Roasted Eggplant & Feta Dip! (see recipe below)
Another Sunday, another day of food, football & friends. 🙂
Although we have a smaller crew today we’re still having a great time…and we definitely didn’t skimp on the food!
Jay & I always have such a fun time with Joe & Kate!
Oh and of course, we can’t forget about Cody!
“C’mon Mom, really? Just let me watch the game…”
So like I said, we definitely didn’t skimp in the food department. Here’s a look at some of the spread:
Fresh veggies – who says football food has to be unhealthy?
CHEESE! (FYI: This cheese was absolutely PHENOMENAL.)
Kate brought over this block of Maple Leaf Apple Harvest Cheddar Cheese with Cinnamon that she found at Price Chopper yesterday to share…and I was SO GLAD that she did. The cheese just screamed FALL; the perfect flavor of cinnamon, tiny chunks of apple, and subtle cheddar flavor, this cheese was amazing.
Sassy Spinach Cream Cheese dip – also courtesy of Kate 🙂
Buffalo Chicken Dip, done completely by Jay. He was so proud. 🙂 It may not photograph well, but we all know how fantastic buffalo chicken dip is!
Tomato, Mozz, & Basil Bruschetta 🙂
To make: I simply cut up some of the Italian bread I picked up at the Farmers Market yesterday, lightly toasted it, and topped it with a bruschetta dip mix I had in the pantry, some diced tomatoes, fresh basil, and a little mozzarella cheese. Then I lightly drizzled a little EVOO & balsamic vinegar, popped ‘em under the broiler until the cheese was melted, and VOILA…bruschetta!
Aaaaand, a NEW recipe! Roasted Eggplant & Feta Dip.
I’ve had an eggplant sitting in the fridge for a few days now, and it was time to put it to use. After browsing the Eating Well website for a while, I came across this recipe that sounded like it could possibly be a winner. I made a couple minor changes, but followed the recipe for the most part.
Let me tell you…it was definitely a winner! Not only was it suuuuper easy to make, but the flavors in this dip were amazing. Even Jay liked it, and he “does not do eggplant.”
I served my dip along with some parmesan & herb pita chips…and may have possibly eaten my body weight in it all. 😉
Roasted Eggplant & Feta Dip
(Original recipe can be found here)
Ingredients:
- 1 medium eggplant, (about 1 pound)
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup reduced fat feta cheese, crumbled
- 1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
- 1 small red bell pepper, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
- 1/2 tbsp dried parsley
- 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Pinch of sugar
Directions:
- Position oven rack about 6 inches from the heat source; preheat broiler.
- Line a baking pan with foil. Place eggplant in the pan and poke a few holes all over it to vent steam. Broil the eggplant, turning with tongs every 5 minutes, until the skin is charred and a knife inserted into the dense flesh near the stem goes in easily, 14 to 18 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board until cool enough to handle.
- Put lemon juice in a medium bowl. Cut the eggplant in half lengthwise and scrape the flesh into the bowl, tossing with the lemon juice to help prevent discoloring. Add oil and stir with a fork until the oil is absorbed. (It should be a little chunky.) Stir in feta, onion, bell pepper, basil, parsley, chili powder and salt. Taste and add sugar if needed.
- Serve with pita chips and ENJOY! 🙂
Time to watch the Jets game!! Keeping my fingers crossed for a better showing than last week. 🙄
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