As a new bride I followed every recipe exactly. For a few weeks. It didn’t take me long to realize there are many reasons to stray. For one thing, I often found I was missing an ingredient. Usually it was something I thought I had before I started cooking. But often I liked everything about the dish accept one thing. Or my husband didn’t like something about it. Or I didn’t feel like washing 2 pans instead of 1. Or, or, or.

Here’s an example of something I made tonight: Eggplant Parmesan Stuffed with Ground Beef.

A woman in my yoga class gave me a couple eggplants. My husband hates Eggplant Parmesan. I looked up recipes online that had beef in them to bribe him. This recipe called for scooping out the middle of an eggplant, cooking ground beef, adding pepper, garlic, salt, tomato paste, tomato sauce and putting it back into the shell. Top with mozzarella cheese and a sprinkle of Parmesan. Then bake.

That would never work because the eggplant was too noticeable. Plus I wanted less meat and more vegetables and we both like something a little heartier without having to come up with a bunch more courses. So I browned some meat, adding pepper, garlic powder, 6 oz. ketchup (I used all my tomato paste in lasagna the other day) and stirred it well. Then I peeled and cubed the eggplant and added it along with 4 cubed tomatoes. Meanwhile I cooked a big pot of rice in beef bouillon. When it was done I added the meat mixture, a couple handfuls of shredded mozzarella cheese and about a fourth of a cup of Parmesan.

It was colorful, healthy, hearty and YUMMY! So don’t be afraid to play with your food!!