The Rat(atouille) Pack (New Recipe #12)

For Super Bowl Sunday, my mom and I whipped up an appetizer buffet that turned out surprisingly well considering the multitude of needs we had to meet: gluten-free for Mom, Points-friendly for me, and man-foodish enough for John and Dad. One of Mom’s dishes was homemade bruschetta, and she so kindly let me take the fresh basil she had left over. I quickly zeroed in on a new recipe I had been wanting to try: The Rat(atouille) Pack by Hungry Girl. So tonight for dinner I made up 2 servings of the recipe. It took a little bit of time to cut up all of the vegetables, but it still was very manageable for a weeknight dinner. John took over the protein side of the meal by cooking chicken on the George Foreman Grill while the foil packs were steaming in the oven. I diced the chicken and mixed it in with the vegetables, and the result was a huge plateful of delicious, aromatic, and healthy food. A solid four stars!

The Rat(atouille) Pack

1 cup cubed eggplant
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/2 cup sliced and halved zucchini
1/2 cup canned fire-roasted diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 cup coarsely chopped onion
1/4 cup canned tomato paste
2 TB finely chopped fresh basil
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/8 tsp salt, or more to taste
dash red pepper flakes, or more to taste
dash black pepper, or more to taste

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients, and stir until veggies are evenly coated in tomato paste. Set aside.

3. Lay a large piece of heavy-duty foil in front of you. Scoop veggie mixture into the center of the foil. Fold and seal the top and bottom edges of the foil, and then the side edges, to create a well-sealed packet.

4. Place packet on a baking sheet, and cook in the oven for 30 minutes.

5. Allow packet to cool for a few minutes, and then cut to release steam before opening it entirely. (Careful — steam will be hot.) If you like, season to taste with additional salt, red pepper flakes, and black pepper.

Yield: 1 serving. Per serving, 4 PointsPlus.