Eggplant Parmesan With Easy Homemade Sauce

In our CSA Produce Box this last week, we ended up with eggplant. I don't know that I have ever intentionally eaten eggplant. Not because I have anything against it. I've never tried it to feel one way or the other...that I know of. So, I was baffled as to what to do with these purple gourds. I started my search on Facebook. I bet you didn't expect me to say that. hehe. I discovered many of my friends raving about Eggplant Parmesan, so that became the winning dish for the evening. Thanks to Pinterest (and allrecipes.com) I was able to find a terrific Eggplant Parmesan recipe - which you can check out here.

Photo from allrecipes.com

I didn't make my recipe with noodles, I figured since I was trying to eliminate carbs, I shouldn't add them back in to this lasagna-style dish. I modified the recipe slightly and added mushrooms to the sauce. We had mushrooms that needed to be used up, and I'm always happy to add in some of that goodness. Hate me if you want, but I am a mushroom-lover. The food. I love the food mushrooms. Nevermind...I should stop while I'm ahead.

After baking the eggplant as directed in the recipe and placing them in the pan, I was ready for the sauce to be lathered on top. By the way, as the eggplant was cooking, I made the sauce. My kitchen stayed rather toasty, so this is a recipe I'd recommend making on a day that isn't in the 80s or above...especially if you are pregnant. Wooey, was I warm.

After putting all the cheese on, I popped this baby in the oven. It didn't look like much to begin with...

But, BAM! Look at it now!! Oh my goodness. It still looks delicious. Sometimes I wish this was like Willy Wonka where I could just taste the food through my computer. You know, like the wallpaper that you lick? That sounds way more disgusting now that I've written it...act like I didn't say that.

This dish was absolutely a success. My husband liked it (although I did have to pick out the mushrooms for him. He does not have the same love for them that I do). My son even seemed to tolerate it for the most part. We had a bunch of leftovers, which my husband ate. However, he says it is definitely better eaten fresh. Now that I've tried eggplant, I may try it again. This was a successful, tasty, satisfying dish and kinda healthy too! If you've never had eggplant, this would be a good place to start. And, if you have had eggplant, well, you should try to anyways.