An Eggcellent Eggplant Parmesan Recipe

(See that? I said Eggcellent - oh, yes I did)

Marrying a vegetarian was a little weird at first, especially as, when it comes to whipping up food, I'm no Martha Stewart, or Paula Deen, or Natalie Perry (whose foodie blog Perry's Plate is an addiction, folks - check it out). And when it comes to making vegetarian food I was limited to Fettuccine Alfredo and cheese quesadillas.

You guys, I could hardly grill a veggie burger without catching my stove on fire (true fact) and don't even get me started on my inability to boil water without melting kettles... So, when my mother-in-law came to visit us from the UK and filled our fridge with aubergines (the Brits get all French and fancy with their words, sometimes) and then LEFT THEM FOR ME, I was like, "What the heck am I supposed to do with THESE? They aren't steaks OR take-out Chinese!"

But after staring at the eggplants for a few days, I realized they weren't going to cook themselves.... so what's a girl to do but make a killer Eggplant Parmesan?

(by killer, I don't mean poisonous - no one has ever died from my cooking... *knocks wood*)

You guys, this Eggplant Parmesan is delicious. It very quickly became my hub's favorite meal. And because, 7 years later, I'm still not a huge fan of the kitchen, what's a mom to do but teach her kids how to make it so that by this time next year I'll have my own personal chefs?

TO MAKE:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup breadcrumbs (I buy the Italian-seasoned kind, because I'm lazy like that, but you can season plain crumbs yourself, if you like)
• 4 egg whites
• 2 medium eggplants, unpeeled, cut into 1/2 inch slices.
• Olive oil cooking spray
• Your favorite pasta sauce (aprox. 3 cups)
• Mozzarella cheese (aprox. 2 cups)
• Garlic bread (okay this has nothing to do with making the Eggplant Parmesan, but garlic bread is kind of the best, so be sure to have some)
  

1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Stick bread crumbs in a bowl, and egg whites in a separate bowl. Coat both sides of eggplant slices in egg white, then in crumbs, then place on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray.
   
3. Spray the tops of the slices and bake for 15 minutes. Turn, spray the tops again, and bake for another 15 minutes.
4. Assembling the casserole - In a 9 x 13 baking dish, have your personal chefs (or you) layer:

• sauce
• eggplants
• sauce
• cheese
• eggplants
• sauce
• cheese
• Italian herbs to make it look like you cooked something sort of fancy

5. Bake for 20 minutes.

VOILA!

And if you are anything like me, you'll try to get one good picture of your personal chefs SMILING with their creation, but will instead get two monkeys scowling like thugs and throwing down gang signs.







There you go, folks! An Eggplant Parmesan recipe you and your kids will love!*

*and by love, I mean your kids will say, "EW, THIS TASTES LIKE SNAILS!"

Enjoy!

xoxo,