Gluten Free eggplant, and chicken parmesan

I was never a big fan of chicken parmesan as a kid. In fact looking back I don't think I was ever made chicken parm outside of school. the only way I had this dish before the age of 27 was was in a school cafeteria. If you never had chicken parmesan from a public school cafeteria  then count yourself lucky. The sauce was bland and water down tomato, with this rubbery disk on top that they claimed was chicken, the chicken was coated in some sort of cross between sand and shake n bake, and half the time they would forget the cheese on top.

Needles to say as an adult, I never had any want to learn how to make this dish, that was until I visit a friend who made this meal with real ingredients. We also had a vegetarian there so she made some eggplant parmesan as a chicken replacement for the vegetarian. Well I suddenly understood why this was a staple meal in so many homes. This is definitely a meal I enjoyed.

I try and make sure there is a vegetable in at least two meals a day, so when I was looking into making this for my family I decided why not keep the eggplant and do chicken as well. This way I get both meat and vegetables in the same dish. and don't have to worry about making a side.

Ingredients

• 4 chicken breasts
• 1/2 an eggplant ( cut into 6 slices)
• 1 1/2 cups of all purpose GF flour
• 1 1/2 cups of cornmeal
• 2 cups shredded parmesan
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1 jar of homemade spaghetti sauce ( or one from the store)
• olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 4 1/2 inch slices of mozzarella

Preheat oven to 350 F. Take your sauce and pour onto the bottom of a casserole dish. Now in one bowl whisk together the heavy whipping cream and eggs, in another bowl mix together the GF flour, cornmeal, salt, pepper, and 1 cup of shredded parmesan. Pour some oil into a frying pan and let heat up on  the stove at medium heat.

Take the eggplant and dip in the egg mixture, let excess drip off then coat with the flour mixture, fry and place ontop of the sauce. When all 6 slices are in take a 1/4 cup of the shredded parmesan and sprinkle on top.

Next dip the chicken breast the same way you did the eggplant and cook in hot oil for 6 minutes on each side. Place the chicken on top of the eggplant (about 1.5 eggplant slices per chicken breast). Sprinkle the last of the parmesan on the chicken, and place the mozzarella slices on as well. Bake until the chickens internal temp hits 165 F and the cheese is golden. Let sit for 15 minutes and enjoy!

Shameless plug

I try really hard to keep Crunchy Lifestyle organic. I don't pay for ads or promotions on facebook, I don't post clickbait, I don't advertise anything that I don't believe in nor do I advertise things that are irrelevant. I try and keep my adsense ads minimal and non intrusive on both mobile and desktop version.

Would I like to make money doing this? Of course! But it is more important to me to have a safe place for me to explore, and focus on some things I found I am passionate about despite the sometimes controversial reaction. It's important to me to create a safe place for people who are also excited about the same things. So if you like my my post please comment, like, share. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and on Blogger. The more interactions I get the more people I reach.

That wasn't my shameless plug though, My husband works hard at a job he is great at, he brings in decent money, and I am able to stay at home with my kids and work towards becoming a doula. In the past couple years he has realized he doesn't enjoy his job. He isn't sure what he wants to do for a living anymore. Watching someone come to the realization that they years of hard work they put into something in the end didn't make them happy is rough. Not only is it rough it's heartbreaking. This man has supported me in my dreams, and I can't support him in his dreams in the same way. We are dependent on his income.

He has been exploring his dreams in his spare time, and currently he has really gotten into writing. He is not sure if this is the new career for him, but he is certain he is enjoying  it. He has been doing a bit of writing for over a year now. He even wrote a small book with a friend of his. He typically really gets into writing epic fantasy, but occasionally he will write a snarky, yet humorous short story. So if that sounds interesting to you at all please go support him on Patreon.

So There is my shameless plug. I love my husband and I will support him anyway I can.

Strawberry matcha sorbet popsicle

It's been really hot these last two weeks for most people. My kids are getting cranky because going outside to play in the sprinkler is still too hot. Luckily we have our AC (even if it can't maintain it's programmed temperature if it's over 95F) So in attempt to keep my kids cool and hydrated I made popsicles. My daughter is over the moon for them.

First you are going to make sure you have popsicle mold. I love the silicone ice pop mold in comparison to the the the Popsicle stick molds. I feel as though they are more secure and less likely to spill. 

The recipe was really easy.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups of frozen strawberries ( You can use fresh, but i would still freeze them before hand to make sure you get the right consistency)
• 3 cups of unsweetened vanilla coconut milk (You can sub some for water for a less coconut flavor
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1 teaspoon of matcha tea powder
• Sweetened with local honey to taste ( I used 2 tablespoons, but will probably use less next time) 

Blend coconut milk and strawberries first, then mix in the rest of the ingredients. It's definitely more of a sorbet than anything else. You can pour it into a tupperware and just scoop out a little bowl for a late night snack. Yumm :D

The kids love having something they can take outside and run with so I pour the sorbet into the molds. If you use frozen strawberries I would freeze for about 3 hours before eating, longer if your strawberries weren't frozen.