Eggplant Lasagna

I have eggplant coming out of my ears! My mom didn't realize I already stole some from her house and brought me some more. (If my parents read this and about my other raid, they are going to revoke my key to their house!)  So now, I'm on eggplant overload!  But that's okay.  I'll never say "no" to garden fresh veggies, especially since eggplant season will be over soon.

I used these purple pals to make the following:

Eggplant Lasagna
6 servings

The lasagna noodles are replaced with roasted eggplant slices in this recipe.

If you are short on time, you could use a store bought tomato sauce. 

Tomato sauce:
1 small onion, chopped
1 tbsp garlic, minced
2 cans whole tomatoes
1 tbsp oregano
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 tsp red pepper flakes
salt & pepper to taste

-Spray a saucepan with non-stick cooking spray and put over med-high heat.  Add chopped onion and garlic.  Cook until they become aromatic. 

- Add tomatoes, oregano, red pepper, and worcestershire.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat.  Salt and pepper to taste.

- Break up tomatoes as they cook down.

ricotta mixture:
1 cup fat free ricotta cheese
1 egg
2 tbsp parmesan cheese
1 tbsp oregano
1 tbsp fresh basil, shredded

- Stir together all ingredients.

3 small eggplant, sliced 1/4 inch thick
2 cups rotisserie chicken, deboned
1/2 cup fresh basil, shredded
3/4 cup fat free shredded mozzarella

-Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Place sliced eggplant on baking sheet sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.  Salt and pepper both sides of eggplant slices.  Spray eggplant slices with non-stick cooking spray.  Roast until tender or about 40 minutes.

- Reduce oven heat to 375 degrees.

- In a 12x9 inch baking dish, layer tomato sauce mixture, chicken, eggplant slices, ricotta, then basil.  Continue to layer, ending with tomato sauce.  Top with mozarella and fresh basil leaves.

-Bake for 15 minutes covered with foil, then another 15 minutes uncovered.

It was very yummy, but I accidentally spilled the red pepper flakes in the tomato sauce.  Oops! I tried to scoop it all out, but to say it had some kick would be an understatement.

Next time I make this recipe, I think I will replace the parmasean and mozarella with feta, the chicken with shrimp, and add roasted red peppers and artichoke hearts.

Other substitutions that could be made are using ground turkey in lieu of the chicken. I just had some leftover rotisserie chicken that needed to be used.   Leaving out the meat all together would make a great vegetarian dish. You could also add layers of other veggies, such as squash, zucchini, spinach, etc. 

This is another freezer friendly recipe!  You could freeze individual servings, if you are a single gal like me, or you could make double and freeze the entire pan.