Cooking Light Night

T and I tend to be a homebodies most of the week. We usually reserve the weekend for going out. Fridays are date nights and Saturdays we go out with friends or family but Sundays we try to stay home, read the funnies, relax, wind down before Monday and eat dinner at home. Today was no different. I heart Sundays.

One of my husband’s favorite things to order when we go out to eat is chicken parmesan. When he’s not feeling the protein he’ll order eggplant parmesan. Something about parmesan-izing (I love made up words!) that apparently T likes! HAHA. Since I’ve made chicken parmesan countless ways already, I decided to search for a new eggplant parmesan recipe for Sunday dinner.

Side note: I’ve gotten a couple emails asking me if Cooking Light Night was a weekly event. Right now its just something I do for my own blog. I was originally going to make it a weekly thing but my cooking is so sporadic that I decided just to “cook light” once a week, any day of the week, rather than on a specific day. But feel free to do your own Cooking Light Night and use my logo. Its not anything fancy but it works for me. I wouldn’t mind getting some linkage so that I don’t miss any new CL recipes though! xoxo

Eggplant Parmesan Lasagna
(Recipe from Cooking Light, APRIL 2001 | photos from me!)

makes 9 servings

* Calories 432 (23% from fat); Fat 11g (sat 6.2g,mono 3.1g,poly 0.9g); Protein 28.3g; Carbohydrate 53.8g; Fiber 3.7g; Cholesterol 58mg; Iron 3.2mg; Sodium 976mg; Calcium 460mg

INGREDIENTS

3 large egg whites
1 large egg
1 (1-pound) eggplant, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs
Cooking spray
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
5 tablespoons (1 1/4 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese, divided
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 (15-ounce) carton part-skim ricotta cheese
1 (12-ounce) carton 1% low-fat cottage cheese
1 (26-ounce) can fat-free tomato-basil pasta sauce (I used spaghetti sauce)
12 cooked lasagna noodles

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 450°.

Combine 2 egg whites and egg in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Dredge 1 eggplant slice in flour. Dip in egg mixture; dredge in breadcrumbs. Repeat procedure with remaining eggplant, flour, egg mixture, and breadcrumbs. Place slices in a single layer on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Coat tops of slices with cooking spray. Bake at 450° for 20 minutes, turning eggplant after 10 minutes. Remove from baking sheet; cool.

Reduce oven temperature to 375°.

Combine 1 cup shredded mozzarella, 3 tablespoons Parmesan, oregano, basil, ricotta, cottage cheese, and 1 egg white in a large bowl.

Spread 1/4 cup pasta sauce in the bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange 4 lasagna noodles slightly overlapping over the pasta sauce; top with half of cheese mixture, half of eggplant slices, and 3/4 cup pasta sauce. Repeat layers, ending with noodles. Spread remaining pasta sauce over noodles. Sprinkle with 1 cup mozzarella and 2 tablespoons Parmesan.

Cover and bake at 375° for 15 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 35 minutes or until cheese melts. Let stand 5 minutes. Serve with a side salad.

ENJOY!

Husband rating: A+
He took one bite and immediately said “This one’s a keeper, hun!”

Wifey rating: A
I liked this lasagna. Its not my favorite lasagna that I’ve made but I am sure I’ll make it again though. It has melted cheese on top. It can’t be all bad right? haha

* Nutritional information for original recipe. It does not include my changes and/or substitutions.