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This recipe is by Kathie Lee.  It is the book that says Not complicated.  It was not complicated, just took me all day to do as my back was really hurting.  I served these “meatballs” on hamburger buns and could only fit 2, so I have 6 left.  Tomorrow night I think I will serve with leftover penne pasta and arugula.  Back is horrible today.  I will have to say, I was not thrilled with the meatless meatballs.  I also thought the marinara sauce overwhelmed them.  

Ingredients:

6 C diced eggplant, peel left on, medium eggplant

2 T + 1 t EVOO

Kosher salt and black pepper

8 oz. cremini mushrooms, quartered

1/2 C unsalted raw cashews

1/2 D panko breadcrumbs

1/4 C Parmesan cheese, 

2 cloves garlic, grated

2 T flat-leaf parsley

1 large egg, lightly whisked

2 T unsalted butter, softened

4 kaiser rolls

1 1/2 C marinara sauce

4 slices provolone cheese

4 fresh basil leaves

pickled banana peppers (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Put the eggplant in a large bowl and slowly drizzle with 1T of oil.  Stir and drizzle in an additional tablespoon.  Stir and drizzle in an additional T of oil.  Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper and toss to combine.  Spread out on a prepared baking sheet.  
3. Combine the mushrooms and the remaining 1 t of oil and spread on the second baking sheet.  Bake 10 minutes, then stir and bake for an additional 10 minutes
4. (Reserve one baking sheet with parchment paper to use again to bake the meatballs.)
5. Reduce the oven temperature to 400 degrees F.
6. Pulse the eggplant a few times in a food processor until coarse in texture.  Transfer to a large bowl.  
7. Pulse the mushrooms until coarse and add to the same bowl.  
8. Pulse the cashews until coarse and transfer to the bowl.  (Processing everything together will make the mixture too mushy; be sure to take the time to press the ingredients one by one.)
9. Add the breadcrumbs, Parmesan, garlic, parsley, egg, 1/2 t salt and a little pepper.  Stir to combine.  
10. Using an ice cream scoop or your hands to scoop the eggplant mixture into 12 balls and arrange them on the reserved lined baking sheet.  Bake until crispy and browned, about 20 minutes.
11. Spread butter onto the kaiser rolls and toast in the oven until lightly golden brown.  
12. Toss the eggplant balls with marinara and place 3 on the bottom since of each roll.  Top with provolone and bake until the cheese melts, about 4 minutes.  Remove from the oven and top with basil leaf and the top of the roll.
13. Serve with banana peppers and grated Parmesan, if desired.  

Friday was a busy day around here.  I had a EKG in the AM and then PT at 2 PM.  Jim had his pumpkin pie sitting on the island.  I came in the door and the cover was on the floor.  Then I noticed that there was pumpkin smeared on the counter.  It seems that a large furry dog also thinks I make the best pumpkin pie.  As you could imagine, Jim was furious.  It probably didn’t help that I was laughing.  It is not the first pumpkin pie I’ve made since we got her, but from now on no food can be left on the counter.  

I made up dinner tonight.  It was really good.  Remember we had 2 of those giant chicken breasts left.  So Jim was to eat them.  He ate one and will eat the last one on Saturday.  I made the following as my dinner and his side dish.  We both agreed it was wonderful.  

Ingredients:

1/2 box Penne Pasta

1/2 box of Arugula

2 T of my homemade Pesto

4 caprese tomatoes, quartered

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil with lots of salt.
2. Cook the pasta according to package directions.  In our case it was 12 minutes.
3. Meanwhile cover the bottom of your serving dish with the arugula.  
4. Drain the pasta and immediately pour it into the serving dish over the arugula.  
5. Add the pesto and mix thoroughly. 
6. Cut the tomatoes in quarters and scatter on top.  

This is from the Ina cookbook called How Easy is That.  It was easy but I did not like it.  I don’t like chicken white meat.  It is dry and sticks to my teeth and gums.  Jim likes white meat.  So he had 1 + 1/2 yesterday and can eat the rest.  We served it with leftover couscous and green beans/Brussel sprouts. 

Ingredients:

1/4 C EVOO

9 cloves garlic

1/3  C dry white wine

2 lemons, zested, (1 T)

2 T freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 1/2 t dried oregano

1 t minced fresh thyme

Kosher salt and black pepper

4 boneless chicken breasts, skin on (6-8 oz. each)

1 lemon

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Warm the oil in a small saucepan over medium low heat, add the garlic, and cook for just 1 minute but don’t allow the garlic to turn brown.  
3. Off the heat, add the wine, lemon zest, lemon juice, oregano, thyme and 1/2 t salt and pour into a 9 X 12 baking dish.
4. Pat the chicken breasts dry and place them skin side up over the sauce.  Brush the chicken breasts with olive oil and sprinkle them liberally with salt and pepper.  
5. Cut the lemon into 8 wedges and tuck it among the pieces of chicken.  
6. Bake for 30-40 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken breasts, until the chicken is done and the skin is lightly browned.  If the chicken isn’t browned enough, put it under the broiler for 2 minutes.  
7. cover the pan tightly with the aluminum foil and allow to rest for 10 minutes.  
8. Sprinkle with salt and serve hot with the pan juices.  

Jim bought the chicken at Publix as I was going to experiment whether I would like chicken breasts with the skin on while cooking.  However, he came home with boneless-skinless chicken breasts.  If I don’t get better soon and able to do my own shopping, I am going to scream.  

I have been working on Thanksgiving 2021 for a while.  We are flying to my brother’s house in AZ.  It is not like cooking in a fully equipped kitchen like here.  Mary and Bud would rather eat out than cook.  Because of my condition I have to cut down on the amount of dishes.  Our appetizers will be cheese and crackers, nuts and olives.  No cooking there.  My brother and Jim will be cooking the turkey on the grill.  While in the new food warehouse today we found brining salt.  So I will bring it out.  I ordered ahead the Williams Sonoma stuffing bread and it had 2 accompaniments.  One is chestnuts, I forgot the other.  Our sweet potatoes will be plain and hopefully they will fit on the grill.  Vegetable will Brussels sprouts with bacon.  Our cousin Sandy and her husband live in Pheonix also and they are coming.  For years when I was little, Sandy’s mom made banana cream pie for the snack after they finished whatever card game they were playing.  I loved that pie. Sandy Is bringing the pie.  That solved the problem of Jim likes pumpkin pie and Bud likes mincemeat pie.  I like my Aunt’s banana cream pie.  

No one likes cranberry sauce but me.  Last time we had thanksgiving in AZ., I ordered and sent Williams Sonoma cranberry sauce.  I brought it home.  I found a very interesting relish on allrecipes.com this year and I made it today.  I will divide it into I believe 4 jelly jars and just bring one to AZ.  I tasted it when it had cooled slightly.  It’s a little sweeter than I like, but I have experimented with cranberry sauce for years.  There is one from NC that Martha featured in her magazine one year and it remains my favorite.  I may make it for Christmas gifts this year.  

Ingredients:

2 C fresh cranberries

1 C fresh blueberries

1 C orange juice

3/4 C white sugar

1 t grated orange zest

1 t vanilla

Directions:

1. Heat all ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat.  
2. Cook and stir until the sugar dissolves and berries soften, about 15 minutes.  
3. Cover and chill until ready to serve.

This recipe comes from Katie Lee’s cookbook It’s not complicated.  And it was not complicated.  the problem is she makes a big deal about having a baguette to soak up the “garlicky goodness” in the skillet.  I interpreted it as sauce.  There was none, but the shrimp was delicious.  I served it with Brussels sprouts also.  She said this recipe served 4.  I cut it in half.  I also did not use the broiler.  I just used the 2 minutes on one side and 3 minutes on the other.  Turned out perfect. 

Ingredients: 

4 T unsalted butter

3 garlic cloves, minced

Pinch of crushed red pepper

2 # large shrimp, peeled and deveined

Crusty bread, for serving

Directions:

1. Preheat the broiler on high.
2. Om a large oven proof skillet ver medium heat, melt the butter with the garlic, shallots, and crushed red pepper for about 2 minutes. 
3. Remove from the heat.  Toss in the shrimp.  
4. Place the skillet under the broiler for about 3 minutes, until the shrimp is opaque and just begins to curl up.  
5. Serve immediately with crusty bread to dip in the pan juices.