Creamy Roasted Eggplant Pasta with Walnuts

We've been having some good luck lately. Lots of jobs and opportunities coming our way. New doors opening. As a result, my husband is now working very odd hours (every day is different) and I will go to work once a week in the office as well (on his day off). I'm going to miss him terribly, I won't lie. We're a family that does everything together. I'm not exaggerating at all. We all grocery shop, run errands, vacation, go out and eat, make dinner, work on the house, play outside, stop by the post office, visit people... together. I've never once thought, "Wow, I need a break from my husband for a few hours, I wish he'd leave."
Plus, baby Emmett will be here in a few weeks and I'm sure I'll be stressed for a while adjusting to the new routine.

Sooooo.......

Work from home + work in office + new baby Emmett + 2-year-old Mimi + hubs away at different hours working + cloth diapers/laundry/dishes + cooking/baking/grocery shopping/bottles/sippies = one stressed out Elsa.

Yikes!

By the way, I did this starting in August and it was brilliant. I went through ALL of my old books and sold the majority of them (half.com). Why would I keep books I've read once and never looked at again?? GREAT way to make some extra cash.

And that organic chemistry book that I used for organic chem 1 and 2 years ago in college (yeah, 2 semester books are insanely expensive)????

Dear Professor, if you're reading this, you were right! It's an older edition but it was the first book to sell, I was shocked. An organic chemistry college book from YEARRRSSSS ago sold immediately.

So keep in mind, even the old books can sell.

Books that I would never sell though (other than cookbooks of course)....

1. Sons and Lovers - DH Lawrence
2. A Farewell to Arms/A Moveable Feast - Hemingway
3. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
4. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
5. The Sorrows of Young Werther - Goethe 

Are there any books you would never part with????

Ok, dinner time now. The flavors in this dish were amazing, the amount of pasta I used was not (I like a lot of sauce, but adjust to your preference). I should have used 1/2 lb instead of 1 lb. Other than that, perfection, loved it. Flavor the sauce any way you choose. I just flavored the sauce in a similar way to the spaghetti sauce that I make.

Roast the veggies

Chop the onion

Chop the garlic

Set roasted veggies aside

Process the walnuts

Parm

Mix together

Sprinkle on the toppings and bake

Remove from oven and serve with extra Parm

Creamy Roasted Eggplant Pasta with Walnuts
Serving Size = Roughly 4

• 1 onion chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• Extra virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons basil
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• Pinch of red pepper flakes
• Pinch of sugar (optional, if sour)
• Pinch of cinnamon (my secret ingredient in my spaghetti sauce)
• 1/2 lb rotini pasta (or anything similar, whatever you have on hand)
• 1/2 cup walnuts, very finely chopped in a food processor
• Roughly 1 cup of freshly grated Parmesan, split in half
• 1 can of tomato sauce, or 1 can of whole tomatoes or 5 - 6 medium fresh tomatoes --- pureed
• 1 eggplant, cubed
• 1 bell pepper (red, yellow, green - doesn't matter) chopped
• 4 - 5 whole tomatoes, chopped
• Mozzarella, fresh or pre-shredded to taste (roughly a cup)
• 1 cup of heavy whipping cream
• Salt/Pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 425F. Oil a baking pan and then place the bell peppers, whole tomatoes and eggplant on the dish, toss with some oil and salt. Roast until tender, about 30 minutes.
2. In a large skillet over medium heat, saute the onion in some oil (extra virgin olive oil will work) until it starts to turn clear. Add the garlic, tomato sauce (add some sugar if the sauce is sour, to taste), all of the spices and salt/pepper to taste. Gently simmer for about 10 minutes, or until the flavors combine. Start the pasta and make sure to salt the water (and do not over cook the pasta, most pasta only takes about 8 minutes to cook).
3. Add the cream to the sauce and stir well, allow it to heat up. Remove from heat. Add the roasted veggies and 1/2 of the Parmesan cheese. Mix, add the pasta, mix. 
4. Pour the mixture into a casserole dish (I used 9x13 for 1 lb, so you could use one roughly half this size for 1/2 lb of pasta). Sprinkle on as much mozzarella as you want (I would say about 1 cup).
5. In your food processor, chop the walnuts and then mix with the other 1/2 of the Parmesan. Sprinkle on top of the mozzarella cheese.
6. Bake until the cheese has melted and everything is bubbling (maybe 20 minutes). Serve with extra Parmesan.

Linking to: Gallery of Favorites, Everyday Sisters Sharing Sundays, Mangia Monday, Savvy Homemade Monday, Recipe Sharing Monday