Eggplant Casserole

Eggplant is an acquired taste - you either love it or you hate it. I love it, Andrew hates it.

I grew up on fried eggplant. My mom would bread it and fry it, just like you do when you are making eggplant parm, but we stopped before the cheese and sauce stage and ate it as is.

That was my only experience with eggplant until recently. I started perusing recipes and looking for other ways to serve this pretty purple veggie. This casserole is one of my favorites, and if you have leftovers, you can turn them into Eggplant Lasagna!

Eggplant Casserole
Makes 6 servings

What I use:

• 24 ounces of your favorite pasta sauce (homemade or store-bought)
• 1 Tbsp. Italian seasoning
• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 3 Tbsp. minced garlic in oil (I like a LOT of garlic - feel free to use less, or even more!)
• 1 small zucchini, shredded / grated
• 1 medium eggplant, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch rounds or planks
• 1/2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 c. shredded parmesan cheese
• 1/4 c. whole wheat bread crumbs

How I do it:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Pour the tomato sauce into a large bowl or pot. Add the Italian seasoning and stir.

3. Brown the ground beef in a pan. Drain and add to tomato sauce bowl. Mix.

4. In the same pan, saute the onions and minced garlic for 3 to 5 minutes. Add to the bowl. Mix.

5. In the same pan, saute the zucchini for 3 to 5 minutes (add a little olive oil to the pan if -necessary). Add to the bowl. Mix.

6. Spray an 8 x 8 glass baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

7. Put a small amount of sauce in the bottom of the baking dish.

8. Place a single, even layer of eggplant on top of the sauce.

9. Spread 1/3 of the sauce mixture on the eggplant.

10. Sprinkle 1/2 of the mozzarella cheese over the mixture.

11. Repeat the layers - eggplant, 1/3 of the sauce, other half of the mozzarella cheese, eggplant, and the rest of the sauce.

12. Mix the parmesan cheese and bread crumbs together in a small bowl, then sprinkle them evenly over the casserole.

13. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes.

14. Remove the foil and bake for 15 more minutes.

15. Allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving.