Eggplant Rollatini over Gnocchi (gluten free)

I know eggplant isn't everybody's cup of tea...But our family happens to love it!....Especially my husband, when I want to make him his favorite dish I make him eggplant parmesan.......Recently we went to an Italian restaurant in Florida and I ordered this dish!.....They served rolled eggplant stuffed with ricotta over a bed of Gnocchi......It was so unbelievably good I knew I had to try and recreate it......and I wanted to try and make it gluten free, which I did, and you would never know!....You could also make this regular with normal gnocchi and flour, those are the 2 things I replaced for gluten free options in this recipe, I also added finely diced fresh spinach to my ricotta mixture, this can be omitted also if you like.....Here is what I did...Enjoy!

 

INGREDIENTS

 

1 Eggplant

3 eggs

1 cup Flour

salt and pepper

 

FILLING

 

1 16 ounce container Ricotta Cheese

1/3 Cup Parmesan Cheese

1 egg

11/2 - 2 Cups diced fresh spinach

salt and pepper

Mix all together in a bowl and set aside

 

Olive oil (for frying)

 

Pasta Sauce (I used my home made)

 

Mozzarella Cheese

 

DIRECTIONS

 

1. Prepare Eggplant by cutting off top stem and slicing with Mandolin lengthwise

 

2. Add slices to a colander and salt them, let them drain then pat dry with paper towel

 

3.In 2 shallow dishes add flour with salt and pepper to one and the 3 beaten eggs to the other

4.Take a slice of eggplant (being sure it is dry) and dredge it in flour first , then dip in egg

5. Add  2 Tablespoons olive oil to skillet and start frying eggplant slices until golden

 

6. Drain cooked slices on paper towel and set aside

 

 

7. Add filling down center of the fried eggplant and start rolling

 

8. Add rolls to a baking dish that you have ladled enough pasta sauce to cover the bottom

 

9. Finish rolling all of the slices and add to dish....Ladle more sauce over top then sprinkle with parmesan cheese

 

 

10. Cover and bake for about 30 minutes .....once cooked sprinkle with shredded mozzarella and bake uncovered until melted

 

Serve eggplant over Gnocchi or any other pasta with sauce that you may like

 

I used these gluten free Gnocchi

 

ENJOY!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mini "Cheeseburger" Cupcakes

Ok, so when I first saw these Cheeseburger cupcakes I knew I had to give them a try!....and of course try to simplify them, which is what I try to do with every recipe on my blog. I have also seen these in full size cupcakes, but I thought that may be a bit much, so I knew I had to give them a try as mini's. I pulled out my mini muffin tin (which I happen to use for a lot of things) and got to work. I had just bought a gluten free vanilla cake mix and a gluten free brownie mix at my new favorite store ALDI so I was ready to dive in!...But you could definitely prepare these with regular mixes....I will try and give you detailed instructions on how I assembled these. I think they would be great for a Super Bowl party or a children's Birthday party, but you could serve these up for any gathering......They are so cute and make a great conversation food to serve on a  fun platter!....Here is what I did....Enjoy!

 

WHAT YOU NEED

 

1 Vanilla Cake Mix

1 Brownie Mix

Shredded Coconut

Green Food Coloring

1 Can Buttercream Frosting

Red and Yellow Food Coloring

Honey

Water

Sesame Seeds

 

 

DIRECTIONS

 

I started out by making the box of vanilla cake mix per directions on box and baked them in a sprayed mini muffin tin

Then prepare the brownie mix per directions on box and add batter to a 9x13 sprayed baking dish

Here are the mixes I used

 

Cupcakes after baking

 

Next prepare the "Lettuce" which is about a cup of shredded sweetened coconut mixed with green food coloring

 

Then prepare the "Cheese" which is Vanilla frosting dyed with yellow and red coloring until you achieve a orange cheese looking color. This "cheese" will keep the "lettuce" in tact.

 

 

When the brownies were done I cut them with a knife into a circle the size of the cupcake then shaped it into a patty

 

 

Cut the cupcake in half place the brownie patty on the bottom half then top with the frosting.

 

 I used my piping tool if you don't have one I am sure you could just add with a knife, use a generous amount to hold the coconut in place.

 

 

 

 

Once coconut is on the cheese, place the upper half of the cupcake on top.

 

To hold the sesame seeds on I mixed 2 Tablespoons of honey with a Tablespoon of water...Brush on the top of Cupcake and then sprinkle with the seeds(you could also use some white small nonpareils) if you can find them

 

Have fun with these!...I know I did....Everyone got a kick out of them when I served them, these would be a fun thing to make with the kids also!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Crock Pot Spinach Artichoke Dip

Spinach artichoke dip has always been one of my favorites....I would usually always just put it in a casserole dish and bake it....But I had this new cute little decorative Crock Pot I purchased so I decided to let it cook in there for my New Year's Eve get together, hoping it would help in keeping it hot all night...So that is how I prepared this and it worked out great!......Here is what I did....Enjoy!

 

 

INGREDIENTS

 

10 ounce bag Frozen chopped Spinach thawed and squeezed

14 ounce can Artichokes in water (chopped)

8 ounces Cream Cheese (I used reduced fat)

16 ounces Sour Cream

1/2 Cup Parmesan Cheese

1 Cup Shredded Mozzarella

2 Cloves garlic minced

4 ounces diced Chiles (optional)

salt and pepper to taste

milk or half and half if needed

 

DIRECTIONS

 

Mix all ingredients together and add to Crock Pot

Start it out at high for 2 hours or until heated through then you can turn to low to stay warm... mixing occasionally

I added a little half and half as the night went on you can do this if you find it getting thicker

 

NOTE** This is one of those recipes that you can be creative with and do what you like....If you like more garlic then add it or another can of artichokes or more spinach or cheese....I have also made this with Mayonnaise, you could do half mayo, half sour cream....give it a taste, you have some room to play here

  and use this as a template!

 

Serve with Tostito's or Pita Crackers and Enjoy!

How cute is this little Crock Pot!!

 

Also if you need this quick...heat in microwave or oven to heat through first...then add to crock pot