FRIED EGGPLANT SANDWICH

My friend Rhonda and I love this little restaurant called Zoe's Kitchen.  A favorite is their turkey stacker which is made on sourdough bread toasted in olive oil and rosemary.  I decided that I would try to create my own veggie sandwich using their technique and it has become one of my husband's favorite all time sandwiches, very filling and absolutely mouthwatering. I hope you will try this and that you enjoy it as much as we do.  It's a complete meal between two slices of toasted sourdough and you don't need chips or a side.  I make the filling for more than a few sandwiches and store in the refrigerator for the next day...this is good hot or cold....

1 medium eggplant or two Japanese eggplants, washed and sliced 1" thick salted
1 small container of button mushrooms, sliced
1 small container of baby bella mushrooms, sliced
1 large sweet yellow onion sliced thin
1 container of grape tomatoes diced
1 head of romaine shredded after taking out the ribs
olive oil
about 2 tbls of fresh rosemary chopped
slices of sourdough bread
slices of smoked provolone cheese
butter
kosher salt
fresh ground pepper
garlic powder



I start by caramelizing my onions in a skillet with a few tablespoons of butter and a sprinkle of kosher salt.
While the onions are caramelizing, I start to saute the mushrooms in a few tablespoons of butter and a sprinkle of kosher salt and garlic powder( I sometimes use leftover red wine or beef broth and reduce this with the mushrooms for added flavor). As these are cooking on two of the burners I get my larger skillet hot while I brush olive oil on both sides of my bread and sprinkle with the fresh rosemary.  After toasting both sides in the skillet or griddle I put a slice of provolone on both of the inside pieces and put on rack in the oven to await the remainder of the goodies.  By this time my onions are caramelized and the mushrooms are cooked and full of flavor, so I put them in storage containers.  I use the same frypan that I had caramelized the onions and just add about an inch of olive oil and let it get hot on medium heat while I blot the salted eggplant rounds.  I then fry the eggplant til it is lightly brown on both sides, just a few minutes and place the rounds of paper towels to remove any excess oil.

Now you are ready to assemble.  I put the eggplant on first, then the onions, mushrooms, diced tomatoes and shredded romaine and finally top it with the other toasted bread and provolone.  This is just so satisfying.  Hope you try and let me know what you think.....Happy Eating!!!
               

JALAPENO CILANTRO BAKED CHICKEN

My family loves the combination of jalapenos and cilantro in just about everything...such clean and fresh tastes, therefore I try to use these flavors as much as possible. Chicken has never been one of my husband's favorite so I try to do different things to see if he likes it, also I try to see how many meals I can get out of one piece of meat.  I recently discovered that I can get three meals out of a roasting hen and it starts with this recipe.


   Ingredients
 
 1 large roasting hen washed and dried
 1 package of Old El Paso regular taco seasoning
 6 large fresh jalapenos washed and split in half lengthwise
 1 large bunch of fresh cilantro
 olive oil to drizzle over chicken
 super strength Reynolds aluminum foil ( I have only been able to find this at Brookshire Brothers) if you can't  find this you can use heavy duty doubled.

 

 I start sprinkling the cavity with 1/2 of the taco seasoning, then I stuff the entire bunch of cilantro into the cavity.  Next I take 6 of my jalapeno halves and put them in the cavity around the cilantro with the seed side facing the meat.  I then gently separate the skin from the chicken breast and rub taco seasoning on the breast and top with the remaining halves of jalapeno remembering seed side towards the meat.  I drizzle olive oil over the chicken sprinkle the remainder of taco seasoning on top and wrap tightly in the aluminum foil.

 I put the chicken on a baking sheet and into a 400 degree preheated oven for 2 hours.  At this time I check the chicken to make sure that the legs are falling off, if so I remove and let cool. 

 After the chicken is cooled I debone it and save all the juices and bones and any bits of chicken in a dutch oven for boiling down later or freeze all of this for a later date...This makes either the best chicken and dumplings using the Bisquick dumpling recipe or a great stock for tortilla soup.  Very flavorful stock.

 We eat one meal off of the baked chicken usually with a rice dish or jalapeno cheese grits.  Next I make a chicken salad and then finally we have the dumplings or soup.

 My husband has loved this recently and it has definitely helped stretch the budget.  Hope you enjoy...let me know if you try this I would love to see if you enjoy it as much as we do.