Proud Italian Cook

Stuffed Eggplant with Ricotta, Spinach and Artichoke

January 16, 2013 by Marie 32 Comments

Have you ever been inspired by Pinterest? I have, many times. I needed to cook up three eggplants before they went bad so I checked out Pinterest for a little inspiration, as I was wandering from page to page I saw an eggplant that was stuffed with spinach, ricotta and artichoke, that was it, that was my inspiration! The original recipe that was pinned had honey in it, I didn’t want to use honey but was inspired to make mine more Italian style, so that’s exactly what I did.

I started out by cutting my eggplant lengthwise then carefully scooping out the middle leaving a small border all the way around the eggplant half. Drizzled the inside with olive oil, salt and pepper, did the same with the scooped out eggplant, placed them all on a baking sheet in a preheated 400 degree oven until tender and cooked through.

When the eggplant was finished cooking I removed it from the oven to cool down. On another baking sheet I placed one 12oz bag of frozen artichoke hearts, courtesy of Trader Joe’s (which I have in my freezer at all times) a shallot and 3 minced garlic cloves, drizzled everything with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roasted in the 400 degree oven until artichokes defrosted and became tender.

I then placed everything into a big bowl, the artichoke mixture, the scooped out cooked eggplant, 1 heaping cup of ricotta cheese, 1 chopped roasted red pepper, 1 cup of fresh chopped baby spinach, a heaping 1/2 cup of grated romano cheese, chopped parsley and basil.

Pile high the mixture into the scooped out portion of the eggplant and place back into the 400 oven until ricotta is heated through, about 15 minutes.

For a finishing touch I drizzled a rich balsamic glaze all over the stuffed eggplant which just intensified all the flavors even more so!

We had this as our main course served with soup and salad, but it would also be great as a side. Enjoy!

32 Comments Filed Under: Side Dishes, Vegetables Tagged: ricotta, spinach and artichoke, stuffed eggplant

Welcome to My New Home on WordPress!

January 9, 2013 by Marie 42 Comments

Welcome everyone! I’m finally here and settling into my new home on the web. I’ll have lunch for you in a minute but first I want to tell you about my journey here.

I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time, migrating my Blogger blog over to WordPress, but I never had the nerve, I heard horror stories in the past, pictures, posts, links being lost, etc. Not being a techie person at all this scared the heck out of me!

Even though Blogger was good to me in the beginning, as time went on many issues came up that weren’t getting fixed, things disappearing, problems with commenting and a ton of spam on a daily basis, and something that really bothered me was that you never really own your blog on Blogger, it’s free, they could delete it at any time.

I loved all the new features I was seeing on WordPress blogs, updated, modern, user friendly, I needed a new look, after 5 years I felt stale and old!

In comes my web designer, Jeni, The Blog Maven, who came highly recommended by Cathy of Wives with Knives, so I emailed her a couple of months ago and from the first time I spoke with her I knew I had the right person. I had a list of questions that she patiently answered one by one no matter how ridiculous some of them were, she even skyped me several times! Jeni is very detailed and thorough, she considers all of your needs and finds the best way to incorporate them for you. The whole process went so smooth with no major glitches at all, I didn’t even stress once! I would highly recommend her for migration of your Blogger blog, design issues or any technical questions you might have.

I have to learn some new things to get around on the back end of my blog so I will most definitely be out of my comfort zone for a while so please bare with me, but honestly it’s already starting to feel like home here. Take a look around and let me know what you think so far, I’m loving my new visual recipe index!

Now, how about that lunch? I’m serving, Spaghetti Squash Stuffed Peppers!

Spaghetti squash, think of it as vegetable spaghetti, I know it’s not the real thing but when you roast it and rake up the strands with a fork it magically becomes a great substitute for the “white” stuff, and it tastes really good too! If you’re trying to lay off the carbs for a while replace this with any spaghetti dish you might be craving. I recently served it with mussels in a red sauce and it was delicious, the strands soaked up all the sauce, it was so good I’ll be making it again real soon.

This time I decided to stuff some peppers with it, making an all veggie meal. I roasted crimini mushrooms along with garlic and green onions and pre-roasted the peppers as well.

Then into a bowl I tossed the spaghetti squash, mushroom mixture, grated romano cheese, shredded asiago, parsley, basil, ( you could also add chopped fresh spinach or kale) a healthy drizzle of olive oil and a few tablespoons of roasted red pepper spread, courtesy of Trader Joe’s, but marinara sauce would work just as well.

Stuff your peppers, put them back in the oven until the cheese melts inside and they are warmed through.

Serve along side a green salad and you’ll have the perfect lunch or dinner. Thanks for stopping by my new digs!

42 Comments Filed Under: Vegetables Tagged: spaghetti squash, stuffed peppers

Proud Italian Cook’s Twelve Most Viewed Posts of 2012

December 29, 2012 by Marie 16 Comments

I thought it would be fun to take a look back at some of my most popular posts of 2012, it’s always fun to see what peaks my readers interest.
No name for This Salad which I made back in June, I’m a sucker for zucchini ribbons I just think they make every dish look pretty!

Faux Spaghetti, I made this last January when the reality of all the holiday eating hit me hard and once again I needed to go low carb, looks like I’ll be repeating this recipe real soon!

My Winter Veggie Torte, born from leftover veggies in my fridge and nicely formed in my trusty spring form pan. I think the sliced sweet potatoes on top gave it a nice colorful look.

Limoncello Tart with Amaretto Cookie Crust and a Blueberry Blackberry Sauce.
Come on, need I say more?

Grilled Vegetable Tart with Phyllo
I conquered phyllo and I’m proud of it!
As I sit here on a very cold night in Chicago I’m missing my grill big time!

Caprese Ravioli
I made this back in April for an appetizer, simple to make if you can find good quality store bought pasta sheets.

Summer Veggie Slaw
I made this deep in the heart of summer using the zucchini and herbs from our garden. This is a really good side dish with all your grilled meats, and everything is raw, so it’s quick to put together providing you have a julienne peeler!

Eggplant Patties
Even though I posted these last August I still make them on a regular basis, I serve them topped with a little bit of roasted red pepper sauce, make a salad and dinner is served!

Summer Bounty Zucchini Tart
Here I go again with the zucchini ribbons, and some blossoms here too, this time pressed into ricotta on puff pastry none the less!

Roasted Veggie Pasta
I make this often, great for a crowd. Hmmm, veggies seem to be a theme here on my blog, don’t you think?

Boneless Pork Chops in a Creamy Mustard Thyme Sauce with Mushrooms and Caramelized Shallots.
Comfort food that’s quick to make mid week!

Chicken Parmesan Meatloaf
This is so good your house will smell amazing while it’s cooking in the oven, I like to change up the marinara for roasted red pepper sauce, let me give you a little tip my fellow Trader Joe lovers, they have the best jar of red pepper spread that I use all the time, It’s called Red Pepper Spread with Eggplant and Garlic, you really can’t taste the eggplant, but the red pepper flavor is outstanding.
I have 4 jars in my pantry and 2 in my fridge, I’m a horder, I smear it all over everything! If they ever stop selling it I’ll be devastated!As 2012 comes to a close my wish for you in 2013 is, HEALTH, HAPPINESS, PEACE, JOY, LOVE, LAUGHTER AND A HEALTHY DOSE OF AMAZING ITALIAN FOOD!

CHEERS!