“There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments, and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance that principle is contempt prior to investigation.” ~Herbert Spencer
This recipe was my introduction to eggplant. Eggplant was one of those things with an odd name, that I was not willing to try. I remember the first time I saw it in my weekly basket, I looked at it and thought “what do I do with that!?”
Determined not to waste any produce or defer from my goal of changing my eating habits and my preconceived notions. I researched eggplant. What I found was EGGPLANT LASAGNA GALORE! I tried a recipe online and much to my dismay (just like everything else I had been finding out lately), fruits and vegetables WERE’NT the ugly little green monsters I grew up thinking they were! After that, I started playing with the recipe and came up with this lasagna! Enjoy….Here’s a thought for you to take with you, it goes with the theme of my “preconceived notions on eating healthy food.”
Ingredients
- 2 eggplants (I slice them vertically, into smaller pieces)
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 cup chopped mushrooms
- 1 lb. Ricotta cheese
- 2 lb. Mozzarella cheese
- 1 jar Marinara Sauce of choice
- 1/2 package of lasagna noodles
- 1/2 cup of olive oil
- 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 1 Tbsp. Italian seasoning (thyme, oregano and basil) mix in with meat after cooking
- 1 lb. of hamburger (hamburger is optional, it is a good way to hide the eggplant from stubborn people unwilling to try new things 🙂
- 1 sup of mixed shredded cheese
- Salt and Pepper (use judgment)
- Basting brush, 2 cookie sheets and lasagna pan.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400º
- Mix together olive oil, 1 chopped garlic clove, salt and pepper.
- Use the basting brush to brush each side of the eggplant and place in a single layer on a cookie sheet.
- Bake until golden and soft (about 35 minutes), Turn half way through.
- Cook hamburger, add onion, mushrooms and other garlic clove, drain and add marinara sauce and Italian seasoning.
- Boil lasagna noodles, wash and drain.
- Remove eggplant from oven.
- Turn oven down to 350º
- In lasagna pan, layer in the following order. (use about half the mixture of each for the layer)
- Lasagna noodles
- Eggplant
- Hamburger mixture
- Ricotta cheese
- Mozzarella cheese
- *repeat layers
- And top with 1 Cup of mixed shredded Cheese.
- Cover with tin foil and cook for 45 minutes.
My kids are gluten-free & the GF lasagna noodles are kind of yucky. So, I slice eggplant long ways and use it to replace the lasagna noodles. Yummy!