta

·         1 Tbsp. olive oil

·         1 medium onion, finely chopped

·         Kosher salt and pepper

·         1 clove garlic, finely chopped

·         ¾ cup skim milk

·         4 ounces lowfat cream cheese, cut into pieces

·         ¼ cup grated Parmesan

·         1  tsp. chopped chipotles in adobo, plus 1 tsp. adobo sauce

·         Pinch ground nutmeg

·         1 ½ cups frozen corn, thawed

Directions

1.)    Cook the pasta according to package directions. Reserve ¼ - ½ cup of the cooking liquid, drain the pasta and return it to the pot.

2.)    Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the onion and ¼ tsp. each salt and pepper and sauté, stirring occasionally, until very tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute.

3.)    Whisk in the milk and bring to a simmer. Whisk in the cream cheese, Parmesan, chipotles and adobo sauce, and nutmeg. Stir in the corn and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the corn is heated through and the mixture has slightly thickened, about 3 minutes.

4.)    Toss the pasta with the sauce, adding some of the reserved cooking liquid if the pasta seems dry.

My husband and I both really enjoyed this dish.  It was not too spicy, so I added some additional adobo sauce to my servings (I didn’t want to add too much heat).  It wasn’t very creamy, so when I make it again I will likely add 6 oz. cream cheese or some additional milk.  I ended up adding about ½ cup water to help the creaminess, I didn’t want to add any more than that as it would affect the taste.  The corn adds a slightly crispy texture to the otherwise soft and chewy dish (even though I cooked the pasta al dente, when I tossed it with the sauce, it lost its crispness). 

Overall, an easy dish to whip up when you are short on time. I do plan on making this again!