I'm starting to follow a ketogenic diet (why am I seeing it everywhere nowadays??) and am really enjoying the variety of foods I'm cooking with that I've shied away from for awhile. The novelty of it is making it easier to stick to - I don't have much desire to cheat because I'm enjoying my food so much more now, and my satiety has really improved with my fat intake increase. I'm still learning as I go and am figuring out what kind of daily routine is best for getting all my macros in without going overboard.
Tonight for dinner, I made an eggplant casserole to go along with some lean pork chops. I sliced and salted some eggplant to draw out some of the moisture.
After letting the slices sit about 10-15 minutes, I pressed on them with a paper towel to get some water out before flipping and repeating on the other side. In a saucepan, I sauteed some onions in butter and added a block of frozen chopped spinach along with a little chicken stock. BTW, this is one of the best kitchen hacks - freeze some of your favorite stock in ice cube trays and put them in a freezer bag to easily grab and go. Stock has a place in so many recipes (hell-O pan deglazer!) but I'm hesitant to keep a container of it in the fridge in case we don't use it fast enough.
Once the frozen chopped spinach was thawed, I added some salt, pepper, and garlic powder in addition to a small can of tomato sauce.
I covered the dish and baked it for about 40 minutes at 375° and was pleased to see bubbly browned cheese when I opened the oven door!
Tonight for dinner, I made an eggplant casserole to go along with some lean pork chops. I sliced and salted some eggplant to draw out some of the moisture.
After letting the slices sit about 10-15 minutes, I pressed on them with a paper towel to get some water out before flipping and repeating on the other side. In a saucepan, I sauteed some onions in butter and added a block of frozen chopped spinach along with a little chicken stock. BTW, this is one of the best kitchen hacks - freeze some of your favorite stock in ice cube trays and put them in a freezer bag to easily grab and go. Stock has a place in so many recipes (hell-O pan deglazer!) but I'm hesitant to keep a container of it in the fridge in case we don't use it fast enough.
But I digress....
Not much to look at, but it was a great binder! I layered the eggplant slices with the spinach tomato sauce and shredded pizza cheese - mozzarella, parmesan, romano, etc.
I covered the dish and baked it for about 40 minutes at 375° and was pleased to see bubbly browned cheese when I opened the oven door!
We'll be snarfing on this big ol' dish for awhile!