The roasted chicken is ubiquitous in kitchens around the world. As an animal it grows quickly, is compact, and easily dressed for a multitude of kitchen preparations. As a meat, it doesn't need to be tenderized and everyone at home loves it. Each kitchen makes its own version of the roast, and it's one of those things that don't require a recipe since you flavor it with anything that is available.

I like roasting whole birds, but yesterday, I found myself with a package of chicken thigh fillet. In which case, I decided to roast the chicken parts. Thighs make people happy, anyway. This recipe goes from the oven to the table in a few easy steps.


Roasted Chicken Thighs
Serves 4

Ingredients

8 pcs   chicken thigh fillets
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp thyme
1 Tbsp butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, sliced

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees C.
2. Dry chicken pieces with a paper towel to prepare for rubbing.
3. Combine salt, pepper, oregano, paprika, and thyme and rub on all chicken pieces.
4. Heat butter on a skillet and brown the chicken pieces before arranging them in an oven safe dish. Put in the oven to continue cooking, about 35 minutes.
5. In the same skillet, saute garlic and onions until soft. Take the chicken out of the oven and lay the sauteed garlic and onion on top. Return to the oven to finish cooking, about 10 minutes.
6. Remove from the oven and enjoy.

For yesterday's meal (pictured above), I happened to have some beautiful french beans which I decided to grill on the stove top. Then I placed the beans on top of the roasted chicken to give it an appetizing green finish.

With mom's leftovers eaten and gone from the fridge, I'm back to cooking wife mode and had to do something that would have me moderately hands free for a time and that could be frozen and reheated for a rainy day. More than that, it had to be low carbohydrate so as to comply with Mr. Diaz and my eating plan. The solution? Eggplant lasagna. That is, hearty, comforting, and familiar lasagna but sans the pasta.

My lasagna is simple and can actually be done without a recipe. My mom's way of making lasagna is, I decided, too fancy, and though it is delicious, I simply don't have the wherewithal to prepare too many ingredients for two different sauces.

So for mine, I replaced pasta with eggplant to keep my carbohydrate count low and elected my favorite meat sauce for layering with a combination of mozzarella cheese and a medium cheese (for this round I selected a medium cheddar). Missing from this recipe is the luscious white cheese sauce that my mom puts in hers. Lucky that Mr. Diaz didn't miss it.

Eggplant Lasagna
Serves 4

Meat Sauce (you can use your own spaghetti meat sauce recipe)
1 Tbsp butter
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, minced
1/4 c homemade beef broth
1/2 kilo ground beef
28 oz can diced tomatoes
8oz tomato sauce
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried basil
salt and pepper to taste

Eggplant Layers
1/2 kilo eggplant
4 Tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper

Cheese layer
8oz mozzarella cheese, grated
8oz medium or sharp cheddar cheese, grated

Procedure
1. Wash and slice eggplant diagonally at about 1/4 inch thick. Coat with olive oil, salt, and pepper and lay on a baking sheet. Roast in the oven for 20 minutes at 400 degrees F or until brown.

2. In a saucepan, saute garlic and onions in butter until soft. Add the ground beef and cook until the beef is no longer pink. Then add the broth, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and spices. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to simmer for about 20 minutes. Adjust seasoning according to taste.

3. Arrange half the roasted eggplant slices in a lasagna dish and top with meat sauce. Then mix the cheeses and sprinkle half over the meat sauce. Create a second layer of eggplant, meat sauce, and cheese then pop the dish in the oven for 20 minutes until the cheese melts and bubbles.

4. Take the dish out of the oven onto your kitchen counter and allow to set about 15 minutes before serving.