Eggplant sandwiches with homemade fries

Eggplant Sandwiches
Friday
Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Cook Time: 10 Minutes
Ready In: 30 Minutes
Servings: 2

INGREDIENTS:
1 small eggplant, halved and sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil, or as needed
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 (6 inch) French sandwich rolls
1 small tomato, sliced
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat your oven's broiler. Brush eggplant slices with olive oil, and place them on a baking sheet or broiling pan. Place the pan about 6 inches from the heat source. Cook under the broiler for 10 minutes, or until tender and toasted.
2. Split the French rolls lengthwise, and toast. In a cup or small bowl, stir together the mayonnaise and garlic. Spread this mixture on the toasted bread. Fill the rolls with eggplant slices, tomato, feta cheese and basil leaves.

Homemade french fried

Black beans and Rice

Black Beans and Rice
Tuesday

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cup uncooked white rice (or use brown to add a bit more health to your dish)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, thinly sliced
3 cloves minced garlic
1 cup of dried black beans (cook overnight in crock pot
A few dashes of Tabasco or 1/4 teaspoon cayenne powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano or 1 heaping Tbsp chopped fresh oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
Optional Lime wedges and cilantro for garnish
METHOD
1 Cook rice according to package instructions. White rice usually takes 15 minutes to cook once the water is simmering, and 10 minutes to sit.
2 Heat oil in a large skillet on medium high. Sauté onions and bell peppers for 3-4 minutes, until just beginning to soften, then add garlic and sauté a minute more. Add the black beans, vinegar and Tabasco or cayenne. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
3 Stir in rice and oregano. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Yield: Serves 6.

We're going to serve this with defrosted, sauteed okra with fresh tomatoes and onion on the side.
I simply defrost the okra ahead of time, then saute the onion until translucent.  Add the okra and tomatoes and allow to cook for another 5 minutes approximately.  The trick with okra is most definitely not to over cook.  Otherwise it gets slimy and fast!

Eggplant meatballs with spaghetti

Thanks to a friend at work we tried this recently. Now I did tweek it a bit. I wanted "cheesier" meatballs than what the recipe called for so I added a bit of extra items that I had on hand.

Eggplant Meatballs


2 large eggplants, sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt
Pepper
4 slices day-old bread
1 egg
½ cup grated parmesan or pecorino cheese
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup parsley, chopped
2 tbsp Nutritional Yeast


Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Lay the eggplant out on a baking sheet and drizzle with the olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and bake for 30 minutes, or until they have turned golden brown.  Remove from the oven and turn heat down to 350 degrees F.

Grind the bread slices in the food processor until they’re broken into bread crumbs. Remove about ¼ of the crumbs and set aside. To the processor add in the roasted eggplant and egg and grind together until the mixture becomes a fairly smooth paste. Now add the garlic, cheese and parsley. Pulse to combine. If the mixture is too runny add in more of the additional bread crumbs until it becomes something you can mold.

Form the mixture into small balls and place on a baking sheet. Cook in the oven for about 30-40 minutes, or until the meatballs are firm and cooked through (I split one open just to test).

Serve as you would normal meatballs: over pasta, in a sub or on a toothpick.

This one is a most definite DO AGAIN!  We actually froze the remaining ones for use later.  I think I could possibly add maybe a small amount of cooked lentils to this to boost the protein a bit.

Black Bean & Sweet Potato Enchiladas

Black Bean & Sweet Potato Enchiladas
Monday
Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Cook Time: 50 Minutes
Ready In: 1 Hour 25 Minutes
Servings: 6
"Corn tortillas are stuffed with a sweet potato and cream cheese filling and baked with enchilada sauce and cheese."
INGREDIENTS:
2 sweet potatoes
1 cup black beans, uncooked
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
4 green onions, chopped
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin (optional)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup vegetable oil for frying
12 (7 inch) corn or flour tortillas
1 (19 ounce) can enchilada sauce
1 (8 ounce) package shredded Monterey Jack cheese
DIRECTIONS:

1. Cook black beans ahead of time
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over medium heat, and boil the sweet potatoes until tender,   about 30 minutes. Cool and peel the sweet potatoes.
3. Place the sweet potatoes in a bowl, and mash them with the cream cheese, green onions, chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper until well mixed.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), and grease a 13x9 inch baking dish.
5. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-low heat, and fry the tortillas, one at a time, for about 30 seconds per side. Remove the tortillas with tongs, and drain on paper towels.
6. Place about 1/3 cup of sweet potato filling down the center of each tortilla, roll it up, and place filled tortillas seam side down in the prepared baking dish. Pour enchilada sauce over the tortillas, and sprinkle with Monterey Jack cheese.
7. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 30 minutes, until the enchiladas are bubbling and the cheese is beginning to brown.