Monday, August 30, 2010

Stinky Trash Can No More!!

I have struggled with my trash can stinking for so long. The odor had basically absorbed into the plastic and would NOT go away. I had tried EVERYTHING. Bleach, Lysol products, air fresheners, etc. None of this worked.

This weekend, as a last stitch effort, I gave a "green" cleaner a try. I have had very little faith in green cleaning methods (for no good reason) until now. I mixed baking soda and white distilled vinegar in that stinky old trash can, gave it a scrub, then let it soak for a bit. Voila! My trash can smells like plastic. Not stinky garbage, not vinegar (which I was concerned about)...clean plastic!

I was blown away. Maybe there is something to these homemade cleaning products. It has seriously peaked my interest and I may be looking further into this whole green cleaning thing very soon.

Grilled Eggplant Parmesan

I saw this made on the TV show "Just Cook This with Sam the Cooking Guy" on Fit TV. It looked so delicious I HAD to try it. I had one small hiccup though. I had never eaten eggeplant (I know, I know...what planet do I live on right?). Come to find out I may not be the biggest fan of this vegetable, however...I think eggplant lovers would love this, so I am sharing. Let me know! The picture was taken with my phone, so I apologize if it's fuzzy.


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Grilled Eggplant Parmesan
adapted from Sam the Cooking Guy

  • 1 large globe eggplant - or 2 smaller ones
  • 3 large tomatoes
  • 4 slices mozzarella cheese
  • 4 crusty Italian type rolls, split in half
  • 1/3 cup shredded parmesan cheese
  • 1 bunch fresh basil
  • Olive oil
  • Kosher salt
  • Fresh Ground Pepper
  • Garlic powder
  • Italian seasonings

Directions:


Cut eggplant & tomatoes to get eight 1/4 inch slices of each. Brush eggplant and bread with olive oil. Season eggplant and tomatoes with salt and pepper. Sprinkle some garlic powder and Italian seasoning on inside of bread.

Grill eggplant on both sides until soft and marked with grill lines. Do the same with tomatoes, but for about half the eggplant time. Toast the bread on the grill as well.

Heat broiler. Assemble sandwiches in this order...
2 slices of eggplant, 2 slices of tomato, 3 large basil leaves, mozzarella cheese and finally about 2 tablespoons of parmesan.

Place open-face under broiler to melt cheese and brown the top - but don't go far you don't want them to burn. Place tops on and slice in half.