December Living

Have you gotten your hands on Martha's December issue of LIVING yet?

It's a big deal in our house. My wonderful friend got me a subscription for my birthday this year and I think Jared anticipates it's arrival each month almost as much as I do. It was laying on the bed when he came home from work, to which he exclaimed "Is that Martha already?!" He proceeded to get comfy in his jammies and spent the next 30 minutes feasting on it's awesome-ness. That's how good it is. There are some fantastic ideas. Like, a brownie bow{pictured above right}. Stencil a big bow, lay on top of brownie and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Eh, easy enough. Take some evergreen snippings from your backyard and hot glue around an embroidery hoop to make simple natural wreaths. One of my most favorite articles was about Santa Letters. The article talks about a father who just had a son and felt that he wanted to make a vital contribution to his son's life. "I craved permanence and groped for a way to leave behind an indelible remnant for him." And so began his first "letter FROM Santa." The letters chronicled the triumph's and struggles of a little boy's life - school, death of his first dog, sports, camping trips-and then the trials of adolescence and on to adulthood. The father still writes them to his son every year, even though the boy is now a grown man in his early forties. That just warms my soul. I might just take up this idea.

While I'm not Martha, I feel I did accomplish something Martha-esque this week. I don't post a whole lot of recipes on here because I figure pinterest takes care of mass-sharing the best dishes out there, but I was pretty proud of myself on this one so I thought I would share it.

I love Eggplant Parmesan. It is my favorito. I always thought of it as a high end cuisine, but it's actually something I can easily whip up in the comfort of my own kitchen! I've attempted to make it so many times in the past but it never came out right. It was either too salty, watery, bland, underdone, etc. But I think I've finally got it right!

Eggplant Parmesan

Serves 8

Ingredients:

2 large eggplant

28 oz can crushed tomatoes 

1/2 cup Puttanesca sauce {or just toss in kalamata olives + capers for added tang}

olive oil

1/2 cup mozzarella cheese

1/4 parmesan cheese shredded

Directions:

1. preheat oven to 350*

2. cut eggplant into 1/4 circle rounds {not too think or else it will take longer to cook}

3. brush both sides of rounds with olive oil and place on indoor grill. Cook 2 minutes on each side

4. while eggplant is cooking, combine crushed tomatoes and puttanesca sauce in a pot. bring to a simmer and add 2 tbsp flour to thicken the sauce. let stand.

5. lay down one layer of eggplant in 13x9 pan. pour 1/3 sauce over layer. Repeat layering 2 more times. 

6. top with mozzarella and parmesan cheese.

7. bake for 40 minutes

8. voila! 

See? Not that hard. Here's something new you can try to make over the weekend!