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My family loves eggplant and these unusual looking vegetables are very good for you. Winco had beautiful eggplants on sale for 98 cents each last week so I bought one for a treat for my family. I thought I'd share with you this great healthy recipe using eggplant.




Eggplant Parmesan

Ingredients:
1 eggplant, about 1/2 lb.
1 egg
3 1/2 Tbsp. 2% milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
1 Tbs. olive oil
3/4 cup marinara sauce
1/2 cup low-fat mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese, grated
1 1/3 cups cooked angel hair pasta
2 cups cooked broccolini (Broccolini is a green vegetable not unlike broccoli with small florets and long, thin stalks.- Wikipedia)

Marinara Sauce
1 cup onion chopped
1 Tbs. garlic, minced
1/2 Tbsp. fresh oregano, finely chopped
1/2 Tbsp. fresh basil, finely chopped
1/2 tsp. ground dried thyme
1/2 tsp. ground coarse black pepper
1/4 tsp. red chili pepper flakes
1 tsp. olive oil
6 1/4 cups canned diced tomatoes
3/4 cup vegetable stock
1 bay leaf
2 tsp. parsley, freshly chopped

Preparation
Eggplant Parmesan
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut eggplant into 8 slices, each slice 1/4 inch thick. In a small bowl, beat egg with milk. Dredge eggplant slices in flour, then in egg mild mixture, then in breadcrumbs. In a large saute pan saute eggplant in olive oil over medium-high heat for 3-5 minutes on each side. Transfer cooked eggplant slices to a baking dish. Top with marinara sauce and sprinkle cheese over the top. Place in oven and cood for a few minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly. Serve 2 eggplant slices with 1/3 cup cooked pasta and 1/2 cup cooked broccolini.

Marinara Sauce
Ina large sauce pan, saute onion, garlic, oregano, basil, thyme, black pepper and red pepper flakes in olive oil until onions are soft. Add diced tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Add remaining ingredients except for parsley and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours stirring frequently. Stir in parsley.

Nutritional Information
Recipe makes 4 servings. Each 1/2 cup serving contains:
360 calories
15 g. of protein
56 g. carbohydrates
10 g. fat
63 mg. cholesterol
310 mg. sodium
6 g. fiber