Eggplant Parmesan with Garlic Roasted Broccoli

All ideas, recipes, & opinions are entirely my own however, this is a sponsored post on behalf of Michael Angelo’s™

We’ve fallen into our school routine and all of our kids are active and busy with sports practice, games and extracurricular school activities. Which means I’m extra busy helping with homework and shuffling kids to and from activities. All the while I still have to feed my family, and quick runs through the drive-thru aren’t an option. Lately I’ve been trying to fill my weekly menu with quick and easy meals, like this Eggplant Parmesan with Garlic Roasted Broccoli.

This past summer we spent lots of time traveling and having fun by the pool, which meant I spent very little time actually planning or cooking meals. One of my goals this school year was to do a better job planning meals and to try to incorporate one meatless meal a week. I’ve read lots of research lately that shows that by cutting out meat for one meal a week you can reduce your risk of chronic preventable conditions and reduce your grocery bill. Our family has always loved Michael Angelo’s Signature Lasagna, but while I was at Kroger the other day I found the Michael Angelo Eggplant Parmesan and decided to give it a try for one of our meatless meals. Michael Angelo’s Signature line is a convenient Italian meal found in the frozen aisle, and the perfect option for busy school nights. It’s as simple, honest, and pure as making the meal from scratch yourself.

At first my kids’ weren’t so sure about eating eggplant, but after a few bites they realized it tasted just as delicious as the lasagna they are used to. I love that we’ve found a new go-to meal for those busy school nights. Paired with Garlic Roasted Broccoli this is a mouth-watering meatless meal that gets my families seal of approval.

I have found that my kids eat twice as much broccoli when I roast it. This is my favorite recipe and whenever I feel like we need an extra helping of veggies I whip up this recipe. I always make a big pan of it, with one side for the kids (with out the red pepper flakes) and the other half for the hubby and I. Trust me, it is so good!

Garlic Roasted Broccoli

Author: Mariah

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 15 mins

Total time: 20 mins

Serves: 6

Ingredients

2 heads of broccoli florets
3 Tbsp. olive oil
5 cloves of minced garlic
1 Tsp. salt
1/2 Tsp. pepper
1 Tsp. lemon juice
Pinch of red pepper flakes

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
In a large bowl toss broccoli with olive oil, salt, black pepper, and garlic.
Spread broccoli in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet.
Bake for 15 minutes or until the broccoli florets are tender enough to pierce with a fork. Turn once halfway through the baking process.
Remove from the oven and squeeze lemon juice liberally over the broccoli before serving.

After the hustle and bustle of a busy day I look forward to sitting around the dinner table with my family and enjoying a home cooked meal. I love hearing about my kids day and talking about the things that are on their mind. Dinner is often the one time of day that we can truly connect with our kids. It’s the small moments, a joke, or a story shared over a well-cooked meal that make this journey extraordinary.