Delish.

Sometimes I get extra-inspired to save money and challenge Tony to spending freezes. I really do! And he's always game for it. This month I suggested that we not eat out at all until his birthday (coming up on the 29th), so I am trying to do some fun and creative meal planning to cover lunch and dinner until then.

I've always been curious about eggplant because they're so dang pretty! But I had no idea what to do with them; so even though sometimes I'd pick them up and consider buying them in the past, I never actually got to the check out with one. But this week they were on sale at CashWise (Gaw! You didn't think I'd pay full price, did you?! I'm too much of a cheap ace for that.) and decided to give Eggplant Parmesean a try. And to be honest, as a person who's never tried Eggplant Parmesean - it was a great choice! We have no idea if it tasted "right" or not, but it was pretty good!

I kind of consolidated a bunch of recipes and ended up with this:

• 2 smallish eggplants, peeled and sliced in 1/4" pieces, then salted and pressed between 2 plates for an hour to remove most of the water




See? Smashed.


• A can of pasta sauce
• Shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2 eggs, beaten
• Seasoned bread crumbs

I preheated the oven to 350, then dipped each eggplant slice in the egg, then the bread crumbs, then sauteed them in a skillet with olive oil and garlic until they were brown (could have made them a touch crispier during this step, I think).

I put "some" of the pasta sauce in the bottom of a glass baking dish, then a layer of the breaded eggplant, then cheese, then another layer of each. And that's pretty much it!

I put it in the preheated oven for about 25 minutes and served it with spaghetti and some freshly baked french bread. Yum!

So, does that look like Eggplant Parmesean to anyone who's had it before? It's definitely on my list of "to try again in the future" meals. And of course it made a huge amount, so I know what we'll be having for dinner tonight, too! And maybe lunch tomorrow, and then dinner....