PAM’S EGGPLANT PARMESAN

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Heat ½” of vegetable oil in a large frying pan. I usually have two pans going at once to make this process faster, but that is your call! You will need to clean out the pan(s) halfway through when the oil gets ‘muddy’ and start with fresh oil.

Slice eggplants into ½” slices leaving the peel on and discarding the ends.

Dip eggplant slices in egg. Let the excess run off and then coat in breadcrumbs. Add the eggplant to the frying pan and brown well on both sides, until eggplant is very tender. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels. Repeat this process for all of the slices. Note that you will need to continue adding more oil to the pan. This recipe is delicious, but not figure friendly!

Spread one cup of the homemade sauce in the bottom of a 9” x 13” pan. Place one layer of eggplant slices, overlapping to cover the bottom of the pan. Top eggplant layer with another cup of sauce and spread evenly. Dollop about 1 cup of ricotta cheese (or a little more) evenly over the sauce. Spread 1 ½ cups mozzarella cheese on top of this evenly. Place another layer of overlapping eggplant on top of the cheese and repeat layers. End with a layer of eggplant, sauce, and mozzarella cheese (no ricotta on top layer).

Place the casserole on a foil-lined baking sheet which will prevent bubbling over and making a mess of your oven.  Bake for 30-40 minutes until hot and bubbly. If the cheese is getting overly brown, tent with foil.

Slice into squares like lasagna and serve! Delish!

Note – this casserole can be frozen, then defrosted and baked when you want it! It may create some ‘juice’ when defrosting; just carefully pour off any excess before baking.