Thursday, August 14, 2008

Easy, Cheesy Baked Eggplant

Mmmmm... eggplant! Love it! Tonight, I threw together a quick baked eggplant dish. I really didn't know what the heck I was doing, but dinner turned out surprisingly well. I'll have to remember this recipe for future dinners! 

Easy, Cheesy Baked Eggplant
Makes 2-3 servings 

1 medium eggplant
1 cup of marinara sauce
1 cup low-fat ricotta 
2 tbsp fresh basil (chopped)
1.5 tbsp dried Italian seasoning
1/2 cup  shredded cheddar cheese (mozzarella would work too)
salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Thinly slice eggplant. Coat baking dish with non-stick spray and cover the bottom with eggplant slices. 
3. Cover eggplant with half of the marinara sauce, ricotta, basil, Italian seasoning, and shredded cheese.
4. Layer the remaining eggplant on top of the first layer, and repeat step 3 with remaining ingredients. (If desired, add more shredded cheese to top layer.)
5. Bake for 20 minutes until eggplant is soft and cheese is golden brown.

First Layer


Piping-Hot Out of the Oven


My portion was a little less than a third of the baking dish. It filled me right up!


I was in the cookin' mood tonight! I had a small amount of canned pumpkin that I wanted to use up, so I decided to make one of my favorite pumpkin recipes: Pumpkin Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Muffins. I've already eaten 2 muffins, and I am thinking about a 3rd! :)


I have a training session tomorrow at the gym. (As a new member, I receive 2 free training sessions!) I'm really looking forward to it, mainly because I'd really like to increase my flexibility. I'm embarrassingly inflexible! Hopefully, my trainer will come up with a game plan to help me! 

Good night!

19 Comments:

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Mmm, muffins!!!

Enjoy your training session tomorrow!!

Anonymous said...

Hi Tina,
Just curious - how many hours of sleep do you get? I normally get around 7 hours, but to go to the gym at 5:15, I'd have to be asleep at 10 (so, in bed around 9:45) just to make that amount.
I guess this is a question for everyone: do you find you get enough sleep?
http://hareandtortoise.wordpress.com/

Merry K. said...

I was just looking for a good eggplant recipe! Thanks!

Anonymous said...

just wanted to add on about your idea for using scrap paper. There is a great website called www.catalogchoice.org that will allow people to opt of receving catalogs in the mail. its really user friendly!

Megan said...

mmm the eggplant and muffins look GREAT! I think I will be going and buying an eggplant this weekend :)

Anon said...

enjoy your session! i really need to take stretching more seriously too - i can barely touch my toes without feeling the pain in my hammies

Anonymous said...

Just like Merry said, I was just looking for a good eggplant recipe. I can't wait to try this!
Thanks Tina!
:)

Anonymous said...

I feel your pain- I'm ridiculously inflexible. Hope you learn some great new stretches and enjoy the time with a trainer!

HeatherBakes said...

OH- thanks for the muffin recipe! That pretty much combines my three favorite foods. I may never eat anything else again :)

The eggplant looks great, too!

Jenna said...

that eggplant looks divine!!! I might have to recreate that one soon! Thanks for the inspiration :)

Tina said...

SH,

I am physically in bed at 9pm, but I usually read, listen to music, make my to do list for the next day, etc. I'm usually asleep by 9:30/9:45.

Kelly,

I agree, catalogchoice.com is great! They do a great job, but I've still had to call a few companies to get me off their mailing list.

Quinn said...

Mmmmm, delicious looking eggplant!

Anonymous said...

Hello muffins! Think they would handle being shipped to Virginia? :)

sweetsandsweats.wordpress.com

Anonymous said...

Eggplant is so delicious!

eurydice said...

i'm very inflexible too. i did yoga for awhile and it really helps with flexibility. especially if your problem is hamstrings like me... i can't even touch my toes!

Mandy said...

That eggplant dish looks really yummy. I haven't really cared for any eggplant dishes I've tried, but I'm convinced I can like it if it's made the right way! I think I'll try this - the tomato must really break down the eggplant with it's acidity. Looks so yummy, healthy, cheesy and low calorie! Thanks Tina!

Anonymous said...

That eggplant looks really delicious. Ymm!

Anonymous said...

I have to tell you that I made your eggplant tonight (sans ricotta b/c I didn't have any, oh, and I added some zucchini) and it was amazing! I have Celiac disease and have to eat gluten-free and love that the recipe was naturally gluten-free. Do you mind if I share your recipe on my gluten-free blog? I will make sure to link back to you.

Thanks! I love reading your blog!

Kim

Tina said...

Kim,

Of course you can add it to your blog! Glad you like it! :)