Eggplant Parmigiana

I have only cooked with eggplant about 3 times and I love the way it holds up and grabs all the flavor that surrounds it.

"Eggplants belong to the nightshade family of vegetables, which also includes tomatoes, sweet peppers and potatoes....One can generally describe the eggplant as having a pleasantly bitter taste and spongy texture."

I looked at three different eggplant parmigiana recipes and I picked what I liked out of each of them, and I also put ingredients that were not called for but I thought would be great flavor.

Oven 350 degrees: 

3 eggplants, rinsed them and cut them in circles about 1/4 inch think
5 egg whites in a dish and Italian bread crumbs in another for my dipping station
1 jar of organic tomato and basil sauce along with some left over organic pizza sauce
1- 6oz package of FRESH mozzarella cheese
1-2 cups of grated mozzarella cheese
1-2 cups of grated parmesan cheese 

Dip eggplant slices in egg, then in bread crumbs. Placed on a baking sheet to cook for 15 mins then flipped and baked the other side for about 10mins. 

I buttered a 9x13 baking dish to prevent sticking then I spread spaghetti sauce to cover the bottom. Place a layer of eggplant slightly overlapping one another. Sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Repeat sauce, eggplant, cheeses. On the last layer I put the fresh mozzarella cheese along with the other two. 

Bake 40 minutes, or until cheese is golden.

What is really nice about this dish is you are able to sneak in a vegetable to children who have a hard time eating them. It's funny how if you tell them what they are eating before a meal they automatically think it's gross, but by making it a surprise at the end they usually like it and are amazed at how yummy it is. So we have a rule (well kind of) that you don't know what it is until you've finished lol. ~Misty