Eggplant Parmesan

The Eggplant Parmesan tonight was VERY delicious!  I really wasn't expecting it to be good, but it was!  I've been thinking so much about making this, that when it actually came time to make it today, I wasn't in the mood.  As soon as I took a bite, I changed my mind!  My husband was not home to enjoy it tonight, but he'll have leftovers tomorrow for lunch.  My daughter, well, she liked it, until she started breaking out in hives.  Yes, she's apparently allergic to Eggplant!  At least it's not an ingredient that's commonly used!

This was a bit time consuming to put together.  It's just a process, but it's not hard.  You have to peel the eggplant, cut the eggplant, "sweat" the eggplant, dip the eggplant, batter the eggplant, layer the eggplant......like I said, it's a process.  It was well worth it though, I swear!  This recipe has a 4-5 hour LOW cook time, so it's not one to put in in the morning and leave all day, so be aware of that!

Technically, this is more of an Eggplant Parmesan Casserole as it's layered, but I used a piece from the top layer in the picture to save the "beauty" of the picture!  If I wasn't trying to take a nice looking picture, I would have just cut in the layers and served myself a "chunk!"

Most Eggplant Parmesan recipes I looked at made a batter for the eggplant, fried it, then topped it with bread crumbs, so I cut some calories out here for you.  If you want, you can substitute the whole egg for egg whites and make it even healthier!  You could also use reduced fat cheese.

Here's what you came for!

Eggplant Parmesan

Ingredients:

2 large eggplants (I used 3 and it was WAY too much!)

3/4-1 cup Mozzerella Cheese

1 jar Marinara Sauce (I used Meijer brand)

2 eggs, beaten

1 1/2-2 cups Italian Bread Crumbs

salt, pepper and basil to taste

Pasta to serve under your Eggplant Parmesan

Non-stick spray

Directions:

Peel each eggplant and then slice into 1/2" thick slices.  Salt each side of each piece of eggplant and set in a casserole dish to "sweat" out the moisture for 30 mins.

After 30 mins. pat each piece of eggplant dry with paper towel.

Spray your slow cooker insert!

Dip 3-4 pieces of eggplant into the eggs and then into the bread crumbs.  Make a layer on the bottom of the slow cooker insert, then spread some of the Marinara on top and then sprinkle some of the Mozzarella.  Sprinkle pepper and basil on top as well.

Create 2-3 more layers this way and end with the Mozzarella, pepper and basil on top.

Cook on LOW for 4-5 hours.  Serve with pasta and extra Marinara Sauce if you would like.

Enjoy!

Tips:  If you have a smaller slow cooker, slice your eggplant into rounds.  You can always cut them to the size you need, but don't worry if they overlap.  It's not a huge deal!