Day 3: Eggplant & Sausage Lasagna

May 202011
 
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Day 3: Final portion of turkey sausage is in the fridge. This lasagna recipe rocks. This mid week recipe hits all the categories that you are looking for. Budget friendly, healthy, make ahead… so I pull out the sausage and mix in 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped, 1 t. oregano, 2 t. basil, and 1/2 medium onion, diced. Blend, then crumble in sauté pan over medium heat.

Open a 15 oz. can of diced tomatoes, take the other half of the med. onion diced, 2 more gloves of garlic, finely chopped and put it all in a sauce pan. Put on medium heat. Add some basil and salt and pepper, to taste. Let simmer.

I took out a globe eggplant I had and cut it lengthwise, on my v-slicer,  super thin . Let it sit on the cutting board with some salt on the top to release some of the moisture.

Time to pull out the white sauce that I had made the day before (see yesterday’s post for white sauce recipe)and about 2 cups of leftover barley and quinoa that I had from making a veggie and grain salad. (Cooked it in the rice cooker. Recipe to follow in a few days). Toss into sausage mixture and turn down to low. Heat up sauce and grain throughly. Turn off heat.

In a lightly oiled 11 x 7.5 inch casserole put a spoon full of tomato sauce, then lay out eggplant slices as if they were lasagna noodles. Top with some sausage quinoa mixture, then some more tomato sauce. Repeat. Make sure that the top layer is sausage and tomato sauce.

Now I made this up in the morning before my son woke up and then I kept it in the fridge until about an hour before I wanted to eat. Bake at 350F for about an hour. Make a simple salad with a light vinaigrette and you have a great meal that is not hard on your time, budget, or health. This recipe is dairy and gluten free. Don’t get me wrong. I love traditional lasagna, but I have a son that has a boat load of allergies. I have many family and friends that are gluten intolerant.

I want recipes that I can cook for them, but I never want to feel like I am giving up anything. I want my guests to be pleased with the meal, not fixating on the dietary restrictions. It is about pleasure. I do not want to think substitute for the ingredients that my son can’t have, I just want my guests to think, “Wow, that was good. Can I have it again.”

With just a little planning you can eat well and it can be quicker then delivery. Hope these three days showed you a little on how you can do it yourself. Ground turkey doesn’t have to be just for burgers.

Pull up a chair, Elizabeth

Quick turkey sausage. 3 recipes. 3 days. Day 1!

May 182011
 
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It is rainy Sunday afternoon and I have 2 lbs of ground turkey in the fridge and a week of meals to plan. I do not like to waste, but I do not like to eat the same thing everyday either. I decided to make the ground turkey into sausage. Divide it into three equal parts. Then I use each third of sausage in three different recipes.

Sausage & greens soup
Biscuits & sausage with creamy poblano gravy
Eggplant & sausage lasagna

First of all the sausage recipe for the 2 lbs. of ground turkey.

*Note: I just looked up the difference of calories, fat, sodium, and cholesterol in ground turkey, beef, and pork. Surprising ground beef (95%lean) is your best choice in all these categories. Turkey is the highest in sodium and surprisingly high in cholesterol, but it lower in fat. (except 95%ground beef). I like the taste of ground turkey, but don’t be fooled that you are doing something that is much healthier for you.

I believe that we could start thinking about meat  in smaller portions and should compliment the meal vs. being the whole meal. Don’t get me wrong… I love a steak or a pork chop, but I can sure have it a lot less often. All these recipes have four servings.  About 2.6 oz of ground meat a serving. Pick which meat you prefer in the end.

Seasonings for turkey or ground meat of your choice:
2t. salt
1 1/2 t. ground pepper
1 t. red pepper flakes
1 1/2 t. onion powder
1 t. onion powder
1 t. coriander
1 1/2 t. fennel seed
1 1/2 t. cumin
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 T. fresh thyme, finely chopped

Day 1 recipe: Sausage & greens soup:

1 portion of reserved sausage
1 T. olive oil
1 med. onion, finely chopped
2 cups cleaned, de-stemmed and chopped greens(collard, kale, or mustard)
28 oz. can of diced tomato & juice
3 cups of chicken or veggie stock
2 t. creole seasoning
1 cup uncooked pasta(I used penne)
salt and pepper, to taste

1 .Place soup pot over medium heat. Place another pot of salty water over high heat.
2. Olive oil, sausage, and onion in pot. Sauté until sausage is cooked through
3. Add can of tomato, stock, and creole seasonings to sausage pot.
4. Meanwhile, salty water pot should be boiling. Place greens in the water. Cook them about 5 minutes.
5. Place greens in sausage soup pot.
6. Place pasta in pot and cook for about 10 minutes. Add water if need be. Remember pasta will soak up some of the broth. I like the consistency of my soup to be almost like a stew.  Taste, then adjust seasonings.
7. When pasta is cooked, serve up. I like to drizzle a little oil on top.

This was perfect for a chilly spring day. Not too heavy, but lots of sustenance.  We dunked bread in the broth. We slurped up big bowls. We were totally satisfied. My son said, “Thank you, Mommy. That was delicious.” Aaah, that is what you want to hear.

Tomorrow, I will serve up biscuits & sausage with creamy poblano gravy. I will also include a way to make biscuit and gravy for your vegan friend.

Pull up a chair, Elizabeth