Homer Simpson Moment

Yesterday I waxed poetic about my love for casseroles, and how I don't typically make them during the week. So enter today: A typical busy Monday (plus an atypical sick baby) and I wisely planned a casserole for dinner.

Pros: I have enough left over for lunch tomorrow; and this was a smaller casserole so it was easy to determine/control portions. Oh - and it was delish.

Cons: It took waaaay too long to prepare for a weeknight.

I still managed to get dinner on the table at a decent hour, because for once I actually read the recipe in advance of starting preparation, so I knew this was going to require some time.

Eggplant Parmesan
Source: Prevention Magazine, September 2010

Ingredients:

• 2-3 eggplants, cut into 1/4-inch slices
• 1/4 c. + 1.5 tsp EVOO
• 1 tsp salt (skip)
• 1 clove garlic, thinly sliced (used pre-minced)
• 2 lb plum tomatoes or 1 can (28 oz) tomatoes, chopped (used no-salt added diced)
• 20 fresh basil leaves
• 1/2 tsp pepper (skip)
• 3/4 c. freshly grated parm

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Generously oil 2 nonstick baking sheets.
• Put eggplant slices on pans and brush tops with 1/4 c of oil. Sprinkle with 1/4 tsp salt. Bake 30 mins or until softened.
• Heat remaining 1.5 tsp oil in medium saucepan over med-high heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring frequently, 1 min.
• Add tomatoes, basil, pepper and remaining salt and cook until sauce is thickened and reduced to about 2 cups, approx. 15 mins.
• Transfer tomato mixture to food processor and puree until smooth.
• Coat bottom of 8x8 baking dish and 1/2 c. of sauce. Add 1/3 of the baked eggplant and top with another 1/2 c. sauce and 3 tbsp parm cheese. Repeat twice (eggplant, sauce, cheese), ending with remaining 6 tbsp cheese.
• Bake for 30 mins. Let rest 10 mins before serving. (BTW - who does that? I never do. Usually because we're all too hungry to wait and let food "rest".)

Yield: 4 servings
Per serving: 300 cals; 10g protein; 24g carb; 11g fiber; 20.5g fat (5g sat); 827mg sodium (!)

Heart healthy foods: Tomatoes; fresh basil; EVOO; plus we had broccoli as a side

Reviews:
We had varying opinions of this. The kid wasn't the biggest fan and mustered enough bites to score an after-dinner treat. The hubs thought it was OK for a Meatless Monday dish. Me? I heart this dish. Despite my casserole-weeknight issues, it was pretty simple to prepare. I like that it required very few ingredients and almost no chopping/prep work. Plus, it was delish. To be honest, I didn't have high expectations because I was worried that with so few ingredients it was going to lack flavor. I know I don't have the world's most refined palate, but my unsophisticated taste buds thought it had plenty going on.

Ranking:
Three Forks - family average