Eggplant pizza bites...

Hi all. Its been  hectic around here and I have been eating mostly junk all week because I have been to tired to cook...I remembered my daughter giving me a recipe for zucchini pizza and remembered that eggplant works just as well, so here is a recipe trying the later of the two. If you are on the Mediterranean diet, this will work well for you also...Its a quick fix. Just toss together a light salad and bon appetite...

 

 

Ingredients:

 

1 large eggplant, sliced, about 12 slices

1 T extra virgin Olive Oil

1 C pizza sauce

12 slices fresh mozzarella, or use shredded to make same equivalent amount in weight

1 large red tomato, diced up

1 C fresh spinach


1 T Parmesan cheese

Instructions:

 

Preheat the oven to 425 F.

 

In a greasy baking sheet, place the eggplant slices and drizzle on the top with olive oil.

 

Bake them for about 15 minutes or until tender.

 

Remove from the oven and spread tomato sauce over each eggplant slice.

 

Then add mozzarella, spinach, diced tomato and Parmesan to the top of each eggplant slice.

 

Bring the eggplants to the oven again and broil them for about 3-5 minutes or until gold and brown.

 

 

As always enjoy, & have a great gluten free week....

Sharon

Butternut Squash & Apple Soup

Tis the season for soup, as Mother Nature changes into Fall....I personally love soups of all kinds on a cool fall or winter day,.....Yuck, did I just use that dreaded word???

Chunky soups, bean soups, my mothers hearty homemade vegetable soup, and yes, creamy, stick to your ribs soups like the one I am about to share.

The ingredients are simple, and butternut squash is abundant on the groceries shelves at this time of year. So get out those kitchen utensils and your soup pot and lets get a cooking....

Ingredients:

1 C  yellow  onion, chopped 

3/4 C chopped  celery rib

3/4 C chopped carrot

2 Tbsp butter

1 butternut squash, peeled and chopped, seeds discarded 

1 tart green apple, peeled, cored and chopped, Granny Smith works well here

 (squash and apple ratio should be 3:1)

3 cups gluten free chicken broth, or gluten free vegetable broth 

1 cup water

After cooking you will need a few pinches of nutmeg, cinnamon, cayenne, salt and pepper..

 

Directions:

 Heat a large pot on medium-high heat. Melt the butter in the pot until it foams up and recede. Add the onion, carrot, and celery and saute for 5 minutes. If the vegetables begin to brown lower the heat.

 Add the butternut squash, apple, broth and water. Bring to boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes or until the squash and carrots have softened.

Now work in batches and puree the soup in a standing blender.

Finally add pinches of nutmeg, cinnamon, and cayenne, then add salt and pepper to taste. 

This is really a quick soup to make and the taste is out of this world. Add a quick side salad and you have a great Fall lunch.

Hope you enjoy...
Sharon