So Good Friday is one week away and you might be scraping the bottom of the barrel for interesting meatless ideas by now. There’s plenty seafood and fish recipes out there; but if you’re getting a bit sick of seafood at this point and need a little creative culinary kick then I’m here to help!
This can be a particularly difficult time for those “meat n’ potato lovers” who just crave the meat. As someone that’s been surrounded in meat lovers and plenty of boys all my life, (thanks to my 4 brothers and 10 plus boy cousins) I’ve got a pretty good idea as to what they like to eat. You know what goes over really well most of the time? Italian pasta recipes! Yeah I know it’s not some big revelation to eat Italian for a meatless Friday but trust me it works, especially for seafood haters. The perfect dish to help “trick” those meat-eaters into forgetting that it’s missing the meat is Eggplant Parmesan or this awesome Green and White Lasagna.
The first time I ate Eggplant Parmesan I didn’t even know there was no meat in it; it was so darn good I didn’t even think about it. So below I’ve decided to take a closer look at Eggplant Parmesan. Check out this DELISH and very easy recipe, and some of my favorite ideas to pair with it.
Recipe: Easy Eggplant Parmesan
Ingredients
- 1 large eggplant
- 1/4 cup Parmesan
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella
- 1 large yellow onion thinly sliced
- 1 cup mushrooms sliced
- 2 cups your favorite spaghetti sauce
- 1/4 cup Italian bread crumbs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Peel eggplant and slice thinly (about 1/4 inch thick).
- Saute slices individually in olive oil until the eggplant becomes translucent.
- Drain and put eggplant aside. Saute mushrooms and onions until the mushrooms stop giving off moisture. Drain.
- In an ovenproof casserole (fairly deep), pour a little olive oil just to grease the bottom of the dish.
- Add a layer of eggplant, onions & mushrooms, and mozzarella. Cover with sauce. Sprinkle bread crumbs and Parmesan on top.
- Repeat these layers until the dish is full. Top with last of sauce and Parmesan. You usually have 2 or 3 layers depending on which dish I use.
- Bake at 350 degree F for 45 minutes.
Cooking time (duration): 45
Pair this yummy dish with some Crusty Garlic Bread and some Tossed Green Salad with Parmesan. Finish it off with some out of this world dessert by making Perfect Tiramisu and a Chocolate Almond Kiss drink!
I hope this complete meatless menu makes a happy household for you. Have a great week!
I never really thought about it, but eggplant as a meat replacement really does the job! Thanks for the recipe. I also looked at the Green and White Lasagna and OH MY GOODNESS that looks so yummy.