Eggplant Parmesan Light Version #Recipe @PegCochran

I'd rarely ever cooked with eggplant before and it's as if I'd suddenly discovered the vegetable! I've made two dishes with eggplant in two weeks--eggplant rollatini and now eggplant Parmesan.  Maybe I've been channeling Lucille Mazzarella from my Lucille Series who cooks all things Italian.

This was equally delicious.  It's not hard although it is a bit time consuming.  Perfect for a special weekend dinner.  This recipe is from Skinnytaste.com with some of my own additions and comments.

Ingredients

2 pounds eggplant, 1 large or 2 medium
olive oil spray
1 teaspoon kosher salt
12 ounces part-skim ricotta  
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp Pecorino Romano (I used Parmesan since that is what I had)
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped (I consider this optional)
1 large egg
2-1/2 cups part-skim mozzarella
4 cups homemade tomato sauce or jarred marinara

Instructions

Preheat oven to 450°F. Spray 2 sheet pans with oil. Be sure to grease them well or eggplant will stick.

Slice the eggplant into 1/4 inch thick slices. 

My new handy dandy mandoline

Sprinkle eggplant with salt and place in colander in sink.  Let sit for 10 minutes or so until eggplant begins to “sweat.”  Dry eggplant well on paper towels.

Place eggplant on sheet pans.  Bake for 20 minutes, turning halfway. Eggplant should be golden. *Mine took less time so check early

Combine ricotta, egg, parsley and 1/4 cup of grated cheese.

Put 1/2 cup sauce on the bottom of a 9x12 baking dish.

Add 1/3 of eggplant to cover the bottom of the dish. Top with 1/3 of the ricotta cheese mixture, 3/4 cup of the mozzarella cheese and 3/4 cup of the sauce. 

Add another layer of eggplant and repeat the ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese and sauce two more times, reserving the third layer of mozzarella for topping. 

Top with 1 1/2 cups of sauce, remaining mozzarella, and the remaining 2 tablespoons of grated cheese.

Reduce oven to 400F.

Cover with foil and bake until cheese is melted and everything is bubbling, about 40 minutes. (I find spraying the piece of foil with some cooking spray helps to keep it from sticking.

Remove foil and bake an additional 10 minutes.

Take it out of the oven and let it sit about 10 minutes before cutting.

"A lively series debut for an engaging heroine."
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The plot thickens for American gothic writer Penelope Parish when a murder near her quaint British bookshop reveals a novel's worth of killer characters.

Penelope Parish has hit a streak of bad luck, including a severe case of writer's block that is threatening her sophomore book. Hoping a writer in residence position at The Open Book bookstore in Upper Chumley-on-Stoke, England, will shake the cobwebs loose, Pen, as she's affectionately known, packs her typewriter and heads across the pond.

Unfortunately, life in Chumley is far from quiet and when the chairwoman of the local Worthington Fest is found dead, fingers are pointed at Charlotte Davenport, an American romance novelist and the future Duchess of Worthington. Charlotte turns to the one person who might be her ally for help: fellow American Pen. Teaming up with bookstore owner Mabel Morris and her new friend Figgy, Pen sets out to learn the truth and find the tricks that will help her finish her novel.

OUT NOW! Book #5

 

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The dead of winter takes on a whole new meaning in the new Cranberry Cove Mystery from USA Today bestselling author Peg Cochran!

On a night of heavy snow and bitter cold, newlyweds Monica and Greg are comfortably nestled before a warm fire when they’re roused by a late-night knock at the door. Surprised to find a troubled and confused woman on the doorstep, Monica is even more shocked when the woman vacantly utters that someone is trying to kill her. Sensing distress but not danger, Monica decides to help this mysterious woman, but her clouded recollections yield little—until she dredges up memories of her sister and a nearby home, where they find the woman’s sister, dead. Unable to deny her own curiosity or the woman’s request for help, Monica begins digging into the suspicious death, only to discover a murky family history of valuable land, a bullying brother, an unscrupulous real estate developer, and endless rumors of good deeds met with bad blood. And when the trail of the killer begins to turn cold, Monica realizes that while the family wants to bury their sister, someone is out to bury the clues—and if Monica’s not careful, to bury her as well . . .
Includes tasty recipes!

 

  

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