Once a Month Cooking

Menu Monday has been replaced (on Wednesday!) with Once a Month cooking this week! I thought I would try it to see if it would help me with some time management issues. I worked almost all day yesterday and all I really want to say is that I never want to touch a raw chicken breast again! It was a long process...more getting ready than anything else. I sent my dear husband to the store to buy 30+ chicken breasts. While many of you are imagining that this simply entailed a trip to Wal-Mart where he picks up 3 or 4 bags of frozen chicken breasts, this is NOT the way it's done here. Here the idea is fresh is best...and I do agree with that to some extent. I love fresh veggies and fruits and herbs. The ideal way to shop, according to the locals here, is just before you start to cook a meal. The idea of buying groceries for a week is outrageous! I get so many criticisms about how full my cart is when I head to the grocery store. On top of that, Tim had to pick out the chicken breasts and bag them himself. This week, they were unsplit and still had the tenders on them. So all I can say is, I have a great man who would go and do this for me!
So yesterday, I spent the day splits, cleaning, separating, and de-boning gobbs of chicken! In the end, I probably prepared chicken, pork, and beef for 15 meals. We'll see how that helps!
Last week, I mentioned my world famous (well, at least our house famous!) Baked Eggplant Parmesan. It's a great way to eat more vegetables and to save on the budget. When we were back in the US, we ate this a lot since eggplants were $1.45 each at Kroger. The first couple of times the kids picked at it, but now they eat it like crazy! Some people don't like the texture of the skin, so if you don't, just peal the skin before slicing. We can 2-3 eggplants in the US. Here the eggplants are Asian so they are different, thin and long, so we can eat 3-4 depending on how big they are. I don't have any specific measurements I just keep mixing the bread crumb mixture until I finish with eggplant.
For the breading: bread crumbs, Italian seasoning, a little salt, garlic powder, and shredded parmesan cheese (we don't use a lot because it's expensive and can only be bought in a couple of places)
I start with 2 eggs and some milk whisked together.
Slice the eggplant in half inch slices. Soak the slices in cold water for about 30 minutes, this takes the "bite" out of the eggplant. Then drain the eggplant.
Spread a little bit of Olive Oil on a cookie sheet.
Dip each eggplant slice in the breading mixture, then the egg mixture and then the breading again. Then place the breaded eggplant slices on the oiled baking sheet. When the sheet is filled up, drizzle the eggplant with olive oil and then bake at about 375 degrees for 20-30 minutes, or until lightly browned and crispy. It takes us two cookie sheets to bake all of ours.
I serve it with whole wheat penne and a good chunky spaghetti sauce.
Hope you enjoy this lighter version of Eggplant Parmesan!