Ratatouille with Parmesan Toast

Last night for dinner I made ratatouille. I came across the recipe while planning our meals for the week and thought "what the heck, let's find out what this dish tastes like." It came out of a Healthy Slow Cooker recipe book.

Well, both Chris and I were pleasantly surprised as to HOW GOOD it was!! It is basically a vegetable stew. I made it when I got home from work, around 10am and cooked it in the crock-pot until dinner time. There is nothing fattening about it! It's all veggies! Ok, the Parmesan Toast is probably not that good for you...but that was such a minor thing. Anyway, I know that most of you are either on a diet or trying to eat healthy...so, here's a new recipe for you.

it kind of looked like this, but ended up a just a little bit more "soupy"

Makes 2 Servings

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup peeled eggplant, cubed
1/2 cup coarsely chopped zucchini
1/2 cup coarsely chopped tomato
1 8oz can no-salt-added tomato sauce
1/3 cup green bell peppers, coarsely chopped
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
4 1/2-inch slices baguette-style French Bread
1 tsp olive oil
3 TBSP shredded Parmesan Cheese
1 TBSP fresh basil

Preparation:

1. In a 1 1/2 quart slow cooker combine eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, tomato sauce, bell pepper, onion, salt, black pepper, and garlic.
2. Cover and cook on low-heat for about 5 hours.
3. For Parmesan Toast: brush one side of bread with olive oil. Place bread, oil side up, on baking sheet and broil until toasted, about 15 seconds. Sprinkle bread slices with Parmesan Cheese and broil again for another 15 seconds until cheese is melted.
4. Before Serving: Stir basil into cooker. Serve vegetable mixture in shallow bowls with Parmesan Toast and sprinkle remaining cheese onto the top of the serving.

• 248 Calories/serving
• 6g fat/serving
• 33% of your daily Vitamin A
• 112% of your daily Vitamin C
• 17% of your daily Calcium
• 14% of your daily Iron

You should totally try this recipe! It's healthy and it's good! Oh, and it has a pretty cool name that inspired a Disney Movie about a Rat!