#Lunch - Round Five

This might be my favorite quartet of lunches yet! Check out some other lunch ideas:
Here
Here
Here
and Here!  Enjoy!

Eggplant in Miso Seasoned Sauce

Ingredients and Directions for Four Servings

2 medium sized eggplants *

2 tablespoons vegetable oil plus more for brushing eggplant

Garlic salt, for sprinkling on the eggplant slices

1 white or yellow onion, peeled and sliced

4 garlic cloves, peeled and put through a press

1 cup beef broth

2 tablespoons white miso

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

2 tablespoons soy type sauce such as tamari, Maggi or reduced sodium

Optional: Greek yogurt and parsley for serving

Wash, dry and cut the ends off the eggplants. Slice about 1/4 inch thick and brush each side with a little oil. Sprinkle with garlic salt. Either grill over medium heat about 5 to 7 minutes a side or bake in a 375 degree oven for 50 to 60 minutes until easily pierced with a fork.

While eggplant is cooking, saute the onion slices in 2 tablespoons of oil over medium heat until tender - about 5 to 7 minutes. Add the pressed garlic and continue to cook for 30 more seconds. Pour in the beef broth. Whisk in the miso, apple cider vinegar and soy sauce. Simmer for 5 minutes or so.

Cut the cooked eggplant slices into fourths and add to the miso broth mixture. Gently toss. Serve with a swoosh of Greek yogurt and a sprinkle of parsley if desired.

*In the photo above, I used a combination of regular and baby eggplants.

White Beans and Sausage with Chimichurri Sauce on Toast

Ingredients and Directions for Two Servings

2 to 4 slices of good quality bread, toasted
1/2 pound smoked sausage, sliced
1 (15 oz.) can of white beans such as Great Northern or cannelloni
1 medium tomato, diced
1 tablespoon diced red onion
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for cooking sausage
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Recipe for Chimichurri Sauce for topping here

While the bread is toasting, put a bit of olive oil in a skillet and over medium heat, saute the sausage slices until browned on each side.

Drain and rinse the beans. In a bowl, gently mix together beans, diced tomatoes, diced red onions, 2 tablespoons olive oil, vinegar, salt, garlic powder and pepper.

Place the toast on a serving plate. Ladle the bean mixture and browned sausage slices between the two servings of toast. Top each serving with a tablespoon or two of chimichurri sauce.

Simple Salad with Lentils

Ingredients and Directions for Each Serving

1 cup washed baby spinach leaves
1/2 cup lentils, cooked according to package directions
1/2 cup sliced cherry tomatoes
3 or 4 grilled or roasted small peppers*
Good olive oil for drizzling
Red wine vinegar for drizzling
Kosher salt for sprinkling
Black pepper for sprinkling
Dried oregano for sprinkling

Place spinach leaves on serving plate. Top with lentils, cherry tomatoes, and peppers. Drizzle with olive oil and vinegar. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and oregano.

*Peppers can brushed with olive oil and sprinkled with salt and then either grilled over medium/low heat 5 minutes a side or roasted in a 375 degree oven for about 30 minutes or until tender.

Curried Broccoli Salad

Get the recipe here - I used the "lighter version" dressing in the photo above.

#Lunch - Round Four

It's a good thing I'm not a professional blogger, because I'd never be able to make a living at it! I'm so far behind at posting the lunches shown on my #lunch challenge to my self on Instagram! But it doesn't really matter - it's all just for fun - right? Anyway - here's round four. Happy lunching!

Antipasto Salad

The possibilities of ingredients in the salad are endless. Here is what I included in the photo above: old school iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, kalamata olives, pepperoncini, salami, pastrami, ham and provolone cheese. 

The real star of the show is the dressing; whisk together 1/2 cup good olive oil, 1/4 cup red wine vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon oregano, 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper.  

Cuban Spiced Pork, Beans & Rice and Fried Plantains 

I used the recipes here to make the meat and beans & rice. Too late, I discovered all I had in the pantry were white beans - so I had to sub them out for black ones! It still tasted great. As for the meat, I used a pork loin; I ditched the orange juice from the marinade in the recipe link above. I grilled it over medium heat about 20 minutes a side. It could also be baked at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes. Either way, it should reach an internal temperature of 145 degrees. 

For the plantains:
Peel and slice a very ripe plantain.
Fry in oil over medium heat until brown on both sides,
Remove from pan and dip each slice in cold salted water.
Remove from water and using a fork, gently press down on each piece.
Return to pan and fry a second time, until each side is very brown.
Remove from pan and drain on paper towels.
Serve.

Mango Curry - serves at least two

Saute in 2 tablespoons of vegetable or coconut oil:
1 sliced white or yellow onion
red, yellow and green bell pepper slices - enough to equal one pepper
A bunch of chopped cilantro, including stems
1 small green chili like a Serrano or jalapeno
1 thumb sized piece of ginger, diced

Saute an additional 30 seconds:
1 clove garlic put through press
2 tablespoons red curry paste, such as Thai Kitchen brand

Add:
1 (15 oz.) can coconut milk
1 cup washed and snapped green beans
When green beans are tender add:
1 peeled and cubed ripe mango

Serve:
Over hot cooked rice or rice noodles
Add cooked shrimp or chicken if desired

Roast Chicken

 Use a fairly good sized chicken - like around 3 pounds or over

The easy way: sprinkle the chicken all over with garlic salt and lemon pepper. Roast in a pan or baking sheet with sides at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for one hour and 30 minutes.

The just a little bit harder way: Mix together 2 tablespoons orange juice, 1 tablespoons olive oil, 1 teaspoon oregano,1 teaspoon Kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, 1/2 teaspoon allspice, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. and 1 garlic clove put through press. Rub all over the chicken. Place in a pan or baking sheet with sides and roast at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 1 hour and 30 minutes.