Easy Eggplant Parmasean (Not Fried)

Obsessed With Food Much? 

Do you think we are obsessed with food?  You be the judge….

1. Instead of “Hi kids, how was your day?” I always say, “Hi kids, what did they serve for lunch at school today?”
2. I let my 7 year old use a butcher knife to ‘smash’ a garlic clove and remove the peel herself.
3. You literally cannot even stop by my house without being fed (“You HAVE to try this!”).
4. Mia doesn’t understand why all restaurants don’t serve linguini with clams.
5. We begin planning the next meal while still eating the current one.
6. Mac can easily knock down over 30 pieces of sushi and sashimi for dinner.
7. Dinner with friends at one of those little “sharing plate” restaurants is our worst nightmare because there is never enough food (of course everyone ‘poses’ with the last bite).
8. We have been known to critique the food everywhere we go (even a funeral).
9. At a family/friend party I overheard my niece (22 yrs. old) telling everyone that she was definitely going to serve Prime Rib at her wedding (P.S. she doesn’t have a boyfriend).
10. We have lived in 3 countries and visited countless cities all around the world and yet the only way we remember a town is by recalling what we ate there (“Oh NOW I remember Brugge, we ate at that romantic, outside restaurant with white sheets hanging everywhere and they served coffee in these antique funky contraptions….”).  I actually don’t remember much more about the town than that.

Eggplant Parmesan

• Cut ends off eggplant and peel the skin off with peeler.  Slice into circles about ½ inch thick.
• Dip into egg and then bread crumbs.  Lay directly onto baking sheet or onto cookie rack first.  Spray with PAM or a little olive oil and bake for 8-10 minutes.
• Put some tomato sauce on bottom of baking dish, lay eggplant (only slightly overlapping),sprinkle  mozzarella and a little parmesan cheese on top and then tomato sauce again.  Do one more layer and sprinkle some parm on the top.
• Bake for approximately 30 minutes on 350.

Tomato Sauce  Don’ waste your money on jar sauce if you don’t have to.

• Sautee some garlic in EV Olive oil.  Dice and add ½ onion and ½ cup of carrot and cook until soft. 
• Add 2 cans of crushed tomatoes and 4-5 basil leaves. 
• Add some salt/pepper and cook for at least 15 minutes.

Roasted Brussel Sprouts:  Since I am baking the eggplant, why not roast the brussel sprouts at the same time?  Also, one dish for prep and serving!

• Wash and cut brussel sprouts in half.  Dice a shallot.
• Spray bottom of baking dish with PAM and add brussel sprouts/shallots.
• Pour a little EV Olive Oil, salt/pepper and Herbs de Provence (if you like) and toss around.  You can spray PAM instead of the EVOO. 
• Bake with Eggplant for 30 minutes at 350 then cook for another 5-10 mins. on 400.

How Can the Kids Help?

• Practice using peeler on eggplant (scrape AWAY from you, not toward you)
• Add ingredients to tomato sauce (practice w/can opener)
• Dip the eggplant in egg and breadcrumbs or spray with oil or PAM (you each have a job and work together).  This is great practice because they aren’t handling raw meat.
• Arrange eggplant in dish and sprinkle with cheeses.
• Purple Food Coloring Page:  http://www.enchantedlearning.com/colors/colorworksheets/purple/pagetiny.GIF
• Picture of Eggplant Growing:  http://image09.webshots.com/9/1/45/30/127114530yZexmI_ph.jpg

Did You Know?

• Eggplant is a fruit
• An eggplant is almost 95% water.
• Eggplant is an excellent source of dietary fiber. It’s a very good source of vitamins B1, B6 and potassium. It’s a good source of copper, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, niacin, and folic acid.  http://www.elements4health.com/eggplant.html