an anniversary dinner straight from the pantry

Yesterday my husband and I celebrated our ninth wedding anniversary. We have plans to leave the boys with a sitter and spend some quality time together this weekend, so last night we just had  simple dinner together after the boys were in bed. Normally I would have planned a meal especially for my husband, complete with dessert, but this year two things got in the way of that. First of all, my temporary out of work situation has led to a tightening of the budget, so I needed to stick to the ingredients we already had in the house. And second, this anniversary kind of snuck up on us. Last Saturday when I was doing the meal planning for the coming week I didn't even consider our anniversary. I didn't plan on a special meal so I had to make do.

Sausage Ratatouille

4 links italian sausage
1 eggplant, peeled and chopped (I use a small eggplant because it's not my husband's favorite.)
1 zucchini, sliced. (I halve mine first before I slice it.)
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 green pepper, seeded and sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 can stewed tomatoes, with juices
3 tablespoons basil (I like to use fresh)
olive oil
salt & pepper

Puncture the sausage links several times with  sharp knife. Place in a pot of boiling water and cook on a low boil until no longer pink in the center, about 15 minutes. Remove from water, cool, and slice into 1/4 inch slices.

Heat olive oil over medium high heat in a large, deep skillet. Add onion and pepper and saute for approximately 3 minutes. Stir in sausage and garlic and saute for 3 to 4 more minutes, stirring often. Stir in eggplant, tomatoes and zucchini.

Place lid partially over the skillet and let cook at a simmer for 5 minutes. Add salt & pepper to taste and let simmer 5 more minutes. Stir in half the basil and remove from heat. Transfer to plates and top with remaining basil.

This recipe serves 4 to 6 people. even though the boys weren't eating with us I went ahead and made the whole recipe so there would be leftovers for lunch. I have noticed that if you are going to eat leftovers of this meal you might need to add a tiny amount of water or butter to the meal before you reheat it. I served this meal last night with a salad and garlic bread and it made a wonderful anniversary dinner!