This came out REAL good last night. Started it at 5pm and we were eating dinner at 6pm. As usual, I already had the sauce in my freezer, and that always makes doing Italian dishes ever so much easier. Of course, you can always brown and add extra beef if you like, but I find my sauce has enough for this dish.

This dish is pictured here: http://buttoni.wordpress.com/2011/0...t-beef-lasagna/

When I defrosted my spaghetti sauce for tonight, I didn’t just want to make spaghetti. I bought an eggplant this week, so I decided to throw it all together into a lasagna-like dish. Came out real tasty. This dish is Induction friendly if you can fit the carbs into your day. I find with the cheese, this dish is salty enough without added salt.

INGREDIENTS:

10 oz. eggplant
1 T. olive oil
1 c. spaghetti sauce with meat (I use my recipe: http://buttoni.wordpress.com/2009/0...paghetti-sauce/)
4 oz. mozzarella cheese, grated
4 T. Parmesan cheese
1/3 c. ricotta cheese
4 fresh basil leaves, chopped (or ¼ tsp. dried)

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 400º. Stem the eggplant and slice into ¼” slices. Oil sheet pan with olive oil and place each slice on sheet, coating both sides of them with oil as you go. Bake until eggplant is nearly done, turning once (takes about 8-10 minutes on a side. Remove from oven and lower heat to 350º. Layer half the eggplant slices on the bottom of a well oiled baking dish. Spoon half the spaghetti sauce over the top. Evenly spread all the ricotta cheese on next. Now sprinkle on half the mozzarella followed by 2 T. of the Parmesan. Spread the chopped basil on next. Now place the remaining slices of eggplant on top, reserving out one nice slice to decorate the top of the dish. Sprinkle on the remaining mozzarella and then the Parmesan cheese. Place the last slice of eggplant center dish and pop into 350º oven for around 30 minutes, until hot and bubbly. Garnish with colorful fresh basil leaves if desired.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 4 servings, each contains:

294.3 calories
19.7 g fat
11.13 g carbs, 3.65 g fiber, 7.48 g. NET CARBS
19.2 g protein
250 mg sodium
209 mg potassium

40% RDA Vitamin B12, 40% phosphorous, 26% calcium, 16% riboflavin, 16% selenium and 18% zinc

My mom used to make something like this. Must try again soon.