Skip The Meat & Noodles ~ This Eggplant Lasagna Is So Tasty You Don’t Need Them!

Take this challenge to get rid of your fears of vegetables! Don't forget your eggplants and oozing cheese!

INGREDIENTS

Noodles:

2 eggplants, 1/4 inch strips

Meat Sauce:

1 1⁄2  lbs ground sirloin

2 onions, chopped

3  cloves chopped garlic

1  red pepper, chopped

16 ounce sliced mushrooms

2  tablespoons italian seasoning

10 ounce frozen chopped spinach

28 ounce can tomato sauce

15 ounce can diced tomatoes

Cheese Mixture:

2  cups ricotta cheese

2 eggs

3 green onions, chopped

3  cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1⁄2  cup parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS

Set the oven temperature to 425 degrees
Cook the seasoned eggplant slices in the baking sheet for five minutes
Then decrease the temperature to 375 degrees
Assemble the ground sirloin, chopped onions, and chopped garlic in olive oil and cook for five minutes.
Then cook for another five minutes with the addition of chopped red pepper and sliced mushroom.
Lastly place the chopped spinach, can of tomatoes, and can of tomato sauce into the mixture and let it warm up for five to ten minutes.
Include the ricotta cheese, eggs, and onions together.
Pour the first layer of the meat mixture into a heat-resistant pan, preferably glass.
In this specific order place half of eggplant slices, half ricotta cheese, and one third of mozzarella and parmesan cheese, consecutively.
Redo the previous step one more time before finalizing it by putting the last set of parmesan and mozzarella cheese.
Then wrap an aluminum foil on top of the pan and set it in the oven for sixty minutes.
Lastly take off the covered foil and place the pan in the oven for another five to ten minutes just to see the top of the lasagna browning.
Let it cool for about ten minutes before serving.

If you feel comfortable cooking this dish, here are few options that you could incorporate! You always have the option to replace the ground sirloin with either turkey breasts or Italian sausages! If you want some spicy flaring flavor, simply insert a bit of red pepper flakes. You can also put in a cup of red wine or vodka to lessen the sugariness in the mixture as well because a little bit of alcohol won’t hurt at all! Lastly, if you are bored with Italian seasoning, you can substitute it a combination of oregano, thyme, and basil.

Article Source: food.com