Stuffed EggPlant

My better half is Italian as are my children so at least once or twice a week we have Italian food. I like to explore outside the box every now and then. I am going to give you the basic recipe for this but I did add a few extras that I will leave off the ingredients list as they don't 'have' to be in it to keep this so delicious! This is another recipe that I use the Pasta Sauce Recipe (already pre posted on the Blog. Like I said I can that so it makes my life easier.)

OPTIONAL INGREDIENTS : Red Bell Pepper, Fresh Mushrooms, Shredded Mozzarella, Shredded Cheddar Cheese


3 cups of Pasta Sauce

2 EggPlants (trim edges, slice in half, and scoop out the seeded area. Scoop out some of the flesh inside and dice it up Save the shell of the EggPlant)

EVOO

1 Onion (chopped)

1 Clove of Garlic (minced)

1 cup of Breadcrumbs

1/2 cup of Parmesan Cheese

Italian Sausage (cooked and chopped into pieces

 Italian Seasoning
1 Egg (beaten

 Red Pepper Flakes (optional)

Salt




Boil a pot of Salted Water. Throw the Eggplant Shells in and cook til they are soft. Turning them a few times helps. It takes about 5mins. Carefully pour them into a strainer and rinse them in cold water. Pat them dry and set them aside.

Heat some EVOO in a large skillet and add the diced up Eggplant and cook it til it is soft about 5mins. Add the Onion and the Garlic. This is where I add extra ingredients such as Red Bell Pepper and Mushrooms. Cook until all of the veggies are nice and tender. Remove from the skillet and toss in a nice big bowl. Add in the Parmesan Cheese, BreadCrumbs, Red Pepper, Italian Seasoning, Sausage, Egg and a bit of Salt. Stir this all up together.

Take your EggPlant Shells and place them in an oiled baking pan. Season em up with a little salt. Then stuff them up with the Sausage/ Veggie mixture. Top it off with just a bit of the Pasta Sauce maybe a 1/4 -1/2 cup  of the Pasta Sauce. At this point I also topp it off with a handful of some shredded mozzarella and shredded cheddar cheese as well. Save the rest of the sauce in a pan keeping it warm.

Bake the Stuffed EggPlants for about 30mins in a 350 degree oven I use the middle rack. Cover them with foil for the first 15mins.

Be careful transferring each Eggplant to a plate. Then top it off with the warm Pasta sauce and a little bit of Fresh Parmesan Cheese. Enjoy!

I only have a before the oven picture to share as we got so excited when they were done we forgot to take a picture. Yes they are that delicious!