What should I make for dinner?

[rhiOrion]

Okay, I've spent WAY WAY too much money on food this week. Think 17 dollars at the farmer's market, and another 135 at the grocery store. For TWO people.

So I refuse to go back before this weekend, but the things I bought for dinner are gone now.

Here's what I do have:

3 eggplants
a wedge of parmesan, a bit of asiago cheese, and a little bit of fresh mozzarella
a few cans of veggies, maybe peas, lima beans, and crushed tomatoes?
some frozen broccoli (of which I'm not a fan unless chopped fine)
baked beans
maybe a box or two of generic brand bright orange powdered mac and cheese
pepperoni
kale (i've never actually had kale, I bought it to attempt kale chips, but I haven't made them yet)

staples like milk, eggs, butter, flour (though i'm out of all purpose, only have whole wheat and cake flour), spices, and things like wocestershire, soy sauce, and vinegar


So, what to make?

Pizza with alfredo, tomatoes, and eggplant? I don't have any yeast for pizza dough (at least, I don't think I do)

Pasta with veggies and alfredo?

I had eggplant parm several days already this week, and chicken tenders the other days, so I'd like to avoid any breading and frying. The other thing I've had all week is caprise salad. Also, I'm out of olive oil.

TIA!

[staceychev]

Do you have garlic on hand? Peel several cloves of garlic (for one head of kale, I usually use 5 to 6 cloves) and chop in half if they're large. Add salt and red pepper flakes if desired, and saute them in butter until they start to brown (I usually use half butter half olive oil, but you said you're out of olive oil, so...)

Meanwhile, clean the kale and destem. Cut into small-ish pieces. Add to the garlic and continue to saute.

If you've got beans, you can add them at this point and serve with a grain (I like it with polenta or pasta). I also often sprinkle a little vinegar over the top, and sometimes a crumbled blue cheese.

****

Chop the eggplant, soak in salt water, rinse, cook in some butter with salt and pepper. Add the canned tomatoes and peas.

You didn't mention any staples like rice, pasta, etc. Do you keep those in the house?

[lil_earthmomma]

For yestless pizza dough, check out this recipe, and read some of the reviews for tips:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Crazy-C...gh/Detail.aspx

You could also do a frittata or strata with those ingredients. Cheese, eggplant, wilted kale and egg. (Also cubed bread for the strata) Seasonings of your choice (I would put garlic and onion salt and pepper)

[rhiOrion]

Originally Posted by staceychev

You didn't mention any staples like rice, pasta, etc. Do you keep those in the house?

I have some basmati rice, and maybe a couple packets of minute rice. I have some angel hair or thin speghetti dried pasta. I can also make fresh pasta if I'm feeling feisty.

I like the idea of a frittata, too.

With the amount of kale and eggplant that I have, I might be able to avoid going to the store for a while. DH is leaving for the beach on Saturday, so I really only have myself to worry about after tomorrow.

[rhiOrion]

So the link for the yeastless pizza crust had a picture that made me think of biscuit pizzas.

So I made simple biscuits. I rolled them thinner than it said, and got twice as many biscuits as the recipe was supposed to yield. They were semi-flat, but that worked well for pizza.

I sauted some eggplant and garlic. My shallots had gone bad, so I grabbed some chives from the garden and threw those in. I then made a quick alfredo sauce in the same pan, adding some smoked paprika.

I topped the biscuits with a pepperoni, the eggplant alfredo, a little tiny bit of mozzarella, a couple tomato pieces, and a quick grate of asiago.

Popped them back in the oven for maybe 5 minutes. Mmmmmmmmm.

DH still isn't convinced about eggplant. We had a bad experience one time involving trying to make eggplant be the "noodles" in a pan of lasagna. He sitll hasn't recovered.

I couldn't even taste the eggplant in tonight's dish.

[lil_earthmomma]

Originally Posted by rhiOrion

So the link for the yeastless pizza crust had a picture that made me think of biscuit pizzas.

So I made simple biscuits. I rolled them thinner than it said, and got twice as many biscuits as the recipe was supposed to yield. They were semi-flat, but that worked well for pizza.

I sauted some eggplant and garlic. My shallots had gone bad, so I grabbed some chives from the garden and threw those in. I then made a quick alfredo sauce in the same pan, adding some smoked paprika.

I topped the biscuits with a pepperoni, the eggplant alfredo, a little tiny bit of mozzarella, a couple tomato pieces, and a quick grate of asiago.

Popped them back in the oven for maybe 5 minutes. Mmmmmmmmm.

DH still isn't convinced about eggplant. We had a bad experience one time involving trying to make eggplant be the "noodles" in a pan of lasagna. He sitll hasn't recovered.

I couldn't even taste the eggplant in tonight's dish.

OMG that sounds so yummy!!! :