"Ricotta" Roll Ups

 I love Ricotta cheese...unfortunately it does not like my diet, even the light version. So i found an alternative. Greek Yogurt. Gotta love non-fat, low cal Greek yogurt. I know what your thinking...the consistency isnt the same....Sure it is, if you drain all the liquid out. I have blogged about making yogurt cream cheese, its the same recipe only using Greek yogurt for a bit more tang! Who knew yogurt was so versatile.

 Ingredients:

2 cups of "Greek yogurt ricotta"  (see the yogurt cream cheese recipe for directions)
2 tbs minced garlic
1/4 chopped scallions
1 tbs Italian seasoning
6 tbs parmesean cheese
2 cups panko bread crumbs
"i cant believe its not butter spray"
1 nice sized eggplant.
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp garlic powder
3 egg whites
1 jar pasta sauce of choice

Directions
Mix together in a bowl the yogurt ricotta, scallion, garlic, italian seasoning and 1/2 of the parmesan cheese, then set aside.
In another bowl combine the panko and remaining parmesan, garlic and onion powder.Heat a frying pan over medium heat, spray the pan with the butter spray.
Slice the eggplant into long strips.  Dip the eggplant in the egg white and then coat with panko mixture. Brown the strips on both sides in the pan (about 3-4 minutes per side)
Remove the browned strips and place on a plate, stuff with about 2-3 tbs of the ricotta mixture, roll the strips and secure with a toothpick. Heat oven to 400 degrees.
In a glass baking dish, pour in pasta sauce, settle each roll up on top of the sauce (do not pour sauce over the roll up or your crunch will turn to mush). Bake for 15-20 minutes. Serve.

My mother often looks at what I eat like its something alien. After a bit of persuasion I did get her to try this, she raved over it and ate 2 servings, which if you know my mother is a lot! 

Can IT- Peach BBQ sauce

 

I love bbq sauce, but all those nasty preservatives, well....they dont like me. I spend most of my summer canning veggies, freezing veggies, dehydrating veggies and making the occasional jelly or jam. All this preserving of the harvest (the harvest is all from the farmers market, i dont garden...to much dirt)  saves me a ton of money and provides good quality food and I dont need a dictionary to sort out the ingredient list.This year I branched out into sauces. I have to admit, this one was really really really really really kick ass. Really! I also made a spicy jam, good on crackers with cream cheese or as a glaze for pork or chicken.

 

Peach BBQ Sauce

• 1/2 bushel of peaches
• 2 cups sugar (this varies to taste you may need more if your peaches arent that sweet)
• 3 cans of tomato paste
• 4 tbs garlic powder
• 4tbs onion powder
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
• 2 cups ketchup
• 1/4 cup lemon juice ( vary amount dependent on the tang you prefer)
• 1/8 cup spicy mustard
• 1 tbs paprika

 Cut peaches in half and remove the pit, Blanch the peaches and remove the skin. Cook with 2 cups water until dessicated. Puree peaches and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and let reduce until it cooks down an 1" on the side of the pot. Bring back to a boil and add in the remaining ingredients. Reduce and let simmer 15 minutes to combine flavors. Hot pack it into prepared canning jars. Process in a water bath 40 minutes.

 

Peach Habanero Jam

• 1/2 bushel of peaches
• 6 cups sugar
• 3 tbs ground habanero pepper
• pectin (packages vary. read the back and it will give you the amount)

• Cut peaches in half and remove the pit, Blanch the peaches and remove the skin. Cook with 2 cups water until dessicated. Puree peaches and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and let reduce until it cooks down an 1" on the side of the pot. Bring back to a boil, add sugar, habanero powder and pectin and stir until dissolved.  Hot pack it into prepared jelly canning jars. Process in a water bath 40 minutes.