baked not fried

Yep, you guessed it, another recipe. But this isn't just for your knowledge, it's for me too. I can come back here for pictures and the recipe if i ever lose the paper copy.

If there is one thing I love to do that is go to the farmers market in town and get fresh veggies every week. This week I decided to make something I haven't made by myself yet. Eggplant Parmesan! Allen was really excited when he asked what was for dinner that night but I had high expectations to keep up with. The first time Allen had eggplant was when his mom made it a few years ago and this night would be the second.

Traditional Eggplant Parmesan when the eggplant is fried has an about 550 calories per serving (1 cup). So, I decided to make my own that has almost half of those calories.

Beaked Not Fried Eggplant Parmesan

2  sm eggplant, cut into 1/4" slices
1/4 c + 1 1/2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
2 lb plum tomatoes or 1 can (28 oz) tomatoes, chopped
20 fresh basil leaves
1/2 tsp black pepper
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan

1. Heat oven to 400°F. Generously oil 2 non-stick baking sheets.
2. Put eggplant on pans and brush tops with 1/4 cup of the oil. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon of the salt. Bake 30 minutes or until softened.
3. Heat remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons oil in medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring frequently, 1 minute.

4. Add tomatoes, basil, pepper, and remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt and cook until sauce is thickened and reduced to about 2 cups, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

5. Transfer tomato mixture to food processor and puree until nearly smooth.

6. Coat bottom of 8" x 8" baking pan with 1/2 cup of the sauce. Add one-third of the eggplant, and top with another 1/2 cup of the sauce and 3 tablespoons of the cheese. Repeat twice (eggplant, sauce, cheese), ending with remaining 6 tablespoons cheese.


7. Bake until browned, about 30 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.

Nutrition (per serving): 300 cal, 10 g protein, 24 g carbs, 11 g fiber, 20.5 g fat

Now, When I first bit in I wasn't sure. I am a TOTAL Texture person. So tofu, cottage cheese, sour cream, ricotta cheese, refried  beans, peas out of the question. The texture was.... different (not crunchy or gooey), not bland tasting but needed a little more cheese but overall pretty good. And to my surprise, Allen enjoyed it too. It wasn't his mamas but then neither and I.

scrumptous

Happy 4th! a day late though.  Allen and I got to take a mini vaca for a few days. We drove to Crossville and went camping. No internet. No facebook. Just him and I for 3 days. Monday we did head farther east  to visit his mom and our new nephew. Zamsom Alexander Gillis- 5lbs 12 ozs. Allen was so scared to hold him worried that he was going to drop him. Precious he is and I can't wait until we get to see him again. 

So I have a new recipe... I know your dying to hear what tasty treat I have made now. A picture says a 1000 words so here is a picture.

 Yum! right? Strawberry Oat Muffins.

• 1 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 1/4 cups rolled oats
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 cup strawberry puree (toss a few large hulled berries into a food processor and pulse until you have 1/2 cup of puree)
• 1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
• 1/4 cup honey or other liquid sweetener of choice
• 2 Tbsp canola oil
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or pure vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup hulled & diced strawberries (measure after chopping)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Coat a 12 cup muffin pan with canola oil cooking spray or line with paper cups.
3. In a medium bowl, combine the first 6 ingredients (through cinnamon), and set aside.
4. In a large bowl, whisk together the next 7 ingredients (applesauce through egg).
5. Add the dry ingredients into the wet, stirring until moistened. Gently fold in the diced strawberries.
6. Use an ice cream scoop (for uniformly-sized muffins) to spoon batter into prepared muffin pan.
7. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out clean.

tiny voices

I was on my way to work Thursday night and  having a hard busy week. I was tired, stress, and just thinking about all the things that I needed to do for the up and coming conferences. Turning on the radio on Way FM and Melissa and Matt were talking about how God does things and we don't even realize it that he is playing a part in them. Then Mandisas' "Stonger" came on. It's not like I haven't heard it come on before but have you REALLY LISTENED? And it got me to thinking about everything that has happened the past 8 years.

 

A few weeks ago after the PCOS diagnosis, I felt like I was drowning. First the tumor, then epilepsy, the miscarriage, now the PCOS. What next? But after listening to their conversation and truly listening to Her song I was enlightened. Finding out about the PCOS was a God thing. Without finding out about it, we wouldn't know we couldn't have children, why I couldn't loss weight and find the reason for our loss.  I already have an amazing God story from my brain tumor and the seizures.  

Today, I got my 8 year MRI results. Still the same a the day after surgery. One more year down not sure how many to go. I am a stronger person than I was 8 years ago even if the storms seemed impassable until now.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with Thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6

A new leg

No, I didn't receive a new leg nor did Allen but better yet a new leg to our journey together. If you don't know me I HATE DESPISE going to the doctor. Dentist, optometrist, neurosurgeon, neurologist, internal medicine. You name it , I hate it. They give me the heebee geebees. This time it was one of those appointments that you have to make because you are an adult and being an adult means making an appointment when you need to and of course what do they want every time I go into the doctor. BLOOD. Except this time she took like four time more blood than normal. I think it was a total of 13 tests they were doing. A pint of blood total. The human body has 10 pints of blood circulating throughout but at the end of that appointment I had 9 and a very empty stomach. After that appointment Allen and I decided we were going to change the way we were eating and begin counting calories. So far, pretty good. Doing better that I thought thanks to my handy dandy Iphone!

Anyway... Thursday she wanted a follow up with the results of the rest of my blood work. Thyroid- fine, blood- count fine, hepatitis b and c- no but another issue arose. I have Poly-cystic Ovarian Syndrome, more commonly known as PCOS. Keeping my composure in the office, I was freaking out. First the tumor, then epilepsy now the PCOS. What next? I wasn't really paying attention when she was explaining what it all was, I guess a mental road block. So, I went to find a book. Of course the only book two stores had was "PCOS for Dummies".

So, if you read my blog and somewhat enjoy it, glad to hear. This new leg of our journey has effected us a lot. Instead of writing about my fabulous cakes, desserts and funny things that happen with Allen and I, it will be twisted a little. About our journey with alternative cooking, PCOS challenges, marriage funnies and yummy desserts just much better for you. Stay tuned in if interested, if not, see you on the flip side.

 

yummy goodness

 Finally able to close the door to MTSU, well at least to class anyway. It's hard to believe 5 years of school has passed and almost finished. Student teaching begins in August and a new leg of the journey begins. Now, it's working all summer in the Women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) office and at the church of course.

So everyone knows I love to cook. I love to try new things and make a mess in the kitchen. The latest recipe I got from pinterest. This yummy goodness couldn't have been easier to make.

White Chocolate Oreo Cake

6oz of Hershey's Cookies n Cream Chocolate Candy Bar
1/2 cup of Sugar
1/2 cup of butter
Melted over medium heat until melted

Whisk in 2 lightly beaten eggs and ½ teaspoon vanilla

Add:
1 cup flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
Stir until mixture is incorporated and smooth

Pour into greased 9" springform pan
Bake at 350°, 20 minutes 


Remove from oven
Immediately pour 7oz. sweetened condensed milk over top of brownies
Layer with ¾ cup mini semi sweet chocolate chips
Let cool

The girls loved it. Yes, I had to taste check before I let anyone else eat it hence the little square taken out.
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Happy Purple Day!

With my seizures fire within my speech pattern, so one sign that one has occurred is that I can't speak. 

Okay, so Purple Day isn't until the 26th but it was on my heart.What is Purple Day you ask?

Cassidy Megan (on left) created the idea of Purple Day in 2008, motivated by her own struggles with epilepsy. Cassidy's goal is to get people talking about epilepsy in an effort to dispel myths and inform those with seizures that they are not alone. The Epilepsy Association of Nova Scotia came on board in 2008 to help develop Cassidy's idea which is now known as the Purple Day for epilepsy campaign.

 I along with 3 million other Americans have epilepsy. That's 1 out of every 100 people. I have two types of seizures:

• Absence seizures: consist of brief episodes of staring for a period of 5-30 seconds. Impairment of awareness begins without warning and ends suddenly, leaving the person alert and attentive. You probably wouldn't even notice it was happening. A person may have 50 - 100 absence seizures a day. 
• Atonic Seizures: usually begin in childhood (lasting for less than 15 seconds) and are associated with an abrupt loss of muscle tone. 

A person may have 50 - 100 absence seizures a day. Without treatment, the seizures may interfere with learning. Absence seizures almost always begin in childhood (four to 14 years of age) and often resolve in late teenage years.

 With my seizures fire within my speech pattern, so one sign that one has occurred is that I can't speak. Sometimes it only lasts less than a minute other times hours or even days. In the beginning, We (family and friends) wrote notes back and forth but that got tiring. So, i brushed up on my sign language. My mom was the only one that really knew what I was trying to say but others tried to learn too. When I started dating Allen, we sat around for hours learning his letters to at least be able to spell things. Although I could hear him, he wanted to be able to practice speaking back.



 Everyday I wake up is a gift from God. Well not just for me but for all of us. The very breath that we breathe is a gift. I am often asked how do I do it? They are amazed how far I have come. At the age of 14, I was having brain surgery, at 15 battling epilepsy and at 23 graduating with a double major in Chemistry and Biology. WOW! It's called the power of prayer. For all the skeptics out there prayer works and I am proof. I don't know where I would be today without all my friends and family that were praying for my healing. 7 years ago I couldn't add or subtract in my head and now look. 

Mother's Day

 Happy (almost) Mother's Day. I love my mom. She has played a big part in my life that I don't know what I could do with out her. She's been a Girl Scout mom, Band mom, a Choir mom, Ashely's mom, Paige's mom and Chad's mom.  On Mother's Day 2004, My mom awoke to a phone call from my band director saying I had passed out while on a band trip to Chicago. She quickly got ready, got a flight and flew up to Chicago without her license. lol. After a Cat scan, the doctors knew something wasn't right. There was something in my brain. We flew home that night to return for a MRI. A few days later we received the news that at the age of 14 I had a brain tumor and needed to meet with a neurosurgeon soon. After many appointments and more scans, the surgery was set for June 13. I don't know how I could have gotten through the surgery and the recovery without her by my side. She stayed with me during the hospital stay. Drive me up to Vanderbilt 3 days a week for therapy. Anything I needed she was there.

Once school began, I developed Epilepsy because of where the tumor was taken out. Through all the seizures, hospitalizations, medication changes and side effects mom was always by my side. Always there to hold me, cry with me, and help understand what I am trying to say. See, when I have a seizure I dont flop like a fish or pee on myself. My seizures, well I have two types. One you wouldn't really even realize it's happening. They are called absence seizures, just like staring into space. The second kind are called atonic seizures. I lose all muscle tone and fall where ever I am. I also lose my speech because they fire in my speech pattern. My mom took a sign language class while in college. Using her book I learned the letters years before. Instead of writing billions of notes, we signed, even if they were having to spell everything out.

When I got sick things got pretty bad, emotionally that is. Although no one understood, mom tried her best to make things as easy as she could. 7 years later she (and my father) gave me away. This year is my 8 year MRI. Cancer did not beat me, I beat cancer.

Happy Mother's Day Mom.

 Love,