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Healthy No-Bake Salted Dark Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookie Bars.
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Today, I am telling you to turn your oven on.
I know a lot of you are like she’s crazy, BUT it was thunder storming all day yesterday. Basically, just the kind of weather that makes you want to curl up and take a nap. Actually, it didn’t just rain, it hailed, and if you have ever experienced Colorado hail, well then you know, Â one – it’s HUGE, and two – it hurts.
I know this because I decided I’d better get the garbage in before it poured and filled the empty cans up. Only I procrastinated and waited till the last possible second. I walked outside and it began hailing.
Of course.
I seriously have little pellet marks in my skin from the hail hitting me so hard. And the trash? The trash is something you totally need a boyfriend for. Definitely a guy’s job.
So yeah, yesterday I just needed to turn on my oven and bake something a little cozy.
I also really, really needed to use up my eggplant, as you can see from the above photo. Every year I buy eggplant with the idea that for some reason I will like it a little bit more than the year before, but then it sits in my fridge forever because I don’t know what to do with it. So when in doubt, bake it and cover it in cheese. Works out pretty good every time.
Since I am not hugely in love with eggplant I made this with zucchini too. It was a good idea because it gives the dish a little different texture and well, it’s not just a bunch of saucy eggplant and cheese. Now there is zucchini in the mix too!
Oh, and of course the quinoa. Well I wasn’t sure how the quinoa part to this would work, but it actually turned out pretty awesome. While baking, the quinoa soaks up some of the sauce (so use extra sauce if you like things saucy) and becomes chewy with a slight bit of crunch to it. It’s the perfect texture, plus it bumps up the health factor which of course, is a nice little bonus.
And even though this takes a little time to make, most of the time is in the baking. It’s a pretty simple and straight forward recipe. You can even assemble the whole thing in advance and then just bake before dinner. Perfect summer supper!
Of course it doubles quite nicely as a great cozy comfort meal on a rainy summer day!
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
And be sure to serve this over pasta. Like do not even think about skipping it.
OMG – this recipe is amazing. I made it because I had some tomatoes, zucchini and eggplant to use up and never ever would I have come up with something like that. The crunch of the quinoa, the creaminess of the ricotta….there is nothing more to add.
You really are the queen of flavours and textures. We will never be able to enjoy a zucchini and eggplant bake other than this!
Awesome! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Have a great week! xT
excellent
Thank you!
pic nice
Thank you!
Mmmmm that pizza looks amazing! I am surely going to try it out this week 🙂
Hope you love it! Thanks!
Loved this one!
Really looking forward to trying this one! Tieghan, do you rinse the quinoa first, or just plop it right in? I have done both in other recipes, with differing results. I want to get this one right from the get go. Happy culinary creating!
I like to rinse the quinoa first. Let me know if you have any other questions. Hope you love this!
Hi – this is an inspired recipe, and you are one clever cook! I had some questions as it baked, would it get ‘goopy’ with lots of liquid on the bottom as the servings were dished out? Would the quinoa really bake sufficiently if it was not cooked first? Would the eggplant and zucchini end with with a palatable texture or …..? Positive results on all counts! This is delicious, and I think tastes even better (if that’s possible) a couple of days after baking. This is something I would proudly serve company – and I will!
Next up, your chocolate seed bars…. Thanks for these great dishes!
I have all of the ingredients ready for this recipe and I would love to divide the recipe in half and use a smaller casserole as pictured to share with a neighbor. Have you ever done that?
Hey Rosemary,
That should totally work well for you! Please let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan