That particular recipe was calling to me after work today but I was feeling a little too lazy to follow through and make it. Instead, I sliced up the eggplant, salted it and let it lay out over the sink to remove the bitter flavor while I headed out to JoAnn’s to pick up some craft supplies to make our save the dates this weekend.
Salted Eggplant
When I returned, I popped the eggplant into the oven and let them roast at 415 degrees for approximately 10 – 15 minutes.
While the eggplant slices were roasting, I added oregano and basil to ricotta cheese to place on top of the eggplant.
Ricotta + Spices
Once the eggplant was slightly browned, I topped the slices (Let’s call them medallions to sound fancy, shall we?) with the ricotta mixture. I then added grilled chicken, pasta sauce and cheese on top of the ricotta and baked the medallions in the oven until the cheese was ooey gooey.
Eggplant + Chicken + Sauce + Cheese
Eggplant Slice
On the side I enjoyed a big helping of Monterey Pasta Company Rainbow Five Cheese Tortellini that the company kindly sent me to sample since I have an ongoing love affair with their ravioli.
Rainbow!
I don’t think I was the only one excited to try this in our household…
"Gimme, Gimme!"
I scooped a big serving of the pasta onto my plate with the cheesy eggplant slices.
Dinner is Served
My thoughts on the tortellini? It was nice and cheesy!
I don’t know why, but I was way more excited to eat the red and green tortellini pieces than the standard white pasta pieces. But then again this really shouldn’t surprise me since I always like to pick my favorite colors and flavors out of candy bags… and the chunks of cookie dough out of cookie dough ice cream… and the clams out of clam chowder…
What color candy was typically your favorite?
I always liked the reds and the oranges out of most candy assortments. Ryan is a yellow and green guy, so we’re an ideal candy match!
![\"Quantcast\"/](\"//pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-1e3-7hOJ_U8Bg.gif\")
Oh, Julie, those eggplant medallions look so good!! I will have to try this out!!
It depends on the type of candy for me… like if we’re talking skittles then my favorite is red, but if we’re talking M&M’s then I most definitely pick out the blues. Jelly beans are always the pinks and conversation hearts would have to be the purples. 😉
Wow that looks like a delicious meal. I love using tortellini to make pasta salad. I like purple and red for candy.
I always pick out the red & pink starbursts and the red skittles before anyone else can get their hands on them!
i’m a red and yellow girl…starbursts, skittles…YUM!
Julie, you are just so darling! Your eggplant looks super yummy!
I am a red & orange girl myself but NEVER purple! I guess my pet peeve is grape-flavored candy because it never tastes like a REAL grape!
pink or red! because it may be strawberry flavored! but no cherry flavored candies for me, it reminds me of children’s tylenol! hahahaha.
the tortelinis look deeelish!
I’m definitely a red or blue candy kinda gal 🙂
Great idea with the ‘medallions’!
Love this recipe idea- I agree- I like the quick meals- so much easier during the week. This is such a great way to have a gourmet meal on a week night 🙂
My favorite candy is always the grape flavor- LOVE it.
I’m so jealous of all your pasta! Mmmmmm.
My favorite color of candy depends on the KIND of candy! Pink for Starbursts, blue or green M&Ms, those white Smarties, red Skittles…I could go on, but I’ll stop. 🙂
This looks delicious!!! I’ve been looking for eggplant recipes. I’ve not been successful with eggplant in the past.
I always liked reds and pinks… I guess I have girly tastes, huh??? 😉
Blue…doesn’t matter what it is. There’s just something about blue!
Clever eggplant medallions! I bet I would like eggplant if I made it this way. I’m so jealous of all the pasta you received, though it wouldn’t last long in my house!
Great idea with the eggplant!
I’m a red candy colored kinda gal…except Starbursts, then I’m pink 😉
I think it was the blue candy for me…..at least in M&M’s. I like colored pasta much better too….and when we go to a Mexican place and they have the blue, red and green chips….I go for those. 🙂
YUM! That eggplant sounds delicious!
I’d say that I usually like the red/pink/yellows!
I love eggplant parm! It’s my favorite. Yours looks good. 🙂
My favorite color candy (M&M) is blue. 🙂
What a yummy & creative dinner! Did you create that recipe yourself or did you get it from a cookbook? If you have any cookbooks you’d recommend, please let me know — I’m trying to learn how to cook!!
i created it myself b/c i was too impatient to make a normal eggplant lasagna/parm recipe! 🙂 i know cooking light has a lot of good cookbooks, but i usually head to the internet to google recipes more often than not!
Oh God – I’m full and busting …and that still looks freaking amazing!!
I LOVE candy…I change all the time with colors…orange, brown , blue…but, ultimately I’d have to say red …red smarties …and RED LICORICE – SUPER NIBS AND SWEDISH BERRIES to be exact!!!
I always went for the pink and reds. that’s funny you ask that, because today when I was eating m&ms, I found that I kept grabbing the greens. I was like “why am I doing this??”
Great question! Yellow and green candies are always my favorite…and my hubby is a red and purple guy. In fact, when we were dating, I remember him bringing me a huge bag of yellow and green skittles, cause he picked them all out for me!
aw! he’s a keeper.
I always liked the white ones. Call me ‘plain bagel’ but I am what I am. 🙂
I love the cheesey medallions!
YUM dinner! I always opted for the red and pink candies! It worked perfectly when we were kids because my brother always wanted green and orange!
Depends on the candy. I pick out the red and purple in skittles, red and pink for starbursts. If the colors don’t represent different flavors like m&ms I’m all about the green.
Great eggplant idea. I like crisp cooked eggplant rather than soggy, so this would work for us.
Orange is my fav coloured candy.
Mmmmm…roasted eggplant is so good! Yum!
I pick all of the cookie dough out of cookie dough ice cream as well…and then I end up with a carton of plain old vanilla! 🙂
Can I just say I’m OBSESSED with your hair?!?! 🙂 🙂
I made this tonight and it was great! Thanks for recipe!
Just stumbled across this while looking for “guy-friendly” healthy dinner ideas…I knew you would have something since you have he-man Ryan in the house! 🙂 Looks awesome, cant’ wait to try it!
A story for you:
Once upon a time, a long time ago, (July of 2010, to be exact.) I invited a handful of local bloggers into my apartment for brunch. I hadn’t met any of the local bloggers before that day, and it was quite clear that we all loved each other right away. We ended up sitting on my floor talking blog-talk for over four hours. FOUR HOURS!
And hense, CDNY Eat Drink Blog was born.
[I promise this rambly story has a point. of one sort or another 😉 ]
That day, sprawled on my livingroom floor, we each gave tips and advice to one another. We discussed where we were struggling in our blogging. We talked about our dreams and hopes as bloggers, casting vision to our futures. We talked about twitter. We talked about self-hosting. We talked about live writer and ecto. And we talked about blogs we loved.
A beautiful girl you may know as our good friend Courtney, waxed poetic about “Julie of Peanut Butter Fingers”
Admittedly, I shared the following sentiment:
“Who? I don’t think I’ve ever even heard of her.”
Conversation continued, and as we discussed how we blog, why we blog, and when we blog, “Julie from Peanut Butter Fingers” came up in conversation, again and again.
[because Courtney loves you, you see.]
Time continued.
I, admittedly, never visited your blog.
I knew Courtney, and a handful of other locals, liked your blog, but I still never visited.
Somehow, you started following me on twitter.
[probably because you think I am awesome 😉 ]
One day, several, several, SEVERAL months later, I sent out a tweet asking for suggestions for great vegetarian dinner options.
and you replied.
with a link to this post.
and I made your eggplant medallions.
and they were good.
and I didn’t quite realize that YOU were Julie of Peanut Butter Fingers.
One day, no doubt while procrastinating, I remembered that Courtney, and others, loved your blog, and I decided to check it out. So I found it.
and I read it. And I realized – “OH!!! I made her recipe!”
and I liked what I read and i subscribed to your blog.
Then one day, I wrote about Hate. And you left me a comment: http://www.thenheathersaid.com/2011/02/11/hate/#comment-7894
(it was a v. nice comment)
and we started chatting a tiny bit more on the internet.
before Courtney truly introduced us,
by suggesting we all present together at HLS.
and now, I consider you one of my very dear blends, who I am so blessed to know, and share with, and love, and understand to a level that shouldn’t be legal. [seriously – you read my mind so often it’s scary.]
Today, I was thinking about Eggplant Medallions.
and I just thought you should know this story.
xoxoxox
when i saw you link to this post today, I ALMOST told this exact same story on today’s post. Then I thought, “wait….didn’t i already do that once?”
and i followed the link to here.
and saw that yes, yes I did.
ha.
Hi, I found you’re blog today, and I just wanted to let you know how awesome I think it is. I made these eggplant medallions for dinner tonight and my mom had like three helpings. Thanks so much for all your awesome advice on workouts and recipes, and Sadie is really cute!