Eggplant Lasagna Remix

I really love this simple take on traditional Lasagna.

You will need:

• 1 large eggplant
• 2-3 eggs
• Bread Crumbs: I like to use Progresso Italian bread crumbs
• 8oz bag of Italian blend cheese: This is normally a mixture of mozzarella and parmesan, I like to get the store brand and save a couple $$
• 12oz tub of Ricotta cheese
• 1/2 lb of Italian Sausage: I like to get spicy or hot, choose yours based on your tastes
• 1 14oz jar of spaghetti sauce: Get one you like the taste of, or in a pinch buy the $1.00 can and save some $
• Olive oil
• Cookie sheet
• Casserole dish or long cake pan

To prepare:

• Pre-heat  your oven to 400
• First we have to prep our eggplant, cut your eggplant length-wise into 1/8-1/4 inch thick strips
• Drizzle olive oil on your cookie sheet
• Crack eggs and whisk in a bowl
• On a plate pour out one or two cups of bread crumbs
• Bread the eggplant by dipping it in the egg (allow excess egg to drip off), and then covering in bread crumbs. Place on your olive oiled cookie sheet
• Once your cookie sheet is filled with eggplant drizzle olive oil on your eggplant pieces and place in the oven
• Bake for about 5 minutes or until the bottom side of the eggplant is slightly brown. Flip your eggplant pieces and bake for another 5-10 minutes until the other side is brown. Repeat until all of your eggplant slices are browned
• While your eggplant is cooking: Brown italian sausage in a large skillet
• I like to get a crispy brown on my Italian sausage, but you can brown it to your taste
• Once your sausage is cooked mix in your spaghetti sauce and ricotta cheese: I like to mix them directly in my skillet to save a dish

Assembly!

The fun part for me is always in the assembly. You have should enough supplies to make two layers of eggplant and sauce

• Line the bottom of your casserole dish/cake pan with a layer of eggplant slices (it is alright if you have some gaps)
• Use half of your Italian sausage mixture on top of the eggplant
• Use 1/2 your bag of cheese for the next layer
• Repeat

Because all of our ingredients are cooked before hand we do not need much time in the oven.

Place your assembled dish in the oven for about 5-10 minutes until the Italian Cheese mixture is melted and you get a slight bowing on the top of your dish.

Take out of the oven, let cool down, and ENJOY!