we had a lazy supper too.. my hubby worked tonight so i made my dd scrambled eggs and cheese and i had guacamole and chips lol!

i did do 50 mins on the elliptical today! hehe

Originally Posted by moodysmom10

anyone have a good recipe for eggplant? i've never cooked it before but i bought one to try

I just got this recipe today in Real Simple!

Curried Eggplant with Tomatoes and Basil
hands-on time: 15 minutes | total time: 30 minutes | serves 4

1 cup white basmati rice
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 pints cherry tomatoes, halved
1 eggplant (about 1 pound) cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 1/2 tsp. curry powder
1 15.5 ounce can chickpeas, rinsed
1/2 cup fresh basil
1/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt (preferably greek), optional

1. Cook the rice according to instructions

2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 4-6 minutes.

3. Stir in the tomatoes, eggplant, curry powder, 1 tsp. salt, and 1/4 tsp. black pepper. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 2 minutes.

4. Add 2 cups water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, until the eggplant is tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Stir in the chickpeas and cook just until heated through, about 3 minutes.

4. Remove from heat and stir in the basil. Serve over the rice with the yogurt, if using.

Also, I found this other vegetarian in the magazine too! It uses a lot of the same ingredients as the previous one, so it would be great to make both in the same week.

Mediterranean Salad with Chickpea Patties
hands-on time: 20 minutes | total time: 20 minutes | serves 4


1 15.5 ounce can chickpeas, rinsed
1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 clove garlic, chopped
Kosher salt and black pepper
2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
2 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 cup low fat yogurt (preferably greek)
3 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
8 cups mixed greens
1 cup grape tomatoes
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
Pita chips (optional)

1. In a food processor, pulse the chickpeas, parsley, garlic, cumin, and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper just until coarsely chopped and the mixture comes together when gently squeezed. Form into eight 1/2-inch-thick patties and coat with the flour, tapping off excess.

2. Heat the oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the patties, turning carefully, until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes per side.

3. In a small bowl, whisk the yogurt, lemon juice, and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Divide the greens, tomatoes, onion, and chickpea patties among plates. Drizzle with the dressing and serve with the pita chips, if using.

*Tip: These chickpea patties are a low-fat twist on falafel, the deep-fried Middle Eastern classic made with dried chickpeas, spices, and garlic.

We were supposed to have black bean soup tonight. I just ordered a bunch of heirloom beans and couldn't wait to make this soup out of the midnight beans. It's a crock pot recipe so at 8 am this morning I'm in the kitchen chopping onions and jalapenos. Not what I want to smell in the morning. Got my soup together and smelled it all day- yummy. A little bit ago I added the cilantro and salt and... oops... waaaaaaay to much salt. It tasted so good and now it tastes like saltwater. I'm going to make another batch tomorrow and leave the salt out and then combine them. I'll have to use regular old black beans though because that was my only bag of midnights. I'm so freaking aggravated I can't even tell you. I did get all of my chopping done this afternoon so at least I won't have to deal with that in the morning.

So, we're going out for pizza.

I had veggie pizza for dinner last night. Yummy it was too.

Leftovers- homemade mac n cheese and green beans.

Originally Posted by nseastar

We were supposed to have black bean soup tonight. I just ordered a bunch of heirloom beans and couldn't wait to make this soup out of the midnight beans. It's a crock pot recipe so at 8 am this morning I'm in the kitchen chopping onions and jalapenos. Not what I want to smell in the morning. Got my soup together and smelled it all day- yummy. A little bit ago I added the cilantro and salt and... oops... waaaaaaay to much salt. It tasted so good and now it tastes like saltwater. I'm going to make another batch tomorrow and leave the salt out and then combine them. I'll have to use regular old black beans though because that was my only bag of midnights. I'm so freaking aggravated I can't even tell you. I did get all of my chopping done this afternoon so at least I won't have to deal with that in the morning. So, we're going out for pizza.

I think I remember reading that if you oversalt something, some sugar will neutralize that. Might be worth a try....

Our veggie dinner last night was homemade pizza, I bought frozen pizza dough and rolled it out, and used Whole Foods roasted garlic pasta sauce (my favorite!!) and fresh mozarella. Just wish I'd had some basil to go on top but it was good anyway, and really easy.

Originally Posted by elle tee

I think I remember reading that if you oversalt something, some sugar will neutralize that. Might be worth a try.... Our veggie dinner last night was homemade pizza, I bought frozen pizza dough and rolled it out, and used Whole Foods roasted garlic pasta sauce (my favorite!!) and fresh mozarella. Just wish I'd had some basil to go on top but it was good anyway, and really easy.

They also say raw potato will absorb the extra salt and also balsamic vinegar is supposed to help. I read everything I could find on how to correct over salting and really none of them work unless it's just a little too much salt. My husband tried it when he got home and didn't think it was bad. I'm going to add lime and sour supreme and hope for the best.

Your pizza sounds delish! My silly little town doesn't have a Whole Foods. We had a little Wild Oats but when Whole Foods bought them they closed it. I miss it soooo much!

Well for lunch I had an Amy's Tamale Verde (frozen veg/vegan foods) OMG!! So yummy. They make wonderful food!!! Loooooovvvvveeee it!!!!

Tonight's menu is my salvaged black bean soup (yummy) and cheese/salsa quesadillas. Trying something new and grilling them on my grill pan.

I made some home made fettuccine yesterday, so dinner tonight will be fettuccine with a cream, tomato and baby spinach sauce. For my hubby I'll omit the tomatoes and add Tasmanian smoked salmon. He often eats vegetarian food, but I like to mix it up a bit.

I made roasted cauliflower and giant cous cous. Came out very tasty. It was kind of monochomatic though...

for lunch today i made mini pizzas.. i used can biscuits and rolled them out flat and topped with herbs, spag. sauce, cheese and mushrooms for me. they were actually really good!

they could be for lunch, a snack or for a quick dinner!

Yesterday- cheese risotto and salad
tonight- quiche with rosemary oven potatoes and lemon/garlic roasted asparagus

Originally Posted by Jesskaz

I LOVE BARLEY! Here's my very own soup recipe: 1 C pearled barley 3 C water pinch salt 2 lg carrots 3 stalks celery ½ large sweet onion 2 big leaves of Chard Olive oil Salt pepper Rosemary Thyme 1/8 C Shoyu sauce 6 C water Cook the barley with a pinch of salt in 3 C water about 1 hour or until most of the water is absorbed. It will cook more in the soup, so it isn’t critical. Get a big soup pot ready- coat bottom with olive oil and let it heat up on medium. Chop onion and put in pot. Chop carrot and add to pot. Chop celery and add to pot. Last, cut up chard removing stems and add on top. By now onions should be clear and chard should be wilting. Throw in about 1t of salt, 1t of rosemary and 1t of thyme. Add some fresh ground black pepper. When it all looks nice and cooked down, add the 6 cups of water and Shoyu sauce. Bring to a simmer and cover. When the barley is ready add it to the pot. Let it cook for another 20 min or so. Taste and add more salt/pepper/shoyu if needed. At this point, get out the blender fill it with about 2C of the soup- everything, broth veggies and all. Don’t put the lid on tightly so the steam doesn’t explode the top off. Whirl it up really good and add it back into the pot. This makes the soup very thick, smooth and satisfying. Soup can be served now but it won’t hurt it if you want to leave it on the stove a while longer.

I have this soup simmering right now. I had to look Shoyu up as I was unfamiliar with it. Seemed light Chinese soy sauce would work as a sub so that's what I used. I would have never thought to combine rosemary and soy sauce and actually almost left the rosemary out but it is really good! I'm a new barley fan! Thank you so much for sharing your recipe!