Fried Eggplant Sandwich

Fried Eggplant Sandwich

Fried Eggplant Sandwich with sweet pepper and garlic spread

Before you go and get started on this project of a sandwich, let me warn you… it takes some time. Completely worth it in the end. I prefer to make this when I already have left over fried eggplant from the day before. But if you’re in the mood for a delicious, hearty, warm and gooey sandwich, and you’ve got some time to spare…this one’s for you! I am going to give you all the yummy layers to this satisfying Sammy, get ready for a treat.

I like to keep this roasted mini sweet pepper and garlic spread on hand. Not only is it super easy to make and store, it goes great on a lot of things! Pasta’s, sandwiches, and even stuffed into  chicken!

Roasted sweet pepper and garlic Spread

To make: Buy a bag of mini sweet peppers and a whole head of garlic. Remove seeds and stems from peppers and cut them in half. Place your chopped peppers along with 4-5 big garlic cloves on a baking sheet, drizzle some olive oil and sea salt of the top and bake at 400 degrees until golden.

Roasting mini sweet peppers

delicious roasted mini sweet peppers

Let it cool and blend in a small food processor. Store in glass jar in your refrigerator for up to two months.

roasted sweet pepper and garlic paste

Fried eggplant is one of my favorite snacks. Eggplant is a staple in my kitchen. But I’ve shared this before. To bread my eggplant I give them an egg bath and dip them in a 2-3 ratio of parmesan cheese and bread crumbs. Add a pinch of salt to your dry mix. I like to bread all the eggplant prior to starting, this way I am not trying to do two things at once, causing me to burn them.
Fry on both sides until golden brown in some extra virgin olive oil.

breaded eggplant to fry

frying eggplant

perfectly fried eggplant

Now to the good part, building this amazing sandwich for you to actually enjoy! I begin toasting my bread with fresh mozzarella on one slice, and my roasted sweet pepper and garlic spread on the other. Once my bread is toasted to buttery perfection I add some thinly sliced tomato, handful of spinach leaves, and of course your fried eggplant. Add as many of each as you want. You really can’t go wrong when making this sandwich.

fresh motzella cheese

roasted sweet pepper and garlic spread

layered fried eggplant sandwich

I could eat this sandwich everyday, and not get sick of it. True story.

hearty fried eggplant sandwich

Parmesan Chicken Recipe‎

Chicken Parmesan Recipe

This is one of our all time favorites. Its simple and always a hit. My parmesan chicken recipe can be used to make chicken tenders as well as breaded eggplant or eggplant parmesan.

Chicken Parmesan Ingreditents

Ingredients for chicken:
Chicken Breast 1.5-2lbs defrosted
1/2 cup parmesan Cheese
1 cup of Italian bread crumbs
3 tbsps of extra virgin olive oil
1 egg

Cut chicken breast in half

Because I try and create budget friendly meals to feed my army, I tend to cut my chicken breast in half by width. I started doing this to eliminate food waste in my home. My younger kids have a hard time eating an entire piece, and it cooks much faster this way. I call that a double win! If you prefer to have a larger piece of meat, you can always pound your meat out to keep the time down. I also trim any excess fat.

Cut all your pieces and set aside to make your breading.

Bread crumbs, parmesan and one egg

For this recipe I used one cup of Italian bread crumbs and 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese. You’ll need two separate bowls, one medium sized bowl for the breading and one small bowl for one egg.

bread crumbs, parm, salt and pepper

Combine your bread crumbs and cheese.

add salt and pepper and mix

Add salt and pepper to taste. I didn’t measure that part. Sorry folks.

Be sure to mash up all those cheese clumps that sneak their way into your breading. Mix it well so you keep that delicious flavor even to the taste buds. They’ll thank you periodically throughout your meal. Trust me. (wink and a handgun)

wisk egg and coat your chicken

Wisk your egg in the small bowl and give your pieces of chicken a well deserved egg wash. I feel like this could be the start of a cooking joke. What do you call a chicken who bathes in their own beaten egg…. And for anyone that comes up with an awesome punch line, I will reward you with a gift card to starbucks. Or a dozen fresh eggs, your pick.

add oil to sautee

Heat your olive oil on medium, be sure you have all the former steps ready. If you over heat your oil, you’ll ruin the flavor. AND you’ll smoke up your kitchen. I have only heard of these things. Its not like its happened to me or anything.

10

Turn when dark golden brown

Add your chicken to your heated oil and brown on both sides. I like mine to get a dark golden brown. Because once it starts to bake, it will seal in the juices and add some crisp. Once you get your chicken browning you can start in on your marinara.

Marinara sauce ingredients

Ingredients for Marinara sauce:
One 15 oz can of tomato sauce
One 6 oz can of tomato paste
Garlic power
Italian seasoning
Seasoned salt
Paprika

Ok so this recipe here is the exact same thing I use for my pizza sauce, and dipping sauce for cheese sticks, and basically any other time I need marinara. However it is not my spaghetti sauce recipe. That is just a little different.

making marinara

Combine sauce and paste into a bowl. I didn’t measure the seasoning either but I’m going to give you some guesstimates. Roughly a 1/4 tsp of both garlic powder and seasoned salt. 1/2 tsp of Italian seasoning, and about an 1/8 tsp of paprika. Mix well. The reason I use the paste for this dish is because it keeps the breading from getting soggy when its baking. I use the entire can of paste. This is just what I’ve come up with over the years and found to work best on both chicken and eggplant parmesan. You can always be a sell out and just buy a can of marinara, but where’s the fun in that?!

add marinara to breaded chicken

Add a little of your sauce to each piece of chicken and top with shredded mozzarella cheese.

bake chicken parmesan for 15 minutes

Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes.

bake chicken parmesan for 15 minutes at 400

And there you have it! Mouth watering chicken parmesan. I would say the prep time for this was about 20 minutes. That includes the breading, browning, and the marinara. So you’re looking a 30-45 minute meal here. It took me a tad longer tonight because my camera man was running into some focusing issues. (My 10 year old son).

chicken parmesan made simple

If you try this recipe out, please let me know how it went! Also, if you come up with a killer punch line to my lame cooking joke… I am a woman of my word and will honor your reward!

Life Created Workshop

Not long ago I posted about an amazing urban goat farm I came across and visited. Well after immediately falling in love with the farm, I began to follow her unique story. Lylah is truly a giver, she gives to those she loves, she gives to her animals, she gives to her community, and now she has begun yet another giving adventure, she is giving to the creative spirits of the world. She has collaborated with many other talented local artists and makers to bring to all of us The Create Series . And as soon as I saw what she was doing, I knew I needed to be a part of it. With many of my own personal projects on the horizon I needed to be selective about which one I could attend. And with my endless love of learning and my passion for photography my choice was pretty clear. Introduction to food photography, put together simply and beautifully by Life Created. Stephanie is a natural light photography with a serious eye for still life and styling. I have also been following her through social media for quite some time now. I can appreciate the art in styling, and I am sure you all know that from all the collaborations I have done with my dear friend and designer Paige with The Love Designed Life . I knew I needed this food photography workshop for two reasons… 1: I love food and to create lovely inspiring recipes. 2: I have absolutely no game when it comes to styling or staging. Now to me, those are pretty vital pieces to the blogging pie I hope to master sometime this year. So here are some photos from the workshop. Stephanie did such an amazing job staging the table and covering all things necessary to show casing food and still life to the fullest. I will share a few things I picked up in the workshop, but encourage you aspiring photographers to take one of her workshops as well! I won’t give away all her secrets so hopefully that entices you to sign up with her soon, she fills spaces quickly!

Life Created Workshop

Life Created Food Photography Workshop

One of the key things I took away from her workshop is color. Keep it simple folks. Neutrals help allow the food or the entrée steal the show. Have some great go to props to include in your photos, ones that don’t shout out “look at me… I’m in like half the photos”. These things can be but are not limited to; napkins, wooden cutting boards, large bowls or plates, and serving ware.

Food Photography Workshop at The Simple Farm

Another key learning for me was not to over think it. Its ok to have a few short cuts. If you only have a few good looking berries, stuff something under them in the bowl to make it look like you have dozens of perfect berries spilling out of your quaint little vintage bowl. I know that seems like its not a huge “Ah Ha” moment. But for me it was. I can personally attest to not taking a picture because I thought I didn’t have enough of something. Ummm, hashtag PefectionistProblems!

Life Created Tablescape

The last take away I’d like to share with you all is be true to yourself. Don’t sit and compare yourself to others all the time. And please don’t just try and recreate what others have created before you. That of course makes so much sense to me as a portrait photographer, but what a thing to say when it comes to still life and food photography. Are there really that many ways to stage a bowl of strawberries? Yes, there are. And as a photographer every snap you share with others, you are sharing a bit of your creative passion. Be kind enough to be authentic with each and every thing you do. If you do that, you’ll do great. I hope you love the images and tips from this awesome workshop! There is always something that can be learned if you are willing to listen. I am so grateful to have attended this workshop and finally meet a photographer I have looked up to, and of course just be at The Simple Farm and see Lylah.

If you’d like to see what a portrait session looks like at The Simple Farm stop over at The Love Designed Life and check out my recent session with Paige and her family. They are expecting their third baby, and I am always blown away at Paige’s visions.