Hummus

I've been asked three times this week for this recipe, so, I figured I'd post it here since it's such a crowd pleaser. I've had people tell me that they thought that they didn't like hummus, an dthen they tasted mine and loved it.

1 can garbanzo beans, drained
2 garlic cloves
Juice of 1/2 a medium sized lemon
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbs tahini
water enough to make it smooth

Place all of the ingredients into the blender and blend until smooth.
That's it. Easy huh?

Eggplant Parmesan

A friend of mine recently posted in her Facebook status that she's made my eggplant Parmesan recipe, and he family loved it. To which her friend replied that she wanted the recipe. I found the recipe for this in a vintage 1970's Good Housekeeping cookbook, and made some improvements on it to make it lower fat. I remember making it, but sadly I've long since given the book away. So, last week I made eggplant Parmesan for dinner, making it up as I went, and trying to remember what was in the original recipe. I've been cooking for quite a few years more than when I first made it, so the improvements are based on the new knowledge I've acquired over the years. The old recipe I used didn't salt the eggplant, and didn't use flour in the breading mixture. I wish I had a picture, but the dish was eaten so quickly! I guess that means it was good!

Eggplant Parmesan

Ingredients:
1 large eggplant
sea salt
2 cups bread crumbs
1/2 cup of all purpose flour
3 eggs
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, diced
2 tsp sugar
2-16 oz cans diced tomatoes
1 lb mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit
Spray 1 cookie sheet with nonstick baking spray (Pam)
Slice eggplant into 1/4 inch slices. Discard the ends. Sprinkle with salt and let sit for 10 minutes.
Place:
flour with 1/2 tsp salt into a shallow bowl or pan (I use pie pans)
3 eggs into shallow pan or dish, and scramble
2 cups bread crumbs with 1/2 tsp garlic powder
Rinse eggplant with water and pat dry with paper towels.

Dredge the eggplant slices in flour, then egg and then bread crumbs. Place on greased cookie sheet. when all the slices are finished, place in oven.

While the eggplant bakes, prepare the sauce.
Saute diced onion in olive oil, on medium high heat, until soft. Add cans of tomatoes, sugar and Italian seasoning. Turn heat down to medium, and simmer until heated through.
Your eggplant should be ready to take out of the oven.
Spray 9"x13" roasting pan with nonstick spray.
Layer eggplant slices with sauce.
Slice mozzarella cheese and place on top.
Bake uncovered until cheese melts and starts to turn golden brown, about 20 minutes.

If you want to make this faster, you can cheat by using Italian style stewed tomatoes instead of the canned diced tomatoes and omit the onions and seasoning from the sauce. You can also use pre-shredded cheese.