Eggplant Parmesan Sandwich on Herbed Ciabatta Bread

I don't know why, but for some reason I'm all about eggplant when I'm at the store, but then dread actually cooking it once I get home. Even though it's not that hard to cook, usually it just ends up sitting in the hospice section of my vegetable drawer, along with a couple of rooting carrots and a few wilted celery sticks, until covered with brown spots. In fact, I'd already had this eggplant in my refrigerator for several days by the time I made this recipe, because I couldn't decide what I wanted to do with it. But I was NOT going to let this one die a lonely death in the fridge, dang it! Not like the others. But what to make?? I thought about roasting it somehow, or grilling it maybe. Then I decided I wanted to do something with a kind of eggplant Parmesan vibe. I had picked up some really yummy looking ciabatta bread and a new pasta sauce I wanted to try out on another shopping trip, so I put it all together with some mozzarella cheese and fresh basil, and created this delicious brainchild.

I'm sure it's probably not the first time it's been done, but it was super delicious. I'm also very proud of myself for not letting this eggplant bite the dust. RIP previous eggplants. Hopefully you've been made into something yummy in eggplant heaven.

Egg, Spinach & Parm Flatbread

Who's ready for brunch? Me when I made these this past weekend! And hopefully you after reading how super easy and yummy these are. I guarantee they are eggactly what you're looking for...eggstra tasty...eggstraordinarily delicious? Okay that's all I've got.

Puns aside, I kind of get stuck in a rut sometimes with breakfast. I end up eating the same thing pretty much all week long, especially since I've started doing meal prep more. It gets a little boring, so on the weekends, when everything is a bit more leisurely and relaxed, I like to switch it up a bit and try something new (unless my husband is cooking, then I like to sit and do nothing).

This past weekend I decided to try a spin off of the ole egg sandwich classic. I used flatbread instead of English muffins, added spinach (because for some reason we have a Costco sized bag of spinach for just two people??), and topped it off with some freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Yum! The buttery, toasted flatbread combined with the egg and Parmesan was perfect; plus, it actually ended up being easy enough for a weekday rotation! I'll definitely be making this again soon - perhaps with sauteed mushrooms or grape tomatoes next time! Give it a try and let me know what you think in the comments below :)

Roasted Veggie Lasagna with Creamy Pesto Sauce

Have you ever made something so delicious that you thought you may never be able to top it? Like you might as well hang up your apron and call it a day? This was that recipe for me. Legitimately, this might be the best thing I've ever made; and it's the kind of recipe I get really excited to share with you, because I know it's really good. My husband even said he wished people could taste it through their screen, which is high praise coming from my own little food critic.

When I first started working out this recipe, I decided that I wanted to do something a little different. I knew I wanted to use a creamy pesto sauce instead of the standard marinara, but I also didn't want to leave out tomatoes completely, plus I really wanted to have something at least a little green in there. Fast forward through several Pinterest inspiration scrollings and I decided to try adding some yummy roasted veggies to the mix. I used a recipe I've been making a lot lately (see info below), which served to really balance out all of the creamy goodness going on, and it turned out to be the perfect compliment. I'm absolutely sure you'll love it, and I hope you'll share in the comments below if you do! Let's get started.

Herbed Flatbread Pizza with Artichoke Hearts and Sun Dried Tomatoes

Yumm - I am so glad I got a picture of this before we devoured it! Dustin actually gave it a 9 out of 10 on his "No B.S." scale (that's what he calls it), which is practically unheard of. Let me tell you a little about Dustin and his little scale. Most of the time when I ask him to rate my meals he takes a bite, churns it around in his mouth thoughtfully, swallows it, and the says astutely "it's a solid 7." Never. Fail. There has been one other occasion where he rated something higher than that, because, as he puts it "if you give everything a 10, then what are you going to give an actual 10? If everything you cook is a 10, then the scale becomes useless and you might as well not measure anything."

I give his reasoning a solid 7.

Anyway, where I was going with that is that if Dustin broke his own rule to give this recipe a 9, not an 8, mind you, but two full numbers above his usual rating, then it must be good!

Here's what you do: Soften the butter in the microwave for a few seconds, then mix in the herbs and spread evenly over the flatbread. Top with parmesan cheese, artichoke hearts, golden cherry tomatoes, sundried tomatoes, and fresh basil; then pop it in the oven for 10 minutes at 400 degrees.

Done and done!

I didn't measure anything out this time, but you can't really go wrong here. Just don't use too many sun dried tomatoes - they can really overpower a dish.

Ingredients

2 flatbreads (I use the StoneFire brand)
2 Tbs butter
Dried basil, oregano, and garlic powder (a few shakes of each)
Handful of golden cherry tomatoes, sliced into rounds
Marinated artichoke hearts to taste
Sun dried tomatoes to taste
A few leaves of fresh basil, thinly sliced
Shaved Parmesan cheese, about two handfuls

Servings: 2

 
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