New Recipes; Eggplant Lasagna

This weekend was full of veggies! My dear husband wrangled my children and picked up our Bountiful Baskets order Saturday morning as well as the juicing pack that I wanted to try. (While I was running a 10k. Isn't he the best?) Then we had dinner with friends last night who did Market on the Move ($10 donation for up to 60lbs of produce). They had a few two many eggplants and squash, so they gave us some as well.

The thing with Market on the Move produce is that it generally needs to be used or prepared quickly. I found a good-looking eggplant lasagna recipe. It was straight Paleo, which is good, but I just couldn't imagine lasagna without cheese.

Here's the recipe (adapted from bigeatstinykitchen.com)
Eggplant Lasagna
1 eggplant
Mozzarella (next time I'd use a ricotta blend, but it was still good.)
olive oil
1 pound ground beef
1 medium onion, diced
10 oz sliced mushrooms (then cut again to make bite-sized pieces)
1T minced garlic (4-6 fresh cloves, minced)
28oz diced tomatoes, undrained
6 oz tomato paste
1T dried oregano
1T dried basil
1T dried parsley
1t dried thyme
salt and pepper

1. Slice the eggplant into 1/4 inch strips, coat with olive oil and cook for 5 minutes on each side at 375, making them tender.
2. Brown the beef, drain, then add onions, mushrooms, and garlic. When onions have cooked, add tomatoes, paste, and spices. Simmer for 5-10 minutes on low.

3. Assemble as follows: start with meat sauce, then eggplant, then cheese. Repeat once and finish with meat.
 
4. Bake for 30 minutes with foil over it at 375, then 10 minutes without foil.
All of these steps can be done in advance. Eggplant, meat sauce, even the assembly.