If you had peeked in from my porch yesterday you would’ve seen that I had the privilege of providing meals for a couple families in our church.  What a blessing!  My kitchen is a favorite way of mine to serve others.  First thing in the morning, I got busy and I doubled my recipe for Sausage Corn Chowder; I gave half to one family and half to the other.

I don’t tell you that to brag, but only to tell you about a lesson that the Lord brought to my heart as I finished up providing for others.  After dishing up the portions for those for whom I had cooked, I was now faced with the meal for my own household.  To be honest, the temptation to do something “easy”, or even suggest we go out was at knocking at my door.  Then the Lord brought to my mind the principle that my home is my first ministry.  While it’s all well and good to do kind things for others, if I neglect those that are closest to my heart, I am really missing the most important ones for whom I can minister.

Expanding on that thought, let’s ask:

Lighter Eggplant Parmesan

I mentioned a few weeks ago about Aldi’s Grocery store opening up in our area soon.  Well, the opening day was last week, and I was so excited about the great produce I found there!  I got cabbage, blueberries, white potatoes, sweet potatoes, pineapple, lemons aaaaand, eggplant!  Now, the truth is, I had never fixed eggplant, but because it was so reasonable, and because  I was more than tired of peas, beans and corn, I decided I needed to try it out!

I went on SkinnyTaste’s site and found a great looking recipe for a lightened up version of Eggplant Parmesan.  This is usually breaded and fried before adding tomato sauce and cheese, but this recipe roasts the eggplant in the oven instead, making it much healthier!  It was DELICIOUS!  I made up the whole recipe on Saturday night, then popped it into the oven on Sunday morning before we left for church and set the timer to bake it 30 minutes before we’d arrive home. 

I was afraid it might be a little bitter, but it wasn’t! It was creamy, delicious and a lovely change from our normal Sunday dinner!

If you can snag an eggplant at a great price, you need to try this recipe and maybe, like me, give eggplant a chance!  It’s good stuff!

Lighter Eggplant Parmesan

Gina’s Weight Watcher Recipes

Servings: 8 servings • Time: 60 minutes • Old Points: 6 pts • Points+: 8 pts

Calories: 265.3 • Fat: 12.4 g • Protein: 14.1 g • Carb: 35.4 g • Fiber: 4.4 g

1 large eggplant (2 lbs)

1 tbsp olive oil

12 oz fat free ricotta

1/4 cup + 2 tbsp Pecorino Romano

1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

1 medium egg

2 cups reduced fat mozzarella (I used Sargento)

3 cups homemade tomato sauce

salt

Start by making the sauce if you don’t have any already made. While the sauce simmers, slice the eggplant into 1/4 inch thick slices. Lightly salt the slices and put in a colander to release excess moisture for about 1/2 hour. Lay on paper towels to soak up any extra moisture.

Preheat oven to 450°. Brush eggplant lightly with olive oil on both sides and place on cookie sheets. Bake for 20-25 minutes, turning half way through until eggplant is golden brown.

In a medium bowl combine ricotta, egg, parsley and 1/4 cup of grated cheese.

In a 9×12 baking dish, put a little sauce on the bottom of the dish and put a layer of eggplant to cover the bottom of the dish. Top with 1/3 of the ricotta cheese mixture, mozzarella cheese and sauce. Add another layer of eggplant and repeat the ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese and sauce until everything is used up. Top with sauce and the mozzarella cheese and the remaining grated cheese.

Cover with foil and bake until cheese is melted and everything is bubbling, about 30 minutes at 400°. Remove foil and bake an additional 8-10 minutes. Take it out of the oven and let it sit about 10 minutes before cutting.

Are you like me and tried of the “normal” veggies? Have you tried eggplant?  How do you prepare it?

With love from my country kitchen,

While we’re waiting for spring to come, there are adventures to take that are “semi-outdoor” activities that can help refresh you and brighten your winter doldrums.

Yesterday for my husband’s birthday, we had a Car Picnic!  A car picnic is one way to enjoy the beauty of a country road or a mountain view even in cooler temperatures.

Pack up some chili or homemade soup into mason jars.  If you fill the jars with water and then  warm them in the microwave, it will help keep the soup hot.  I also put one of those oven bricks in the microwave and warmed it up, then wrapped it in a kitchen towel.  I then wrapped a towel around the jars and the brick and packed it all into a picnic basket.  I also took cloth napkins, plastic spoons, crackers, some fruit and homemade cookies.

Drive to a beautiful spot and open up the basket in the car and enjoy your lunch from the warmth of your car!

Our meal was simple, but tasted wonderful out there on that mountain road.  It was quiet, beautiful, and romantic.  We came home so refreshed.  I bet you will too!

What adventures do you embark on when you’re ready for winter to be over?

I hope you’re making plans to be in a Bible-preaching church Sunday!  Don’t miss out on what God wants to do in and through you in your local church!

Stay refreshed,
While we’re waiting for spring to come, there are adventures to take that are “semi-outdoor” activities that can help refresh you and brighten your winter doldrums.

Yesterday for my husband’s birthday, we had a Car Picnic!  A car picnic is one way to enjoy the beauty of a country road or a mountain view even in cooler temperatures.

Pack up some chili or homemade soup into mason jars.  If you fill the jars with water and then  warm them in the microwave, it will help keep the soup hot.  I also put one of those oven bricks in the microwave and warmed it up, then wrapped it in a kitchen towel.  I then wrapped a towel around the jars and the brick and packed it all into a picnic basket.  I also took cloth napkins, plastic spoons, crackers, some fruit and homemade cookies.

Drive to a beautiful spot and open up the basket in the car and enjoy your lunch from the warmth of your car!

Our meal was simple, but tasted wonderful out there on that mountain road.  It was quiet, beautiful, and romantic.  We came home so refreshed.  I bet you will too!

What adventures do you embark on when you’re ready for winter to be over?

I hope you’re making plans to be in a Bible-preaching church Sunday!  Don’t miss out on what God wants to do in and through you in your local church!

Stay refreshed,

This is a week for a couple of birthdays in my family – my husband’s is tomorrow and my mom’s was yesterday.  Since I couldn’t be with her, I called her last night on Skype.  I’m so thankful for the Internet options like that!  What a blessing!

My sweet parents

As we were chatting, the subject of my parent’s  upcoming 60th anniversary came up. My mom said,

“When I think of 60 years together I think, ‘Wow!’  We sure have had our ups and downs and ins and outs, but we decided at the beginning that we would stick together forever.  When couples go into marriage thinking they’ll divorce if things don’t go well, they’re bound for divorce.  When the hard times come, and they will, they bail out  instead of toughing it out.”

Her statement reminded me of a book I read last year where the author said, “Staying together until death means choosing that some days you will be unhappy.” That’s so true.  Let’s face it, every day of marriage isn’t bliss.  Misunderstandings happen, words are spoken out of turn, feelings are hurt, etc.  Those hard days aren’t the ones we paste into our scrapbooks, but they are a part of the journey of our marriages.  They are a part of life, because we live in a fallen, imperfect world.  Those are the days that run us to our Savior and make us dependent  on Him for help to love our spouse.

And He does.

And the next day is better and we survived, and so did our marriage.

And soon we’re looking at another anniversary because we made a promise to one another and to our God.

It’s worth it to be unhappy every now and then.

With love and a prayer for your 60th anniversary,