We LOVE Spring!

The Piler and I are soaking up some rays!  We waited so long for spring and now we are enjoying every minute we can!

All smiles!

If you can't walk up the hill, climb up it!

Doing a little dance!

Someone found a pine cone.

 

Hope you have been enjoying the sun too!

Mediterranean Stacker

I have a binder of recipes I've printed out or ripped out of magazines.  It is one of the messiest things you will ever see.  NS says it looks like it could be on "A Beautiful Mind", but it makes sense to me!

This recipe always seems to stick out when I am going through my notebook.  I made it once before and this time I made a few adjustments!

Ingredients:

1 eggplant peeled and cut into 1/2 inch slices
2 slices hearty Italian bread
5 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Butter
3 oz Herbed Goat cheese at room temperature
2 boneless chicken breasts cut in half
1 beefsteak tomato cut into four 1/4 inch slices from the center and the rest chopped
1/3 cup Chicken Broth


Discard the end slice of the eggplant. Place the eggplant in a colander and lightly salt.  Allow to rest while preparing other ingredients.

Tear the bread into large crumbs. and then pulse in a food processor until large crumbs form.

Melt butter in skillet.  Add breadcrumbs.  Toast 6 to 8 minutes over medium heat.  Transfer to a small bowl.

Heat 3 tablespoons Olive Oil in skillet.  Pat eggplant dry and cook turning once until tender about 7 minutes.  Transfer eggplant to a serving dish and top with half of the goat cheese.

Eggplant topped with herbed goat cheese.

Cover with foil and place in oven at 300F.

Lightly salt and pepper chicken breasts.  Add remaining 2 tablespoons of Olive oil, turn heat to medium-high and cook chicken breasts.

Place chicken breasts on top of eggplant and spread with other half of goat cheese.  Place tomato on top and put in the oven.

Add diced tomato and chicken broth to skillet, scraping any bits, and bring to a boil.  Allow to simmer about 5 minutes.  Spoon sauce over chicken and top with bread crumbs.

Enjoy!

 

Extras:

•  I didn't have any herbed goat cheese, just plain, so I used this recipe.  I skipped the Olive Oil and Lemon Peel.
• You could toast your bread crumbs in Olive Oil, but butter just makes it that much better!
• Substitute water for chicken broth if you don't have any on hand.
• This might be interesting to try with zucchini too!

Easter 2013

The Piler digging into his Easter Basket.

 We had a wonderful Easter last weekend!  We celebrated by attending church in the morning and then my family came over for Easter dinner followed by the traditional (and very-competitive) family egg hunt!  We only had one fight this year!

Opening up his new "Bubble Lawn Mower"

For dinner I made this ham from the Pioneer Woman, and it was a big hit!   It's studded with cloves and then glazed - it sounds a lot more difficult than it actually was. The fam also loved the Parmesan Polenta topped with Mushrooms - I'll have to get that recipe out soon!  It was delicious!  

Hope you had a wonderful Easter, too!