Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Baked Eggplant Parmesan

Okay, this is for all of you who are scared of this yummy purple veggie. I decided to take pictures as I went along so that you can see that this is easy and NOT scary. Eggplant is kind-of like Zucchini in that it takes on the flavor of whatever you cook it with. Eggplant Parmesan is usually fried, but this version is baked and very healthy. I got the original recipe out of a Weight Watcher's cookbook, and the tailored it to my tastes (and made it a bit easier by using prepared sauce and bread crumbs). My husband is a meat kind of guy, but he loves this dish. So, now that you're out of excuses...go ahead and try it!

Ingredients:
1 medium-large Eggplant
2 large Eggs
2 Tablespoons Fat Free Milk
1 Cup Italian-seasoned Bread Crumbs
1 Cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
3 T grated Parmesan Cheese
Prepared Marinara Sauce





































When shopping for an eggplant, make sure that your eggplant is firm, not squishy. The skin should be purple and smooth. You should plan on using your eggplant within 1-2 days of when it is purchased. Store it in the refrigerator in a paper sack. When you're ready to prepare the Eggplant Parmesan, wash your eggplant, chop off the stem end, and slice the eggplant into 1/4-1/2 inch slices. The thinner you cut them, the faster they will cook. Preheat oven to 375 and spray 2 baking sheets with nonstick cooking spray.




















Lightly beat together the eggs and milk in a shallow bowl. Place bread crumbs in another bowl. Dip the eggplant in the egg mixture, then in the bread crumbs, and arrange in one layer on the baking sheets.



















Lightly spray the top of the eggplant with non-stick spray. Bake until the eggplant is softened, and lightly brown, about 25 minutes.



















While the eggplant is baking, spray a 9x13 pan with non-stick cooking spray, then cover the bottom with sauce. Grate your cheeses.



















Remove the browned, softened eggplant from the oven and carefully layer your eggplant and sauce. The eggplant will soak up some of the sauce, so make sure you pile on the sauce! You should use the whole jar.



















Sprinkle with cheeses and bake uncovered until hot and bubbling, and the cheese is golden, about 20 minutes.




Let stand for 5 minutes before serving. Serve with salad or a side of pasta with sauce. Makes 6 servings, 5 Weight Watchers points per serving.

3 comments:

ElisaBell said...

Oooh! That looks delicious! I'm going to have to try that one sometime soon. Thanks for sharing.

Tiffany said...

ok, I have to admit that I have this recipe of your from all those recipes you gave us with the weight watchers and I was scared to try it. After your step by step I think I might be able to do it! Thanks for making it look not so scary!! Do you do more than one layer? Do you just layer and layer until the eggplant is all in the pan?? do you put cheese in the middle of the layers??

Aubri said...

Yes, you can do more than one layer, just make sure that everything gets saucy. And, you can use as much cheese as you want, wherever you want, but that does make the points go up! :) If you make it according to the recipe, so that it has the 5 points per serving, it only has the cheese on top. But, get creative...do whatever sounds good to you!