Slim Jim, Black Magic, Ichiban, What?
Eggplant, Eggplant we all scream Eggplant! Okay, I know what you are thinking, Eggplant Jessica? Most people including my husband do not like the taste of eggplant. Its an acquired taste that he hasn’t acquired until now! Basically, I am the cook and I knew that if I made eggplant Parmesan he would fall in love with this vegetable. He got home the other night-saw the eggplant- and made this weird face at me. I stated,”You just wait a minute, You are going to love this when I’m through with it”! And he did! Yeah, I have converted him to a new vegetable- pat on the back Jessica!
There are alot of recipes out there that have you doing so many unnecessary steps to make this dish. I took different ingredients and steps from different recipes and not only is this dish wonderful, just melt in your mouth delicious, but it is easy. It also satisfies your craving for fried food- but in a different way. I guess I should actually call this Eggplant Mozzarella because there is no Parmesan in this dish! LOL! I didn’t have any and plus I will take mozzarella over Parmesan any day. So, once again I have made this classic with a Belleicious Twist!
I did a little research on eggplant (Yes, I was bored) and did you know that there are at least 12 different varieties of eggplant. Not to mention the names, something about a vegetable called Slim Jim, little fingers or black magic just doesn’t seem appetizing. Luckily, I stuck with the good old traditional purple eggplant. I just didn’t think I could pull off anything else! SO, enough of my chatting, Let’s check it out shall we!
Ingredients:
2 large eggplants
4 eggs, slightly beaten
2 cups bread crumbs
4 cups marinara sauce
4 TBSP olive oil
2 TBSP butter
1 TBSP garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp oregano
16 ounces mozzarella cheese, grated
Directions:
Cut each eggplant in half and then cut 1/2 inch slices. Sprinkle the eggplant with 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper. Season your breadcrumbs with the garlic powder, red pepper flakes and oregano. Dredge each slice in the egg mixture and then the breadcrumbs. Melt your butter and olive oil in a large saute pan over the stove on medium heat. Saute each eggplant slice for about 3 minutes on each side. Transfer to a plate to cool.
Once all of the eggplant slices have been sauteed/cooked then its time to get to layering our dish. First, spoon about 3 TBSP marinara sauce on the bottom of your baking dish. Next, place eggplant then mozzarella. Basically, continue these steps until you finish with the cheese on top. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for approx 35 minutes. I served mine with cooked vermicille with a lemon butter sauce ( 2 TBSP butter melted, 1 TBSP parsley, juice and zest of 1 lemon, S&P; to taste). So good, So good. Please try this dish and let me know what you think. I can’t wait to hear all about it!
That looks delicious!!!! Way better than my weight watcher lunch of a boga burger on a wheat English muffin.
This might be a perfect Sunday meal!
It looks awesome. I make Chicken Parm using a similar recipe often…maybe I shoudl swap it up and use eggplant next time. Thanks for sharing
This looks HEAVENLY!!!!!!! Thanks for sharing sweetie!
I have never tried this but oh my! It looks so yummy! I may have to try making it this weekend, if I do I'll be sure to let you know how it goes!!! I hope you have a blessed Friday!
xoxo,
KA
*Raising my hand*…I LOVE eggplant!! This dish looks delish!! Will have to make this soon, and thankfully I won't have to work too hard on the hubs because he already loves this veggie too…thankfully! It's hard to convert those men…I have managed, though, to change his mind about ranch dressing and cheesecake. Not together of course, ha. Happy Friday!
Eggplant parm is my fav of all time! When I was preg I ate it atleast twice a week
Love your new blog stuff!! Super cute girl . Wow, now I just wish I could cook like you and whip this up in my kitchen- too bad for me I have to pay $10 at the takeout italian place 
Still worth it !!have a great weekend
I've never had eggplant as the main dish but that looks delicious! Hope you and the fam have a wonderful weekend! : )
P.S. – I love the new look!
Lol! I remember childhood memories of literally flushing my mom's eggplant dishes down the toilet. I hated eggplant with a passion! She would boiled it until it became a disgusting goo and then expect us kids to eat it….No way! BTW- This looks 1000x better than anything she made with the stuff!
It looks good to me!
Welcome to SITS!
I LOVE eggplant. And it reminds me of my favorite book, Love in the Time of Cholera, in which the heroine can't get enough eggplant. So delicious. My current cooking obsession, however, is butternut squash. Yummy!
Stopping by from SITS!
Thanks for stopping by! Now, about that eggplant. We LOVE fried eggplant and sometimes we make our dinner fried eggplant and a salad. Second fav…fried okra patties (email me for this delicious recipe). We have a garden and I just go outside and pick our dinner!
That looks delicious!
p.s. Welcome to the SITS community!
I just had roasted eggplant last night. This looks yummo! Welcome to SITS!
If I could eat eggplant every day of the week, I seriously would. This looks so good! Since I'm such an eggplant parm freak, I recently tried a healthier version from this show I love, Cook Yourself Thin. They're called "eggplant stacks":http://www.mylifetime.com/shows/cook-yourself-thin/recipes/eggplant-stacks
Lemme know if you ever try it out!