Author Archives: Georgina

Eggplant and Cherry Tomato Bruschetta

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Eggplant and Cherry Tomato Bruschetta

eggplant bruschetta 2When people ask you what’s your favorite season, most people answer with Fall, Summer, Spring, or Winter. Well honestly I’d be hard pressed not to say my favorite season is tomato season.

Laugh all you want, but there is no other time in the YEAR where tomatoes taste as good as during the heart of summer. You just can’t get it any other time.

I’ve been known to give myself belly aches from eating too many at one time, didn’t stop me, but it happened.

Sometimes it can be challenging to use up all the tomatoes in new ways.Enter this delicious bruschetta with roasted tomatoes to save the day. Not only are the tomatoes delicious and because you roast them down, you use quite a bit of them.

But tomatoes aren’t the only star of this dish. Because #EGGPLANT. Ohhh eggplant. You weird little veggie. Who decided to name you eggplant? You don’t look like an egg at all. Other people call you aubergine, or brinjal, which are also weird. But whatever your name, you are delicious and nutritious.

There are so many health benefits of adding eggplant to your regular diet. Many of which I did not know until reading Helen from Well Being Secrets post about this veggie’s awesomeness. Two of my favorite facts are that 1) eggplants are actually berries!(say what?) and 2) eggplants are over 90% water! If you want to read more about this, check out this post HERE.

This recipe is one of my favorite go to’s for summer and when we have guests over or need a dish to pass. So easy to make and healthy to eat! Enjoy!Roasted Eggplant & Cherry Tomato Bruschetta CSA RecipeYou can serve with toasted bread, not toasted bread, crackers, just eat it by the spoonful(the last method is my preferred way to eat it) In the hot summer months serve with a Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc and enjoy!!Eggplant Bruschetta 1Embarrassing Fun fact. Here’s the original blog picture from when I first made this recipe for the blog back in 2013…. aren’t we all so happy my food photography has come such a long way 🙂 🙂eggplant

xoxo

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*Original Post published 5/19/2013 and subsequently updated on 11/22/2016

White Lasagna with Sausage and Mushrooms

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I was visiting a friend a few weeks ago and she made a turkey lasagna while I was there and it was deeeelicious! (Bridget if you’re reading this, you inspired me! 🙂 ) So I was telling Jake how it was kind of weird because I have never ever made a lasagna of any kind before by myself. Later that same day we were watching the Food Network (ok I was watching and Jake was in agony, kidding) and the show that was on was making a white lasagna. Jake and I thought it was a sign from God and decided this was the lasagna I should take a stab at first. So here is the 1st lasagna I’ve ever made in my life.

White Sausage & Mushroom Lasagna

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Ingredients

White Sauce:

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 cups whole milk
3/4 cup finely grated Parmesan
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Lasagna:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1-1.5 pounds bulk spicy Italian turkey sausage
3/4 cup sliced button mushrooms
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons granulated garlic
15 ounces ricotta
1 large egg
1 cup finely grated Parmesan
Coarse salt
1 package no-boil lasagna noodles
2 small zucchini, thinly sliced
8 ounces shredded mozzarella
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

For the white sauce: Bring a medium saucepan to low-medium heat and add the butter. Once the butter is melted, stir in the flour with a wooden spoon; cook for 2 minutes (do not let it color). Add the milk and bring to a boil, continuing to stir. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 1 minute. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Add in the Parmesan, whisking to incorporate. Season with salt and pepper.

For the lasagna: In a skillet over medium-high heat, add the olive oil and cook the turkey sausage until just beginning to brown, about 4 minutes. Add the mushrooms and continue to saute until golden brown and the turkey is cooked through, 4 to 6 additional minutes. Season with kosher salt, pepper and granulated garlic. Stir well, and then shut off the heat and set aside to cool. (* I added actual real minced garlic to mine to enhance the garlic flavor 🙂 )

In a small mixing bowl, combine ricotta, egg, Parmesan, about 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt and a few rounds of cracked pepper. Spread 1/4 cup of the white sauce in the bottom of a 9- by 13-inch glass baking dish. Begin layering with 3 noodles, followed with about 1 cup ricotta mixture. Layer about half of the zucchini evenly over the ricotta. Follow with half the turkey sausage and mushrooms, finishing with 1 cup white sauce. Sprinkle with 1/3 of the mozzarella. Repeat. Top the second layer with 4 noodles, white sauce and sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella. Bake, covered with foil, for 30 minutes. (Try to tent the foil so it doesn’t stick to the cheese a lot and remove it all from the lasagna when you take the foil off!)

Remove from the oven and remove the foil cover. Heat the broiler to maximum temperature. Broil until the cheese is browned and bubbling, about 1 minute. Garnish with the parsley.

Because of the cheese and full fat milk, this isn’t the lowest cal/fat meal ever but I feel like the turkey sausage and zucchini make me feel a little better indulging in it’s deliciousness 😉 Enjoy with a nice glass of full bodied Chardonnay or a Rosé now that summer is almost here- and enjoy it!

Thanks for stoping by!

xoxo

G

Shrimp Tacos

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Fresh Shrimp Tacos

taco

Seriously I want to eat this again right now.

You will need: 

  • 3 limes
  • 1 cup chopped seeded tomato
  • 1/2 cup diced peeled avocado
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
  • 1 jalapeño pepper(you can omit if you don’t like spicy)
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 1 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 pound cooked, peeled medium shrimp
  • Corn tortillas (or any tortillas you want)

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Then do this:
  1. Marinate the shrimp. Make sure to choose a nonreactive bowl, such as one that is glass or ceramic; a metal or copper bowl will react with the citrus juice to give the shrimp a metallic taste.GROSS!
  2. To marinate: Finely grate rind from limes to measure 1 tablespoon; juice limes to measure 1/4 cup. Place rind and juice in a large bowl. Add tomato and remaining ingredients except tortillas; toss well to combine. Cover and chill for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  3. Heat tortillas according to package directions. Spoon about 1/2 cup shrimp mixture down center of each tortilla and top with more cilantro if you want; fold in half. Eat immediately.

OMG this probably has like 4 grams of fat (and It’s from the avocado(so healthy fat!) and sooooo delicious. Serve with an ice cold margarita (probably not fat free 🙂 ) and this is a fiesta in my mouth!! Also because I’m a wino i would recommend a young riesling or an Argentinian Rosé like Crios.

Enjoy!

xoxo

-G

Lemon Baked Tilapia with Spinach & Carrot Lentils

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Lemon Baked Tilapia with Spinach & Carrot Lentils

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Lentil Recipe

Ingredients

  • 1 quart water
  • 1/2 cup lentils
  • 1 carrot, finely chopped (1/2 cup)
  • 1/2 onion, finely chopped (1/2 cup)
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 dried bay leaf
  • Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 8 ounces spinach, stems removed, leaves washed well

Directions

  1. In a large saucepan, combine the water, lentils, carrot, onion, garlic, and bay leaf. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, partially covered, until the lentils are soft, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain, discarding bay leaf.
  2. Use a paper towel to wipe out any water from the saucepan. Add oil, and return pan to medium heat. Stir in the lentils, vegetables, and spinach. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the spinach is wilted, about 2 minutes. Serve 🙂

* Later in the week I made this recipe again but added ground turkey and just had it for lunch a couple days at work- it was equally amazing! Seriously so delicious!!!

Tilapia Recipe

Ingredients

  • 2 tilapia filets (*or really you could adapt this to however many you want to make as ingredient measurements aren’t exact)
  • Lemons (I used 1 lemon- the juice of 1 half and then sliced the other half)
  • Salt and Pepper

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  2. Line a glass baking dish with foil and grease with non-stick spray or olive oil 
  3. Put the fish in the dish
  4. Pour lemon juice over the fish filets
  5. Season the fish with salt and pepper(you can also really use any spices you choose)
  6. Place the slices of lemon over the fish
  7. Cover the dish with foil and bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes.

There you go! Seriously so easy, and healthy and most importantly delicious!! Hopefully you guys enjoy as much as we did.

Thanks for stopping by 🙂

xoxo

G

Tomato, Potatoe,Zucchini, Summer Squash “Casserole”

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Tomato-Potato-Zuchinni-Summer Squash “Casserole”

Ingredients

1 Tablespoon of olive oil

1 medium onion

2 cloves of garlic

1 medium zucchini

1 medium Summer(yellow) Squash

1 large potato

1 large tomato

1 teaspoon dried tyme

1 teaspoon fresh rosemary (chopped)

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 cup shredded Italian cheese

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STEP 1: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Finely dice the onion and mince the garlic. Sauté onions in a skillet with olive oil until softened (roughy 5 minutes) then add the garlic until fragrant (about 1-2 minutes).

STEP 2: While the onion and garlic are sauteing, thinly slice the rest of the vegetables. Slice them into the same shape. I used a mandolin but you could also use a food processor or by hand as well(just try to get them to be as close to the same thickness as possible)

STEP 3: Spray the inside of an 8×8 square or round baking dish with non-stick spray. Spread the softened onion and garlic in the bottom of the dish. Place the thinly sliced vegetables in the baking dish vertically, in an alternating pattern. Sprinkle generously with salt, pepper,thyme, and rosemary.

STEP 4: Cover the dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil, top with cheese and bake for another 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown.

before

Before baking

after

After baking & with cheese!

I thought this was one of the best things I’ve ever made! I could have eaten the whole pan myself. And it’s relativly healthy. I mean sure white poatoes are super starchy for you and cheese is well, cheese- but I could think of a lot worse things to eat than this! 🙂 Super easy and super delicious- those make for the best meals!

Enjoy!

xoxo

-G