Excellent Eggplant Parmesan Cups + Best Basil Lemonade

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • excellent eggplant parmesan cups

spray+cut Grownups: Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Get out your cupcake pan and spray or wipe with olive oil. Have kids cut 24 wonton wrappers into shapes using a fun flower, animal and/or other small cookies cutters (or you can just use the top of a glass). Make sure that the bottom wonton wrapper is larger and fits into the cupcake pan so that it fills the bottom and up the sides.

shred+mix+grate+mix Have kids shred 2-3 ounces of mozzarella cheese and 2-3 ounces of parmesan cheese with a cheese grater (reserve some both these grated cheeses for the top of your Eggplant Parmesan Cups). Now have kids measure and mix in 2-3 ounces of ricotta cheese to the rest of the grated cheeses.

chop+sauté+mix Now have kids chop ½ of an eggplant into tiny bits… and sauté in your skillet with 1 T of olive oil and 1 tsp of salt. Sauté until the eggplant is soft (about 5 min) and stir in ½ C of Italian bread crumbs. Add the sautéed eggplant and breadcrumbs right into 1 C organic marinara sauce, mix well and set to the side.

::continued::

Mixing+Measuring+Chopping Skills, Oh My!

www.stickyfingerscooking.com

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Cultivating ‘Cool’inary Curiosity in KidscookingSticky Fingers

© 2017 Sticky Fingers Cooking

TM

Family Fun Recipes

layer+bake Have kids layer the larger wonton wrapper into the cupcake pan, followed by a spoonful of the cheese mixture, a spoonful of the tomato breadcrumb eggplant sauce, a second smaller wonton wrapper, more cheese, and then sauce on the top. Cook eggplant cups for 10 min or until bubbly and edges are browned.

grate+tear While the cupcakes cook, have kids tear 1 small bunch of basil into little pieces. Take the lasagna cupcakes out of the oven and let cool for 2-3 minutes. Top the finished lasagna cupcake with the extra reserved cheeses, some extra tomato eggplant sauce and breadcrumbs if you wish, and the fresh torn basil… Makes 12 Excellent Eggplant Cups. “Mangia bene, vivi felice!” (eat well, live happy!)

tear+boil Now we will make a sweet basil ‘tea’! Adults: Boil 1 C of water in a saucepan.  Meanwhile have kids tear up 4 basil leaves, and ½ to 1 C of sugar, honey, or agave into a bowl. Adults: carefully add the hot water to the bowl, stir and let sit until sugar is dissolved, about 5 minutes. 

squeeze+stir Have kids squeeze the juice of 2-4 lemons into the Basil Simple Syrup "Tea", and then mix-in 2 C of cold water all together in a pitcher. Add 2-3 C ice and Drink!

best basil lemonade

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Mixing+Measuring+Chopping Skills, Oh My!

www.stickyfingerscooking.com

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Cultivating ‘Cool’inary Curiosity in KidscookingSticky Fingers

© 2017 Sticky Fingers Cooking

TM

Family Fun Recipes

½ small eggplant 24 wonton wrappers 2-3 oz mozzarella cheese 2-3 oz parmesan cheese olive oil

shopping list

1 C organic marinara sauce 2-3 oz ricotta cheese ½ C of Italian breadcrumbs 6-10 leaves fresh basil 1 tsp salt

2-4 lemons ½ to 1 C of sugar, honey, or agave

Basil Lemonade

Eggplant Parmesan Cups

4 fresh basil leaves 2-3 C ice

::continued::

Mixing+Measuring+Chopping Skills, Oh My!

www.stickyfingerscooking.com

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Cultivating ‘Cool’inary Curiosity in KidscookingSticky Fingers

© 2017 Sticky Fingers Cooking

TM

Family Fun Recipes

Time for a laugh! So, what is a chicken's favorite kind of vegetable? An egg-plant!

What's purple, delicious, and fun to decorate for Easter? A hard-boiled eggplant!

Eggplant Parmesan History Parmigiana, as we know it, started with the beloved eggplant. A fruit cherished in Southern Italy for its versatility, eggplant made its way into a classic Italian, baked dish called Melanzana alla Parmigiana, or Eggplant Parmesan. The traditional recipe is made up of shallow-fried eggplant and an assortment of Italian cheeses baked together in a rich tomato sauce. While the true meaning of the word Parmigiana is “in the style of Parma,” the term often gets confused with the cheese that we all know and love—Parmigiano-Reggiano; though, there is no correlation.

The dish itself is a topic disputed amongst Italians. As it stands, Eggplant Parmesan more than likely came from Southern Italy, as the eggplant was a staple in Southern Italian cuisine. But its name refers to Parma, a region in Northern Italy, where some say it originated. Though Eggplant Parmesan began in Italy—Northern or Southern—this dish is not commonly found in current Italian cuisine; the concept of Parmigiana, in this sense (breaded veggies or protein baked with layers of cheese and sauce), is considered more of an American classic.

But Eggplant Parmesan was just the beginning in the U.S. Since its first appearance “parms” have shown up on every menu, evolving to boast such ingredients as: chicken breasts, veal cutlets, zucchini and even, pork. One can find Parmesan sandwiches of chicken, sauce and cheese, or dishes of pasta topped with breaded veal, fried and served with marinara. These ‘parmigianas’ are all adaptations of the original, but thanks to the culture of Italian cuisine immigrating to the US, a legacy has been left… in the form of cheesy, saucy goodness.

fun food facts:

The Surprise Ingredient of the Week is: Eggplant! ★ The eggplant is considered a vegetable but is botanically a fruit and is really a berry. ★ Early varieties of eggplant were smaller and white, they resembled goose or hen's eggs, hence the

name. ★ India is the motherland of the eggplant. ★ Eggplant is related to potatoes, tomatoes, peppers and tobacco ★ Experimental botanist Thomas Jefferson brought the eggplant to the United States, where the

eggplant was primarily used as a table ornament until the 20th century. It was thought to be poisonous. ★ Eggplant is good for you! It helps to block the formation of free radicals and is also a source of folic acid,

fiber and potassium ★ When buying eggplant, look for one uniformly smooth and colored, without bruises. Squeeze the eggplant

gently with a finger and then let go: The eggplant will bounce back again smoothly again if it is fresh. The eggplant should feel heavy. Store eggplant in the refrigerator.