Stuffed

Today I am going to share a recipe with all of you for stuffed eggplant. Yes, we were stuffed after eating them.

Here is a picture of them before they went into the oven to bake.

The recipe came from Food.com, but I changed it slightly to suit our tastes and to use what I had on hand.

Stuffed Eggplant

1 large eggplant (I used 3 smaller eggplants)
3 tbsp. olive oil, divided
1/2 lb ground beef
salt and pepper
1 medium onion finely diced
1 small red pepper diced (I didn't use the red pepper)
1 small green pepper diced (I used two)
3 cloves garlic, minced (I used 1 1/2 tsp of the ready minced garlic in a jar)
1/2 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp dried basil
1 1/4 cups grated romano cheese (I used a mixture of mozzarella and parmesan)
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1 egg
2 small tomatoes chopped

Preheat oven to 350 F. Cut egg plant in half and scoop out the center, leaving enough meat in the skin so that the eggplant holds its shape. Boil the scooped out center part until soft about 10-12 minutes.

Meanwhile in a medium pan heat 1 tbsp. oil over medium heat. Season the beef with salt and pepper and add it to the pan. Saute until all of its liquid is evaporated and the beef begins to brown slightly. Drain the beef. Let cool briefly and chop the cooked beef so that there are no large chunks of meat. Put in a bowl. Add remaining oil to pan and add the onions, peppers and garlic. Saute until onion and peppers are tender.

In the bowl with the cooked beef mix vegetables, herbs, 1 cup of mozzarella cheese, bread crumbs and the egg.

Fill the scooped out eggplant halves with the mixture, dividing it evenly between the halves.

Top with chopped tomatoes and the remaining cheese (this is where I used the parmesan), season with salt and pepper once again. Place on an oiled baking tray and bake for 30 minutes or until the eggplant is soft. Let cool briefly and serve.

This is what they looked like on my plate.

The two small halves I had more than filled me up.

All the items except for the meat, cheese (and salt/pepper) came from my garden and so was a relatively inexpensive meal.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.