ratatouille

the dish, not the animated rat

im always looking for easy dishes, things that i perhaps can make ahead, forget about, and then VOILA its dinnertime and i dont have to do more than spoon it on a plate. 
enter the crock pot.
such a friendly little guy.  i need to give him more attention.  hes just so darn NICE.

i recently found this ratatouille recipe simply by googling "organic natural foods crock pot".
just trying to find healthy stuff using fresh ingredients {you can make it organic or not based on what you purchase}.
it was GREAT.


recipe:

Ratatouille
2 onions, cut in half and sliced
1 large eggplant, sliced, cut into cubes
4 small zuchinni, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 large bell peppers, deseeded and cut into thin strips {i used one red and one orange cause i dont like green}
8 oz mushrooms, sliced {i easily could have -and should have- added another 8 oz}
2 lbs stew meat {i think its two pounds...i used one package and they are usually in about 1 lb increments. it definitely needed another package of the meat}
2 large tomatoes, cut into wedges
1 6oz can tomato paste

1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
olive oil {it says 1/4 c, i didnt measure}
red pepper flakes to taste {be careful with these...heat from the dish makes the spicy flavor intensify!}
freshly shaved parmesean cheese 
fresh parsley, chopped

1.  layer half the veggies/meat in large crock pot in the following order: onion, eggplant, zucchini, garlic, peppers, mushrooms, meat, tomatoes.
2.  sprinkle half the basil, oregano, sugar, salt and pepper on veggies.
3.  dot with half of the tomato paste.
4.  repeat layering process with remaining veggies/meat, spices, and paste
5.  drizzle with olive oil
6.  cover and cook on LOW for 7-9 hours

there are so many ways to serve this.  for the first night, i toasted a demi parmesean loaf of bread, sliced lengthwise and cut it in half to have four pieces of bread.  i placed the bread toasted side up in a bowl, poured ratatouille over it, and topped with parmesean cheese and fresh parsley


i couldnt eat all my bread but stephen gobbled it up.  so so good and good for you.


last night i took the remainder of the ratatouille, poured it in a blender, and blended it into a tomato type sauce.  i sauteed some shrimp, boiled some whole wheat tight spiral noodles, and combined all {topped with parmesean and parsley of course}.  another hit.
i still have a ton of this noodle dish left but it will be great for freezing and using in the weeks to come.


the ratatouille would also be good as a base for a pizza, served over rice or pasta, or just by itself.
it could also easily be halved to produce a more...manageable portion :)


enjoy!