Ratatouille

Anyone else on the "New Year" workout kick? Most of my friends are in the gym but they were there  before the New Year. I'm the only one leading the charge in the opposite direction of healthy. I don't know how my husband deals with me. He great at getting his workouts in and eating healthy, then he comes home to brownies and cake. Despite my need to go against the grain, many of our meals have been protein not carb heavy these days. So much, I really needed something a less heavy. Dare I say it, healthier.

Of course, the recent snow storm hit us pretty hard so on this cold wintery weekend, I knew I couldn't  just make a "healthy" salad. We would all need something that warmed our bones. Especially, after being out in the snow all morning. Luckily our t.v. stays on the Disney channels and what movie commercial just happened to pop up on the screen, Ratatouille.

I know, I know, I am grown. But I love that movie and so does mini me. It's the movie that gave me the inspiration for what to do with all of the eggplant, tomatoes and peppers that grew in my yard one year. Initially, I was at a loss. I made baba-ganoush, sautéed eggplant and made eggplant lasagna (where I replaced the noodles for eggplant), I can't remember what other recipes I tried but the one that stuck was the ratatouille.

Many people have different ways of making the dish. Some add squash. Others mushrooms. In the end, I just used what was in the fridge. Some people dice all the vegetables. In the movie, I love how everything is sliced into perfect round circles. Unfortunately, I didn't have time for that though I would have loved to break out my mandolin. I needed it done quick, fast and in a hurry. No one wants to wait for food after being outside in the cold. Dicing the vegetables up and using  canned tomatoes cuts the cook time down to 30 minutes max. I served this over some quinoa because it's important to have protein after putting in hard work in the snow. Not to mention the Vitamin C in tomatoes can help increase the body's ability to absorb iron.

Ratatouille

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients 
1 large eggplant diced
2 bell peppers diced (yellow & green)
1 zucchini diced
1 15 ounce can of diced tomatoes
2 cloves of minced garlic
1/2 large onion diced
1/2  teaspoon of thyme
1 tablespoon of oregano
1 tablespoon of parsley
1/4 cup of olive oil, more may be needed
1 bay leaf
Salt and black pepper

Tools: Large sauté pan or dutch oven

Directions:
Place dutch oven over medium high heat and add half the olive oil.

Once pan is hot add diced onions and cook 5 to 7 minutes until they begin to caramelize.

Add eggplant and thyme sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Stir and cook eggplant for approximately 5 minutes.

Remove eggplant and onions from pan and set aside.

Add more olive oil to the pan then add zucchini and peppers.

Cook for 5 minutes making sure to turn zucchini occasionally. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Return eggplant, thyme and onion to the pot along with garlic, tomatoes and herbs (including bay leaf).

Salt and pepper to taste.

Cover land and cook for an additional 10 to 15 minutes stirring occasionally.

There you go a quick, easy, healthy dish that warms you up on a cold day. Add a nice French baguette, some butter and you are set.