Eggplant Parmesan with Zucchini Noodles

What You Will Need: Eggplant, zucchini, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, marinara sauce, egg, flour, bread crumbs (Im using a blend of panko & italian breadcrumbs.)

Preheat your oven to 300.

Using a spiral veggie slicer, slice the zucchini. If you don't have this tool you can cut the zucchini into disk's or use your choice of pasta.

Set aside.

Slice the eggplant into thick pieces.

Set up your breading station. Flour (seasoned with salt, pepper & parsley), egg wash (a mixture of two eggs with about 2 T. water) & breadcrumbs. 

Heat a large skillet with a good amount of olive oil.

Dip the eggplant into the flour, then the egg & press it into the breadcrumbs. 

Place into the hot skillet. 

Cooking time will vary on skillet size, eggplant size & type of breadcrumbs so you will want to check the pieces after a couple minutes.

Once they have turned a golden brown you can flip & cook the other side. 

Once they are cooked on both sides, place them onto a baking sheet, top with a big piece of mozzarella cheese & place into the oven.

While the cheese is melting, heat a large skillet with some olive oil and sauté the zucchini. Season with salt & pepper.

Cook for 3-5 minutes. You don't want to overcook the zucchini and lose the crunch. 

To serve, put a bed of the zucchini noodles on the plate & place the eggplant on top. Spoon over your marinara sauce, sprinkle with parmesan cheese & garnish with fresh basil.

I knew this recipe was a keeper when my husband & 10 month old son devoured every piece on their plate!

Enjoy & Always Cook with Love!

Quinoa Cabbage Rolls

What You Will Need: Cabbage, spinach, quinoa, marinara sauce, mushrooms, peppers, onions, sun dried tomatoes, garlic & parmesan cheese.

Preheat your oven to 375 & get a large pot of water boiling.

Cook your quinoa according to the package directions. Set aside.

Slice up the mushrooms. Drizzle with olive oil, salt & pepper. Roast in the oven for 15-20 minutes. They will shrink down a lot. Set aside but keep the oven on.

Using a sharp knife, cut the core out of the cabbage.

Place the cabbage into the pot of boiling water for 8-10 minutes.

While the cabbage is in the water, start sautéing your onions & pepper in some olive oil.

After 10 minutes, pull the cabbage out using a pair of tongs & place onto a baking sheet to cool.

Add in diced garlic.

Then the chopped sun dried tomatoes.

Pile on the spinach & allow it to wilt.

Season with salt & pepper.

Pour some of the herb oil that the tomatoes are jarred in, into the quinoa for some extra flavor.

Add in the spinach mixture to the quinoa.

Don't forget those roasted mushrooms. Mix.

Sprinkle in the parmesan cheese.

In a large baking dish, spread a layer of the marinara sauce to cover the bottom.

Carefully, pull back the cabbage leaves.

Take a leaf & fill it with the quinoa mixture.

Fold up the sides then roll close.

Place them in the baking dish.

Cover with more sauce!

Wrap in foil & bake for 30 minutes.

Serve with some more sauce & an extra sprinkle of parmesan cheese!

Enjoy & Always Cook with Love!

Marinara Sauce

What You Will Need: Large tomatoes, onion, bell pepper, garlic, fresh basil, dried oregano & dried parsley. You will also need a can of tomato paste & a spoon full of sugar. 

Preheat oven to 400.

Start by removing the stem & cut the tomatoes into chunks. 

Add in diced onions, peppers & whole cloves of garlic. Drizzle with olive oil, salt & pepper.

Roast in the oven for an hour & a half.

Place the roasted mixture into a large pot & add in your tomato paste. 

Using an immersion blender, puree the mixture till smooth. If it is to thick add some water or chicken stock till you reach the right consistency. 

Turn your heat to low & add in your herbs. Chopped basil, oregano & parsley. 

Because the tomatoes are so acidic, add in a spoonful or more of sugar to help balance the sauce.

Allow to simmer for at least 30 minutes. Taste & adjust seasonings according to your personal preference. 

Cool & keep refrigerated. 

Use it for all your italian dishes including this healthy quinoa stuffed cabbage.   

Enjoy & Always Cook with Love!

Review: Mabel's BBQ

Cleveland is a city that isn't by any means lacking in the restaurant department. On our recent trips there Ive tried my best to do some research before hand so we weren't overwhelmed when we arrived. 

On this trip, it was a MUST that we visit Michael Symon's newest venture, Mabel's BBQ.

Located on E. 4th St, Mabel's is the newest neighbor to Lola's, Symon's sleek & elegant establishment. 

Modern, simple and very inviting, Mabel's offers plenty of seating both upstairs and down, including a bar area and a communal picnic table right in the center. 

That is where we sat! Cozy up & make friends with your neighbors because your all their to enjoy some delicious grub!

I personally loved the menu. Simple & to the point. Everything where it should be. The hardest part was deciding what to get & estimating how much I could possibly stretch my stomach to order more then necessary. 

With an impressive drink menu including beer, whiskey, bourbons & moonshine, I felt compelled to order a local draft to accompany this proper Cleveland BBQ experience.

Offering Brisket, Pork Belly, Turkey Breast & Kielbasa by the 1/2#. Slabs of Pork, Lamb & Beef Ribs as well as monster sandwiches, it was a difficult to narrow it down to what we thought was a proper order before we had to pray forgiveness for the sin of gluttony we were about to partake in. 

We went with the Brisket, Big Pig Sandwich, a side of J.W. Potatoes & the Broccoli salad. 

All the meats & ribs are served with local pickles, kraut & sliced white bread.

Your food is brought out together on a metal lunch tray & is just the ultimate invitation to share!

When you order the brisket, they ask if you would like a fatty or lean cut....go with the fatty. Fat is flavor..never forget that! 

The Brisket was juicy, meaty & tender with a beautiful smoke ring around it but not overly smoked. 

The kraut....let me tell you about this kraut!! Hands down, BEST kraut Ive ever had. It was the perfect blend of sweet, sour, soft & crunchy. There was not one tiny piece left behind!

If Mr. Symon ever decides to bottle it up for sale, I'll be ordering it by the case & eating it all year round.

The Big Pig was a massive sandwich with chopped pork, coleslaw & cracklin' on a soft roll. This was right up my alley! My favorite bbq combo is having the fatty, juicy meat paired with cool, crunchy slaw & this sandwich delivered just that! The lightly salted cracklin' on the top was just an added bonus!

J.W. Potatoes were recommend by our server since I could not make a decision between the hot greens, bakes beans, smoke beets, spaetzle, & cucumber salad. 

Crispy fried and tossed in a mustard, vinegar dressing these were a new take on the standard potato salad at every other bbq joint.

The broccoli salad, oh how I fell in love with this salad. Perfectly cooked florets of broccoli mixed in a lightly creamy dressing with peanuts & dried cherries. Another treat for your palate as it had the cool, crunchy, sweet & salty combination. 

A few days after we returned home & had to make this side dish for my family! It is now requested at all summer gatherings!

We normally don't oder dessert but since we were celebrating we decided to treat ourselves. Even after we ordered, we both sat wondering how in the world we were ever going to fit anymore into our bellies! 

Chocolate pudding with toffee popcorn!

Served in the perfect size glass, this pudding was thick, creamy & delicious. The toffee popcorn was a great contrast & such a cute garnish! 

To say we enjoyed ourselves would be an understatement. Im so happy that we were able to experience Symon's Cleveland take on bbq because he is doing it right!

Of the three restaurants we got to visit in Cleveland, this was by far our favorite! 

Cheers to our next dining adventure!