Stuffed Zuchini - PLENTY (kind of)

Cost: $6                 Servings: 2            Time: 40 minutes

I tend to alter the recipes from Plenty quite a bit, but this is taken to a different level. I realized that I didn't have a lot of the ingredients required to make this dish, so I improvised. On that note, my goodness, this dish will make your apartment smell delicious! The aroma of cinnamon, cloves, mushrooms, and zucchini is divine.

● Two Zucchini                       ● Two Cinnamon Sticks

● 1 Cup of Cooked Rice          ● 20 Cloves

● 1/2 Onion                             ● Parsley

● Mushrooms

Slice the zucchini down the middle, drizzle with olive oil and bake in an oven at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.

In a small pot of water bring cinnamon and cloves to a boil and then let simmer for ten minutes to extract the flavour.

Slice onions and mushrooms and onions and sauté for five minutes in a large sauce pan with oil.

Add rice, parsley, and more oil and let fry for another five minutes.

Take the zucchini out and hollow out the middle to make "boats." Add the rice and other ingredients into the hole. Then filter our the cinnamon clove water from the solids and pour on top of each. Put back in the oven at 375 for 10 minutes.

Let cool for 15 minutes and they're ready to serve!

Lentils with Broiled Eggplant - PLENTY

Cost: $6-8                                     Servings: 3                       Time: 1 Hour 30 Minutes

Despite this dish's gelatinous, almost slop like appearance, it is incredibly vibrant in flavour with a natural "sweetness" from the eggplant and carrots. Serve it warm with a crisp green salad. This dish is very low in fat, while being high in protein. It has around 370 calories per serving. 

● 2 Medium Eggplants                ● 2 Large Celery Stalks

● 1 Cup Uncooked Lentils          ● 2 Bay leaves

● 3 Small Carrots                         ● Thyme

● Balsamic Vinegar                     ● Parsley

First thing, wash and cut holes into the eggplant. Then, stick directly under a broiler for an hour, flipping them every 15 minutes or so. You want the eggplants to decompress, and the skin to blacken.

While waiting for the eggplant to broil, slice the celery, onion, and one carrot into large pieces. Add this with thyme and a bay leaf into a pot with the lentils. Cover it with water. Bring the mixture to a boil and then let simmer for 25 minutes or until the lentils are tender.

Drain the lentils  Then, remove the bay leaves, onion, carrot, and celery, leaving only the lentils.

Cut the eggplants in half, and scoop the insides out into a colander, making sure not to take any of the skin. Let the eggplant drain it's liquid, and season with salt, pepper, and vinegar.

Slice the carrots and celery thinly, and quarter the tomatoes. Place the carrots and celery into a pan with oil and some vinegar then cook for five minutes.

 Then, add the tomatoes. After cooking for three minutes, add the parsley, reduce to low heat and let simmer for two minutes constantly stirring. 

After letting the mixture simmer, add to the lentils, mix thoroughly, then serve with a scoop of eggplant on top.

Calories - 371  Carbohydrates  - 73g  Sugar - 18g  Fat - 2g  Protein - 22g 

Chickpea, Tomato, and Bread Stew - PLENTY

Cost: $12-15                                   Servings: 4-5                                   Time: An hour

This is an incredibly filling and healthy stew with fennel, tomatoes, and chickpeas. At just over 350 calories per serving, this stew is low in fat, and high in both fibre (has 75% of your daily intake) and protein (with just under 20 grams per serving). This recipe makes 4-5 servings, which I always look for since I'm always down for leftovers as lunch.

● One Large Onion                        ● Parsley

● One Medium Fennel Bulb          ● Oregano 

● 3 Cups Chickpeas                       ● Thyme

● 28-oz Can Diced Tomatoes        ● Bay Leaves

● 1 Large Carrot

● 3 Stalks Celery

● 2 Cups Vegetable Broth

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Then, slice both the onion and fennel and sauté in a large sauce pan with some olive oil for four minutes.

Peel and quarter the carrots, slice the celery stalks, then add them into the sauce pan. Now, the original recipe calls for tomato paste and white wine to deglaze the pan, but I'll be honest with you, I left these items out, to deglaze instead, I used half a cup of water with two tablespoons of balsamic vinegar. 

Deglazing the pan (letting a liquid simmer, with or without the ingredients still in the pan/pot) allows the flavours baked into the pan to be rereleased into the dish.

Then add the tomatoes, herbs, and the vegetable stock, and bring to a boil. Then let simmer for half an hour. With ten minutes left, put the sourdough in the oven and drizzle with olive oil.

Add the chickpeas and let simmer for another five minutes, then serve with crispy sourdough bread!

Calories - 362  Carbohydrates  - 68g  Sugar - 14g  Fat - 4g  Protein - 19g 

Ginger-Breaded Pork Chops and Sautéed Mushrroms

Cost: $5-7                     Serves: One                     Time: 20 minutes

I had some ginger leftover from the stir-fry I recently made and so I thought to myself, "hey, ginger pork." then I also thought I wanted to try something different so I incorporated the ginger into the actual breading of the pork chop. The result was amazing; a slightly spicy, sweet, and crisp combination. The mushrooms only added richness to the dish and made it that much better. 

Pork Chop:

Ingredients:

1 - Pork Chop

15g - Ginger

1 - Egg

1 Cup - Cornflakes (or any relatively unsweet cereal [cheerios work well, too])

Step One: Cut ginger into small pieces and place in a blender or food processor (I used a magic bullet) with the cornflakes, and if desired a few spices (I used a pre-made 'pork seasoning'). If you don't have any of these items, just crush up the corn flakes and make sure to cut the ginger into very small pieces, then mix them together thoroughly in a bowl. Pulse this rather than a straight blend because a powder like consistency is undesirable in this situation. You may need to use a spatula to scrap the sides and bottom of the container a couple times because the liquid from the ginger will cause the corn flakes to stick together. 

Then lay the breading out onto a plate like pictured above, making sure that it is moderately even.

Step Two: Crack the egg into a bowl then dip the pork chop into the egg liquid and bread both the top and bottom of the pork chop. The water in the ginger will help the breading stick to the chop, so you only need to do this sequence once. Make sure to apply ample pressure to the chop making sure the breading sticks.

Step Three: Put a generous amount of oil into a pan and then on a medium heat place the chops onto the pan. Flip often, every two minutes, and make sure that each side is in contact with the pan at least three times if flipping every two minutes. Or, if you have a meat thermometer, make sure the internal temperature reaches around 180 degrees. After frying is complete set aside and begin to cook the mushrooms.

Ingredients:

3 - Medium Sized Mushrooms

A Dozen - Sprigs of Parsley

Butter

Step One: Slice the mushrooms thinly and cut the parsley finely. Then put a generous amount of butter into a pan (preferably the same pan).

Step Two: Start to brown the mushrooms in the butter. Once the mushrooms are tender and browned evenly mix in the parsley.

Mix the parsley in and let wilt for around one or two minutes. 

Serve with the pork chops, and garnish with parsley. Enjoy !