Vegetable Lasagna

Today I feel accomplished!  I put up 15 quart bags of our squash and zucchini from our garden and a quart of tomatillos to make into salsa later.  All by 1:30 today, I had the house cleaned, dinner almost cooked and enough squash to take us halfway through the winter months and to use for our favorite zucchini squares that I made each fall at Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners! I could make a good housewife...

However, what I did forget about were all the shelled peas in my refrigerator at our barn from our friends the McAfees that needed to be bagged and frozen!  We discussed tonight when they brought another bushel for my youngest daughter to shell just how much we could get done if we didn't have to work!  I told her I thought boredom would set in pretty quick!  But, it sure was nice with the rain coming down today to be home, enjoy my sweet baby girl (who's 12) and feel like I was finally getting caught up on my house, gardening and freezing vegetables for meals in the future.

Tonight for dinner, or I should say this afternoon, I cooked a dish Scott says I've cooked before, but I have no remembrance of.  With the squash and zucchini that I got tired of freezing and some Ichiban eggplant cut into 1/2 inch spears, I layered them in a casserole dish (9x13 inch Pyrex dish).  To this I added cooked, ground pork that I'd added Hunt's 4 Cheese Spaghetti Sauce to along with Rotel Tomatoes and a few spices and cheese. 

The recipe has a few more steps as you'll find on the link below, but overall it was an easy dish to make.  My husband loved it and went back for seconds and actually said it was 'really good' a couple of times.  So, I'll take that as a compliment and for sure make it in another week or two because our squash shows no sign of slowing up in our garden! 

In the picture above and links here, you'll see my newest recipe for Vegetable Lasagna and also my Marinated Cucumbers and Onions and Zucchini Squares that can all be found on my www.theranchkitchen.com site.  I hope you'll give it a try as even my preteen ate this vegetable lasagna and didn't pick out the veggies! 

Alise - The Ranch Kitchen

Chicken and Eggplant Dressing

My first batch of eggplant from our garden have been wonderful!  Each year we plant eggplant and I usually fuss that there is never enough.  So this year we planted what probably is to many, but I know my friends and family will also benefit IF I decide to share! 

Tonight I decided to create a new dish from the leftover Rotisserie chicken in my refrigerator, our Ichiban eggplant, green bell and Anaheim peppers, and onions all from our garden. 

As I chopped and began to cook, I started to think of a topping and decided that my new box of Ritz Crackers that have Roasted Vegetables in them would make an excellent crust on top.  Thankfully it turned out to be a good decision and I'll be using these in place of bread crumbs from now on. 

You'll find this recipe on the link below underneath the first picture.  As my new www.theranchkitchen.com site is up, I will now post links to direct my readers to my site where all my recipes are stored. 

You will notice on my blog now that when you click on the recipe link it automatically takes you to my new .com site!  How nifty is that?!!  I have to again thank Nia Hill, Tonya Perez and AgTown programmers for their genius work on my new blog design and new The Ranch Kitchen site!  Thank you, thank you!

I hope you'll try my new Chicken and Eggplant Dressing.  It takes a little more preparation than most of my recipes, but the end results was my husband, 'Ranchman Approved'! 

Enjoy!

Chicken and Eggplant Dressing

We also finally picked our first tomato from our garden! 

We are so happy summer is finally here after the long winter in the south!



Enjoy!

The Ranch Kitchen




The Ranch Kitchen's Chicken and Eggplant Dressing

Cajun Fried Eggplant

One of my favorite things about summer are the fresh vegetables from my husband Scott's garden.  I love watching him work in it, the relaxation he seems to get from it and we all enjoy the 'fruits' of his labor!  It's my daughter's and my job to pick and cook what we grow and I think that is a pretty good deal.

Each year I say we should have been zucchini and pepper farmers because we do a pretty good job of having an over abundance of them!  We also seem to do pretty well with our eggplant, growing both the Ichiban and Black Diamond varieties.  I love them both, but prefer the Black Diamond as they are the larger, more rounded eggplant most people are used to and are easier to peel. 

Last night, I fried some up to go along with the Craig's UnKabobs that we cooked a few nights before and we really enjoyed them.  I used Zatarains New Orleans Fish Fry Seasoned dry batter also seasoned with some extra Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning, water and fried them in Canola Oil, and then an added sprinkle of salt.  Along with a squirt of ketchup, I could make a meal out fried eggplant all by itself.

As my grandfather used to say, eggplant are a more 'educated taste'....that is that most kids don't like them.  But my girls always have loved eggplant, as trying them have never been an option.  Our motto at our house is that you never know what you might not love until you give it a try.

***You can also use the recipe below to fry zucchini or yellow summer squash!

Cajun Fried Eggplant

1 - 2 Black Diamond or Ichiban eggplants, pealed and cut in 1 inch round slices
2 - 3 cups Zatarain New Orleans Style Fish Fry - Seasoned already @ Zatarain's
4 cups Canola Oil or a good quality frying oil
1 teaspoon of Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning (we like it a little spicier)
salt to sprinkle on after frying


Wash and peel eggplants (cut purple skins off) and cut in to 1 inch round slices.  In a separate bowl place Zatarains Fish Fry meal along with 1 teaspoon of Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning and mix well. 

Dip each eggplant round in water and then immediately into the meal, pushing it firmly down to coat thoroughly on both sides. 

Using tongs, immediately drop gently in oil that has come to a low boil on your stove.  Cook on both sides until eggplant is slightly browned (see picture below) and wear an apron...(I can't tell you how many shirts I have ruined from grease stains - my Granny would be so proud of me wearing an apron as she was always harping on me about it). 

When eggplant are browned, take out with a tongs and place on a dish that has been lined with paper towels to 'sop' up the excess grease.  Sprinkle immediately with salt or sea salt(not too heavily) and eat as soon as possible. 

Side note:

***Last night as I cooked a huge portion. I turned the heat element on on my stove and placed the plate of fried eggplant in the oven between batches.   Remember if you allow the eggplant to cool too much and wait too long to eat it, they will become slightly soggy.

Serve these Cajun Fried Eggplant alongside any meal (with ketchup of course).  This eggplant is especially great with fried catfish, brim or bass.  We actually fry the eggplant along with yellow squash and zucchini in larger chunks when we serve this with fried fish in the same oil as we fry the fish, however we fry it last as the meal doesn't stick to the squash and eggplant as well as it does on the fish.

The Ranch Kitchen

Enjoy!