Meal-Over Monday's: What's for dinner this week?

Eggcellent Eggplant Mozzarella

Happy Monday Clippers!

One of my goals this year is to stay in and cook at least five nights each week and focus on eating meals around the kitchen table...as a family! Most of 2011 we spent eating out, unhealthy and in front of the TV. As a mom this was very depressing. So my husband and I have made a commitment together to have family dinner night as much as possible in the Jones household.

To help this resolution pan out I am going to introduce Meal-Over Monday's...yep, a full day dedicated to weekly meal plans, recipes, kitchen tips, etc. This is going to be my new favorite day of the week!

This week my family will be indulging on the following yummy meals...

Monday: Eggcellent Eggplant Mozzarella served with honey infused sweet potatoes

Tuesday: Avocado & Jalapeno Tacos

Wednesday: Cajun Style Porkchops served with baked potatoes and creamed corn

Thursday: Sloppy Joe's and French Fries

Friday: Biscuits Atop Chicken Stew 

Tonight's meal was AMAZING. I actually cooked it last night and we had leftovers that we enjoyed today. This is my very own recipe so I would love to hear your feedback! My husband and I have been wanting to try an eggplant recipe but nothing really appealed to us so I played with some ingredients and got these yummy and very presentable main dishes.

Eggcellent Eggplant Mozzarella
By Gabriele Jones

Feeds 2-4 people
Prep Time: 5-10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 large eggplant, cut into 1/2 inch thick rounds
• 2-3 cups seasoned Panko (Japanese Bread Crumbs)
• 2 large eggs
• 1-2 cups mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup traditional pasta sauce or marina sauce (whichever suits your taste)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried basil
• Extra virgin olive oil  (EVOO) cooking spray

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees and then spray baking sheet with EVOO cooking spray.
2. In shallow bowl or baking dish beat eggs, salt and pepper. In another shallow bowl or baking dish mix Panko, oregano and basil.
3. Dip eggplant rounds into egg mixture, coating both sides evenly and then transfer immediately to Panko mixture coating both sides in seasoned crumbs. Lay flat on baking sheet.
4. Bake at 475 for 15 minutes.
5. After 15 minutes remove eggplant from oven and top with 1-2 tbs sauce and 1 tbs mozzarella. Return the baking sheet to the oven and bake for an additional 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
6. Remove from oven and let stand for one minute.

We had our eggplant with honey infused sweet potatoes. Yes, it sounds weird but the combination of flavors was pretty good. If your not much for the creative palette then you could serve with angel hair pasta and the remaining pasta sauce.

This meal is light but filling, making it perfect for all year enjoyment. It would be perfect for entertaining guests. Smaller eggplant rounds can even be used to make appetizers. The Panko actually crisps the eggplant up so much they can be enjoyed as a finger food. Amazing? I know!