Healthy"ish" Eggplant Parmesan Bake

Some of our friends Amy & Josh just welcomed a baby girl into the world!  I wanted to bring dinner over to them and Amy is a vegetarian so I new I wanted to make something that she would enjoy. =)  What better than Italian food?  I have made Eggplant Parmesan before.. but you had to fry the eggplant and it was a bit of a greasy mess so I tried a different method this time... I BAKED the eggplant.  
Hope you enjoy!




Healthy"ish" Eggplant Parmesan Bake

Ingredients:

• 2 Large Eggs
• 1 Cup Dry, Plain Breadcrumbs
• 1 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp basil
• salt & pepper
• 3 Ibs Eggplant (approx 2-3 eggplants) peeled and cut into 1/2 inch rounds
• 72 ounces Tomato Sauce.  (you can use your favorite store bought OR make your favorite marinara)
• 1 1/2 - 2 cups shredded mozzarella

Instructions:

1. Preheat Oven to 375.
2. In a shallow bowl whisk together eggs and 2tbs water.
3. In another shallow bowl mix together breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, oregano, basil, salt and pepper.
4. Dip Eggplant Pieces in egg-wash coating evenly- let excess egg drip off.  Dredge through breadcrumbs and coat evenly on all sides.  Place Eggplant on baking sheets.
5. Bake 20 Minutes or until golden brown.  Turn and bake an additional 20 minutes or until golden brown.
6. Remove From Oven.
7.  Cover bottom of (1) 9 x 13 pan or (2) 8 x 8 pans with sauce.(approx 2 cups).
8. Arrange Eggplant in dish in a layer overlapping slightly.  Top with 1/2 cup mozzarella.  Top with Sauce.  Repeat Layers until no more eggplant/sauce left.  You should end with a layer of sauce. Sprinkle top with Mozzarella and a little Parmesan.
9. Bake 25-30 minutes or until bubbly.  Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

* if you chose to assemble this in (2) 8 x 8 pans you can freeze one of them for later! 

Enjoy!

Melissa