Crispy Eggplant Caprese Stacks

 Summer is the perfect time to enjoy fresh vegetables right from the garden. One of our favorites this time of the year is these crispy eggplant caprese stacks. Fresh eggplants, tomatoes, basil and mozzarella. These are simple and perfect for any occasion.

These are on the menu at a local restaurant we frequent. Fran ordered them last week, but they were out of the eggplant. She immediately called our daughter Jamie and said, we are making these tomorrow, and we did. Enjoy the recipe.

Eggplant Caprese Stacks Ingredients:

2 medium-sized eggplants (Peeled and sliced to 1/4-inch thick)

2 or 3 tomatoes (sliced 1/4-inch thick)

8 oz. mozzarella (sliced 1/4-inch thick)

Fresh basil leaves

Balsamic glaze

Ingredients for Frying the Eggplants:

2 cups or more of flour

4 large eggs (beaten)

2 cups or more of seasoned bread crumbs

Olive oil or vegetable oil for frying

Instructions for frying:

1. Add the flour, and bread crumbs into two shallow dishes, and the beaten eggs into a bowl.
2. Coat the eggplant slices in the flour, then dip them into the eggs, and then coat them in bread crumbs. 
3. Place the breaded eggplant slice on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
4. Prepare a frying pan with oil and heat to 350 to 375 degrees.
5. Fry the eggplant slices until they are golden brown on both sides.
6. Place them on a cookie sheet lined with paper towels.

Building the Eggplant Stacks:

Start with the first eggplant slice, then a slice of tomato, next a slice of mozzarella, and then fresh basil leaves. Repeat this 3 times for a complete stack. Top off the stacks with another slice of tomato and fresh basil leaves.

Drizzle the stacks with balsamic glaze and serve.

Slice the eggplant into 1/4-inch slices

Slice the tomatoes and mozzarella and set aside

Coat the eggplant slices in flour then egg, and then coat with bread crumbs

Fry the eggplant slice until golden brown on both sides.

We used a Hamilton Beech Electric Fryer

Fried eggplant slices on a paper towel ready to build the stacks. I like eating the eggplant just out of the fryer with a little salt and pepper.

Why You'll Love This Recipe:

Healthy and Light: Packed with fresh vegetables, this dish is both nutritious and satisfying.

Easy to Make: With a few simple steps, this is ready in no time.

Versatile: Serve it as an appetizer, side dish, or even a main course.

Flavorful: The combination of eggplant, juicy tomatoes, creamy mozzarella, and fresh basil is simply delicious.

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Grilled Zucchini

Grilled zucchini squash recipe

An easy and healthy veggie side dish to compliment any meal.  While shopping last week Fran had picked up a strip steak for me and a turkey burger for herself.

 Fran eats much healthier than I do. While I was heating up the grill and grilling the steak and burger she prepared some zucchini and yellow squash. For this easy grilled zucchini squash recipe.

Here is how she did it:

Sliced the zucchini and squash length wise about ¼ inch to ½ inch thick.

Brushed olive oil on both sides.

Seasoned with some Italian seasoning.

Then layered with fresh grated Parmesan cheese.

After the steak and turkey burger finished cooking on the grill, I took the zucchini and squash slices and placed them directly on the grill surface on the medium setting.

Quickly grilled these for about a minute per side, just enough to show the grill marks, you don’t want to over cook them, as they will turn out too soft and mushy.

They came out perfect and made a tasty veggie side dish. Quick and easy is the way that I like it.

Here is another great idea for grilled veggies, one of my earlier posts: Grilled Stacked Veggies, this one you can really make a meal out of.

As always thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy!

Crock Pot Country Ribs

My wife picked up a package of country ribs the other day, and I had all intentions of cooking these on the grill.

When I got home from work the house was filled with the smell of those country ribs cooking all day in the Slow Cooker. She decided to make them a Crock pot meal, and I’m so glad she did.

No real recipe here just put your ribs in the slow cooker add a couple of bottles of your favorite barbecue sauce and set it to the low setting. These cooked for about four hours on the low setting and they were fall off the bone delicious.

Served with sautéed vegetables and rice this made a nice meal for the both of us. The vegetables were simple, cut green and yellow peppers into slices, slice up an onion, and then add some spinach.

Drizzle olive oil into a 10” pan then add the cut up vegetables and sauté over medium heat until the veggies are tender. This turned out to be a great side dish to go along with these country ribs.

As always Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed :) 

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Grilled Stacked Veggies

Maybe you have a meatless meal on your menu once a week or maybe you don’t eat meat at all. Either way, these low carb grilled veggies tingle your taste buds.

These grilled stacked veggies are so easy to make you’ll for sure want to add this one to your quick easy meatless meals.

Here is what you’ll need for the best-grilled vegetables:

2 medium-sized eggplants

6 portabella mushrooms

1 package of fresh mozzarella cheese

1 or 2 fresh tomatoes

6 leaves of fresh basil

1 jar roasted red peppers

Italian seasoning

The first thing was to wash the mushroom and dry them with a paper towel. Then slice the eggplant into ¼ inch or ½ inch slices.

Now brush both sides of the mushrooms and eggplant with some light olive oil. Oh, I forgot, while you’re doing that go ahead and fire up your grill.

With the grill on the medium setting grill the mushrooms and eggplant until the eggplants are light brown, just like in this picture.

Now it’s time to slice your tomatoes and cheese, but before you do those preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Start building your veggie stacks with a portabella mushroom first, and then a slice of eggplant, now the roasted red peppers, another eggplant, and then a slice of tomato.

Place these on a cookie sheet and bake for about 15 minutes.

Take them out of the oven and add a couple of basil leaves and top off with the mozzarella cheese, sprinkle some Italian seasoning on top. Place this back in the oven until the cheese begins to melt.

These tasty grilled veggie stacks can be a meal all in itself or served as a nice side dish. I made a sandwich on a fresh ciabatta roll.

This healthy meatless meal is low carb and low in calories. One stack of these beauties is about 12 carbs.

I can’t take the credit for this, as Fran grilled the mushrooms and eggplant. And, Jamie prepared and baked the stacks. All I did was take the pictures and enjoyed the food.

As always Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy it.

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Veggie Bars a Party Favorite

Make these quick easy party snacks for your next party

This recipe is one of our all-time favorites, it's so popular and such a big hit at picnics, parties, and Holiday gatherings. These are one of the best veggie snacks you'll ever have and are so simple to make.

 Even I can do it, there are so many options for all of your favorite fresh veggies, you can top this with whatever you desire or whatever you're in the mood for.

My daughter and wife have been making these for years for all of our family events, and no matter where we take them, everybody gives this treat the thumbs up.

Pictured here are the veggie bars my daughter made for the 4th of July, with broccoli, cauliflower, red and yellow peppers. Aren't they just so colorful?

The options for these easy veggie bars are endless, you can add as little or as much fresh veggies as your heart desires. I'm not so sure about the cream cheese mixture, but for sure the fresh veggies are very healthy.

What you need for these easy veggie snacks:

• 2 Tubes of Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
• 2 packages of 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 1-8oz. package of shredded cheddar
• 1 package of Hidden Valley Ranch dressing
• 2/3 cup of mayonnaise
• 2/3 cup of sour cream

Veggie Options All Finley Chopped about one cup each:

• Green, Red, and Yellow Peppers
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Black Olives
• Carrots
• Mushrooms
• Onion
• Tomato

Here is how to make your veggie snacks:

1. Spread the crescent rolls out onto a 17" x 11" pan and pinch the sections together
2. Bake the crescent rolls at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes or until the top is golden brown, set the pan aside and let them cool
3. Mix the cream cheese, ranch dressing, mayonnaise, and sour cream in a mixing bowl, whip until it is nice and creamy
4. Spread the mixture over the cooled crescent rolls evenly
5. Press your choice of veggies into the cream cheese mixture and top off with the shredded cheddar
6. Place the veggie bars in the refrigerator for a couple of hours. 
7. After they're cooled cut them into 2 or 3-inch squares and serve

As always thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy it.

Make short work of slicing your veggies with one of these handy kitchen tools

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