What's For Dinner? Italian Sausage and Eggplant Parmesan

It was a big hit, "Go Nik! Go Nik!"

Ingredients

Not pictured:Italian Bread Crumbs, olive oil, white wine, eggs, seasoning and other misc. little things that I used to complete this meal. Charge it to my head and not to my heart but these are the items that I bought from the store today for tonight's dinner.

Pan seared Italian Sausage

I cut them in halves, put a little olive oil in the bottom of the pan and seared them for about 8 minutes on each side. I cut up some red peppers, green peppers and onions for added flavor. I deglazed the pan with a little white wine and poured it over the Italian Sausage when I put them in the glass dish. I then added marinara on top and threw the peppers and onions on top then boom! We like to use white bread or buns for Italian sausage.

Eggplant Parmesan with Mostaciolli

Eggplant is very absorbent so after I peeled and sliced the eggplant, I sat it in ice water for about an hour to keep it from soaking up all the grease when I fried it. I then dumped out the ice water and seasoned the eggplant, dipped it in egg then covered the slices in Italian Styled bread crumbs. I fried it for about 3-4 minutes.

I made the mostaccioli with red marinara (pasta sauce), green and red peppers, onions, mushrooms, garlic and seasoning. I mixed the egglant in while the mostaccioli was still on the stove top. I poured half of the pot in the foil pan and topped it off with a 6 cheese blend of Italian cheese. I poured the other half of the pot in the pan then put the other half of my cheese blend on top. I popped that baby in the over for about 30 minutes in 350 (or until golden brown) then bang!

I think I just made my son's day today. It feels darn good too! :-D

What's for Dinner? Shrimp and Broccoli Pasta Bowl in Alfredo Sauce

My family loves pasta. Not the gluten-free or wheat pasta, the bad for you kind. I balanced it off with healthy veggies and shrimp though and it turned out great. Fettuccine was my first choice in pasta but I didn't have any so I used Spaghetti. It really doesn't matter what kind of pasta you use though, it will work with any.

Ingredients
1 package of fettuccine (I used spaghetti)
1 pound peeled and deveined jumbo shrimp
1 bag of thawed frozen broccoli
2 green onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1/3 cup half-and-half
3 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper


Preparation

1. Bring Pasta to boil. Drain pasta in a colander over a bowl, reserving 1/4 cup cooking liquid. Combine shrimp, broccoli, onions, and garlic in a small bowl. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add olive oil; swirl to coat. Add shrimp mixture, and sauté for 4 minutes or until shrimp are done. Remove from pan; keep warm.

2. To make the Alfredo Sauce; reduce heat to medium. Add reserved cooking liquid, Parmigiano-Reggiano, half-and-half, cream cheese, and pepper to pan. Cook 2 minutes or until cheeses melt. Combine pasta, Alfredo sauce and shrimp mixture.


I love to eat my pasta with some buttery bread and so I made little Pillsbury Crescents and boom! A quick, easy, fun, delicious and balanced one course meal.