BRUSCHETTA - Tomato or Eggplant, and Eggplant Crushed Tomato Sauce

                  Scroll down for different recipes.

                                                       Tomatoes from my Garden.

Eggplant Pizza                                                              

Eggplant Bruschetta                                            Eggplant Crush Tomato Sauce

                                           

Tomato Bruschetta 

Use Fresh Cherry or Roma Plum Tomatoes   

Place in bowl: 

• Chopped Tomatoes into small chunks.
• Add Finely Chopped Garlic
• Add Seasonings: Salt, Pepper and Garlic Powder
• Add Fresh chopped Parsley and Basil
• Add Olive Oil. Enough to cover tomatoes
• Add Peccorino Romano - Locatelli - Grated Cheese
• Mix 
• Slice Italian bread in a slant.
• Lay out bread on a wire rack and sprinkle a little bit of Olive Oil and Grated Cheese on them then toast in oven until crispy.
• Place toasted bread slices on plate and add Tomato Bruschetta.

or  Split Italian bread in half, toast in oven 1/2 way then place Bruschetta on top with slices of fresh mozzarella toast again until cheese is melted.

Bake Catfish Brushetta:  Can Also place on top of fish and Bake it.

Bruschetta can also be frozen in small plastic containers.  I do this all summer long when harvesting the tomatoes. Delicious to have all winter long.

Eggplant or Zucchini Bruschetta

Can be used for on top of  Pasta, pizza, Italian bread, as a side dish or in a

 Portabella Mushroom cap

                                                        

                 

• Peel Eggplant or Zucchini
• Slice as shown below
• Then Slice in quarters. Place in bowl.

                                                                         

                      

In Large frying pan:

• Place Olive Oil in to cover more than bottom. (NOTE: Eggplant will use all the oil so you might have to keep adding some)
• Heat oil first then lay the Eggplant flat in the pan.
• Add Salt, pepper and Garlic Powder.
• Fry both sides until golden brown. you can see it becoming transparent.

At this step you can add the Eggplant to the Tomato Bruschetta and place on Italian bread.

or place on side and keep following the steps below for 

 Eggplant or Zucchini Crushed Tomato Sauce. 

You can also freeze into 16 oz plastic containers.   I always do this so I  have the Eggplant Sauce ready and don't have to go through the whole process.  I usually make this after harvesting my Eggplant or Zucchini from the garden and it lasts me all winter.

First Make the Crush Tomato Sauce:

• Place Olive Oil on bottom of pan 1/4 to 1/2 cup
• Add 8 sliced Garlic cloves. Saute until lightly golden
• Add 3 Diced Tomato Cans - TuttoRosso
• Seasonings: 1 TBS Sugar, 1 Tsp Salt, pepper and Garlic Powder;                                                   1 TBS fresh chopped parsley and fresh chopped basil
• Stir and cook on High heat until it boils 
• Then simmer on medium heat for 15 - 20 Minutes.

• NOTE: Do NOT add any water to this recipe. not needed.
• Add Eggplant. stir and cook for another 5-10 min.

  

     

• Freeze in 16 oz containers or continue below to finish preparing the rest of this meal.
• NOTE: if you are using a frozen container then it must be defrosted and heated into a frying pan.
• Place what you will be serving tonight in a large frying pan.
• Add 1/4 grated Cheese. Stir
• Bring to boil. 
• Add chopped cubed Provolone BelGioioso Cheese, stir and cook for  30 seconds.
• Shut off heat and serve over Pasta or as a side dish.

• 

Palermitana Sauce - Meat sauce and Peas

Bariatric Friendly - Do not eat with Pasta.  Use to make Califlower Arancini or Stuff Portabella Mushroom PizzaCaps

Ingredients:

Makes 21 - 16 oz Containers.  Great to freeze! Stays good for 1 year. 

10 lbs of Chopmeat.  Your choice. I used a mix of Veal, Beef and Pork
Olive Oil
Tomato Puree - 5 Cans of  Tutto Russo, Contadina or Progresso (your choice)
1 chopped onion
1 bag frozen Peas
3 cans beef broth
1/4 Cup Grated Cheese
Seasonings - Salt,  Pepper, Garlic Powder and Onion Powder, Basil & Parsley

=============================================

Preparing the Meat.

• Place Chopmeat in large bowl.  
• Add: 1/4 cup grated cheese, 1/4 cup chopped Onion, 1 tsp Salt, Black Pepper, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder.  Mix well.
• Make small flat meatballs and lay them down in large pan on counter.                                         ( I grab a small amount of meat, roll it as I would be making a meatball, then flatten it out.)     
• Place olive oil in pan. A small amount to only cover bottom of pan lightly. Sear outside of meat. Searing meat caramelizes the sugars and browns the proteins present in meat, resulting in more appealing color and flavor. 

(Note: Meat will still be raw, you are not cooking it fully. it will cook in the sauce.
you are searing it so it will stay as chunks in sauce instead of turning into minced meat.) 

 Place Seared meat in strainer.

   

PREPARING THE SAUCE

Once Meat is all cooked.
Use the frying pan with all the drippings that you seared the meat in.

• Add chopped Onions. (Not finely chopped)
• Cook until golden brown.

         

• Add Sauce Suzy Bell or  5 - 28 oz cans of Puree - Tutto Russo, Progresso or Contadina.
• 2 Tbs Sugar
• 1 Tbs Salt
• 1Tbs garlic powder
• 1 Tsp pepper
• 2 tsp dry Basil
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh Basil leaves.
• 1/3 cup chopped Fresh Parsley
• 3 cans of beef broth. (Place the beef broth liquid in the empty Puree Sauce cans to help rinse out the left over sauce in the cans )
• Additional water if needed.

Stir and start cooking for about 5 min. until it gets hot but not boiling yet.

• Place in chopmeat.
• Break pieces if too large. 
•  Stir well
• Add bag of peas.
• Boil on medium heat for 20- 30 minutes.

Sauce is to be thick. So, you must stir it often not to burn bottom of  pot.

Add water if too thick. 

Chicken Asparagus Marsala Cheese Sauce

Bariatric Friendly.

PREP ASPARAGUS

Wash Asparagus with warm water.  Place your finger tips on bottom stem of Asparagus.

Bend and snap easily the bottom portion off. (that's the hard stem that you don't eat)

• Cut into 1 inch chunks
•  Place in salty boiling water and cook until tender.
• Strain and leave on side

         COOK VEGGIES MIX                   

• In Large Frying pan - 
• Saute Olive Oil with mushrooms for 2 min.
• Add Sliced Onions. Cook until 1/2 way light golden
• then Add Sliced Garlic and cook both together until lightly golden 
• Place in Asparagus 
• Add a dash of Salt, Pepper and Garlic Powder.
• Mix together Sauteing for about 1 min.
• Place on side and prep Chicken

         

PREP CHICKEN:

• Cut Skinless boneless Chicken Thighs into 2 or 3 " cubes
• Place olive Oil in frying pan and heat
• Place in Chicken pieces
• Season with spices - Salt, Pepper and Garlic
• Keep turn the chicken a few times to evenly crisp both sides without burning them
• Place Chicken in Bowl
• Add 2 TBS of butter 1 TSP olive oil in frying pan
• melt then add chicken and coat it for a few seconds 
• then Add Marsala Wine 4 TBS
• Coat the chicken for another few seconds
• Place Chicken in Baking Pan
• and prep Marsala Cream Sauce

                

       

Marsala Cream Sauce

• Chop Scallions - 1 bundle
•  Place in frying pan with
•  4 TBS butter and 1 TBS olive oil
• Cook for about 1 minute
• Add 1/2 cup beef broth
• Add 1/2 cup Heavy Cream
• 3  TBS grated Cheese
• Mix well
• Add 1/4 cup Marsala wine
• bring to boil and shut off.

Place Chicken and Asparagus in Baking Pan.

Add Sliced Munster Cheese
Cook on 400 degrees  for 5 minutes or until Cheese is melted. then Broil until cheese is crispy.