About a week ago I got some good news--a promotion for a job well done! The flip side of this is that my level of effort at work shows no signs of letting up. This week was particularly rough--I'm not sure whether it was because I felt like I was behind for most of it (trying to get caught up from being on travel for 4 days the previous week) or the two days I drove back and forth to Baltimore, but work really kicked my butt this week. Which meant I only ended up cooking dinner once. The other nights we ate out, ordered in or Jason made eggs for dinner (twice in fact).
Check out this awesome bagel sandwich Jason made for dinner Friday night-- with bagels I brought home from work of course. Made me feel like a failure in the kitchen but it sure did taste good!
So I've been trying to make up for lost time this weekend by cooking up a storm. Last night I made an eggplant and polenta casserole which turned out really well (see below) as well as a batch of oatmeal and chocolate chip cookies (stay tuned for more on that) to take to a friend's to watch the Super Bowl this evening. And I as I write this, a pot of winter minestrone is simmering away for tomorrow's dinner.
I'm definitely still trying to find a better work/home balance (particularly when it comes to making yummy, nutritious dinners during the week) but am hoping that a little extra time in the kitchen on the weekends will help me get through the week with a little less stress.
I'm anxious to hear if anyone out there has suggestions for getting dinner on the table during the work week??
Layered Eggplant and Polenta Casserole
Adapted slightly from Martha Stewart
Ingredients:
2 TBL olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans diced tomatoes (I used the garlic and onion variety for more flavor)
1 TBL balsamic vinegar
1 cup basil leaves, chopped
1 medium eggplant, sliced into 1/4 inch rounds
1 (16 ounce) log precooked polenta, sliced into 1/4 inch rounds
1/3 cup shredded mozzarella
1. Preheat oven to 400. Place rack on highest position. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place eggplant rounds in a single layer on baking sheet and roast in oven for about 10 minutes or until just starting to soften. Set aside.
2. In a medium sauce pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook until soft and slightly golden, about 5-8 minutes. Add tomatoes (with juices). Cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the juices have evaporated and the sauce is thickened--about 30 minutes. Stir in vinegar and basil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from heat.
3. Spoon about 1/4 cup of the sauce into the bottom of a 9-inch square baking dish. Arrange eggplant slices snugly in a single layer (overlapping so that they all fit). Spoon half of the remaining tomato sauce over the eggplant and arrange polenta rounds in slightly overlapping slices on top. Spoon remaining tomato sauce over the top and top with shredded mozzerella.
4. Cover with foil. Move oven rack down one position. Bake until bubbling, about 30 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking until cheese is browned, about 10 minutes more. Let cool slightly and serve.
Were always short on time now and going out to eat for dinner isn't really an option. We've been prepping or making dinners on Sundays for the week. We've always been making two whole chickens and using them in different ways over the course of the next few days (salads, soups etc)
ReplyDeleteAt my house, we plan weekly menus--usually just copied and pasted from allrecipes.com or food network or a page # from one of my many cookbooks. Then we develop a shopping list from it and go shopping. The whole thing probably only takes 30 minutes plus shopping. But when you know what you're making each night and you already have all the ingredients, it's less of a hassle. No one sitting around going "what should we make tonight? Wait, do we have enough milk?"
ReplyDelete