Turkey Meatball Subs

In honor of Thanksgiving we made turkey meatball subs. I wasn't compelled to make a huge roast turkey, stuffing and all the fixings for Thanksgiving. Instead we made subs (with ground turkey of course). We made them a day late since yesterday we had dinner at some friends' on a whim (which wasn't a traditional meal either, pizzas....with turkey pepperoni, turkey sausage and other yummy toppings).

I'm not big into measuring things unless I am really trying to follow a recipe (such as making bread and other flour based items). Instead I just toss stuff in that looks good and seems like an acceptable quantity.

Turkey Meatball Subs:
1 lb ground turkey
1 egg
1/2 cup torn bread for bread crumbs
1/2 onion chopped
1/4 cup parsley chopped
1 glove garlic chopped
salt and pepper
1 jar of tomato sauce
Sub rolls (homemade preferably)
Cheese (if desired)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
2. Place the ground turkey in a large bowl
3. Add the egg, bread crumbs, onion, parsley and garlic.
4. Season with salt and pepper to taste and mix to combine.
5. Form meat mixture into small balls.
6. In a large frying pan brown the meatballs on all sides.
7. Place the meatballs on a baking sheet and cook for 5 minutes.
8. Return the meatballs the the frying pan and add the tomato sauce.
9. Cover and cook until the meatballs are fully cooked (about 10 more minutes).
10. Spoon the meatballs and sauce onto the sub rolls. If topping with cheese, do so and then place under the broiler (set on HI) for a minute or two until the cheese is melted. Enjoy!

Eggplant Parmesan

So for my first post I thought to make it an enticing one.

Eggplant parmesan, tossed salad and meat sauce (for those of you who need your meat)

Eggplant Parmesan:

1 medium eggplant

1/4 fresh basil leaves torn

1/4 yellow onion chopped

1 clove garlic chopped

1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes with juice

1/2 cup ricotta cheese

2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Olive oil

Salt 

1. Cut eggplant into 1/2 inch thick slices (slicing the long way)
2. Finely chop the outer slices (the ones with most of the skin on them) and set aside
3. Sprinkle both sides of the slices with salt and layer them in a colander. Place a plate on top of the slices and weigh down.
4. Let stand for 1-2 hours then rinse and pat dry.
5. Preheat the oven to 400 F
6. Brush each side of the slices with olive oil and arrange on a baking sheet (single layer)
7. Bake until lightly browned (15 minutes or so). Remove from oven but keep the oven on.
8. Saute onion, chopped eggplant pieces in some olive oil until tender.
9. Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute.
10. Add the tomatoes, juices and half the basil leaves. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until thickened (10 minutes or so).
11. Season with alt and pepper to taste.
12. Combine ricotta and parmesan cheese.
13. Place 4 eggplant slices in a baking dish. Top with cheese mixture and half the tomato sauce.
14. Layer with the remaining eggplant slices. Top with the remain tomato sauce, sprinkle with mozzarella.
15. Cover and bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with the fresh basil and enjoy.