Grassy Chicken

The adult in me REALLY wanted to like this. Then the kids came to the table and just stared. The Boy actually said "dares drass on mine chicken" hence the name of the dish.

I had never had eggplant before. It looks like it would be so good with its dark purple color. We never had it growing up, and now I think I know why.

Eggplant apparently gets bitter if cooked, so it is a good idea to soak it in salted water for about half an hour before you cook it.
So I did. I have to admit, I was a bit leery as soon as I cut it in half. Lots of seeds.
But I forged ahead and added my "sticks" of eggplant to the salty water.
Then came The Boy. He was very concerned at this point.
While the eggplant is soaking, brown your chicken in a tablespoon or so of olive oil. Not cooked through, just a bit on each side.
When eggplant is soaked in salty water, the water turns brown. It is supposed to do this. Do not panic.
Saute your eggplant strips in the oils left in the pan after you remove the chicken.
Add the chicken and eggplant to a baking pan.
Add in some thickly sliced tomatoes.
Drizzle with olive oil.
And sprinkle with dill. I didn't have fresh, so I used dried. The Boy was right. It looks like I dropped this behind the lawn mower.
Once you get past the "grass", this just looks like it should be incredible. But we didn't like it. I didn't hate it, but everyone else did. I did not like the eggplant. The taste was okay, but I am pretty big on texture, and it was just really squishy. Not my thing.

Too bad, but, I must cross eggplant off my grocery list from now on. I did try. We didn't like this, but there may be some out there that do. Let me know, because I feel really bad about this!

Grassy Chicken
1 lb Chicken Breast Strips
1/2 of an Eggplant
2 t Salt
2 C Water
2 T Olive Oil
1 Tomato, sliced
1 T Chopped Dill
Soak eggplant in salt water for 30 minutes. Lightly brown chicken in frying pan. Transfer chicken to baking dish. Saute eggplant in same pan and add to baking dish. Add tomatoes and sprinkle with dill. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.