Quick Fixer Upper!!

Saturday morning... slept in because was up till 4:00 AM trying to blog!!  My latest craze!!  Face book was my addiction up until last night and now blogging has taken over!  Something to keep this Minnesotan housewife out of trouble!!!  Hahaha!  Time does fly by...by the time I sipped my coffee (for a whole leisurely hour), it was time to whip up lunch/brunch for the household!  Well...I was saved by a repeat request, but since hubby was home, had to supplement it with more. Have you ever wondered, you cook more formally when the man of the house is around and get by with knick knack munchies otherwise??!!  Had some cooked whole grain pasta and a lone eggplant.... decided to stick with the same family....Italian Cuisine!  Came up with this lovely pasta dish with m double duty nutty crumb topping and whipped up a batch of Eggplant Parmesan Crisps served alongside with marinara sauce!

For the Crumb Topping:
I needed Olive oil, Parmesan Cheese, Italian style bread crumbs, Italian seasoning, cayenne pepper and salt. 

Heat a pan, add olive oil, once it is warmed through, add the  minced garlic and the double duty crumb topping (reserve half for Eggplant Parmesan!).  Saute well, quickly, so as not to burn!!

Add the pasta as shown above and toss well.  Add a little water if the pasta gets dry!!  Your pasta is actually ready...

Serve it garnished with chopped parsley!   Enjoy with spicy marinara or just as is!!

Healthy, whole grain, yummilicious pasta...ready in less than 7 minutes (provided you have the cooked pasta on hand, or add another 15!)!!!!

Now we move on to Eggplant Parmesan Crisps!!

I love, looooovvveee Eggplant Parmesan...but do not enjoy the greasiness associated with it!  This is my quick take on the classic.  One of my other passions is to continuously reinvent classics!  It is enjoyed a eggplant chips in my household with marinara sauce, lightly breaded, drizzled with the fruitiest of olive oils and baked to golden perfection in a screaming hot oven!!  How cool is that.... this is how I sneak in nutrition into my kid's diet! 

Eggplant Factoid:  Please take a minute to read this about eggplant... it is packed with fiber, vitamin B1, B6, and potassium along with minor doses of magnesium, iodine and manganese and -- and is a potent antioxidant!  It has a low glycemic index thus being great for diabetic diets and cholesterol reducing diets!!  Well... the nutritionist in me could not keep myself from rattling on its virtues...above all, it is extremely delicious.  So bake away...

With the above mixture of Italian Bread crumbs, Parmesan Cheese, salt, Cayenne pepper, and Italian seasoning...dredge the eggplant pieces in the mixture evenly and place them on a well oiled baking tray like so....

Bake it in a 450F pre-heated oven for 25 minutes, until it is golden brown.  (I strongly believe in multi tasking and missed out on taking it out though the oven kept beckoning with clear beeps!  Thus the dark colored ones!!)

 Serve the light crisps with marinara sauce!!

Ensoy my dear friends and drop in a line if you tried it.....