Monday, July 27, 2009

Grilled Eggplant Lasagna

I LOVE Eggplant Parmesan and Lasagna, but, both are not too friendly when it comes to calories and fat.  I decided to combine the two to come up with maybe one of my favorite new healthy recipes. 

Grilled Eggplant Lasagna

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2 medium eggplants, sliced lengthwise into 1/4 inch slices

2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

1 1/2 cup fat-free cottage cheese

2 cup sliced mushrooms

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tbsp olive oil

1/4 c shredded Parmesan cheese

2 cups marinara sauce (I used Trader Joe’s Starter Sauce)

Sliced the eggplant and lightly brush the eggplant with olive oil.   Place on a medium nonstick baking sheet. Sprinkle both sides with sea salt and pepper. Place on your grill or in the broiler for 3 to 5 minutes per side, or until tender.

Meanwhile, lightly mist a medium nonstick skillet with olive oil spray. Set over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until there is no liquid remaining in the pan and the mushrooms are starting to brown.

Preheat the oven to 350 ° F. Place half of the eggplant in a single layer in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Top with half of the mushroom mixture, half of the marinara sauce, and half of the cheese. Repeat with the remaining eggplant, mushrooms, sauce, and cheese. Cover with aluminum foil.

Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the aluminum foil. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until hot and the cheese is bubbly. Remove and let stand for 10 minutes. Cut into 6 equal portions. Serve immediately.

Makes 6 servings, 5 Weight Watchers Points each!

Start out by slicing your eggplant lengthwise in 1/4 inch strips.  Line up your slices and brush them with Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Sea Salt & Freshly Ground Black Pepper.  I used Consorzio Roasted Garlic Olive oil for extra flavor.

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Place your prepared eggplant slices on the grill for about 3-5 minutes per side.

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While your eggplant cooks, saute your mushrooms and garlic in nonstick pan with a little nonstick olive oil spray until browned.

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For your marinara, I have a FAVORITE goto sauce that really doesn’t need added flavors.

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I LOVE that the nutritionals are good (it isn’t loaded with sugar) and you can recognize every ingredient on the list.

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Now it’s time to layer your lasagna.  Start with a layer of your eggplant slices and top them with 1/2 the mushroom mixture.

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Add 1/2 your marinara sauce.

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Plus 1/2 your mozzarella and cottage cheese. Repeat the layers with last topping being a little freshly shredded parmesan.

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Bake in the oven as directed above.

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Cut into 6 slices and enjoy!  I LOVE any lasagna that gives me 1/6th of the pan for less than 300 calories/5 Weight Watcher Points – YUM!

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With my lasagna I had some fun fruit ~ a Plurine (1/2 pear, 1/2 nectarine) and a pluot (1/2 apricot, 1/2 plum).

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And for dessert, I decided to bust out some Chez Cocoa Summer Salts!  I LOVED this flavor as well – it’s like a dark chocolate sunflower seed that is crunchy but not super sweet.  It was a lot of fun to crunch.  I started out with 1/2  a serving, but, deciding to just have the full serving – this x’s 2.

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I am off to listen to my book on tape Second Chance by Jane Green as I work away on some reports – yeah!

See you all for another NEW POMTastic dinner recipe!

13 comments:

  1. This recipe sounds delish! I'd never think of grilling eggplant only to put it in lasagna! Brilliant!

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  2. can't wait to try my cocoa somersaults!

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  3. I love the sounds of that! I'm so timid to try cooking eggplant myself because of the possible bitterness - if you cover anything in cheese it has to taste good, right?! ;)

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  4. that lasagna looks fantastic, thanks for the recipe!

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  5. THis looks delicious,I can't wait to try it. I always think the actual noodles are such a waste, so this is perfect for me!

    www.nannersbread.blogspot.com

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  6. That is a great recipe!! I'm definitely going to be trying that. It's hard to find a healthier lasagna but this one looks delicious.

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  7. I LOVE grilling eggplant. Yum!

    Hope I didn't miss much this last week :-/

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  8. that. looks. amazing. thanks for posting!!!

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  9. Yum, I have some eggplant I need to use up, and I think I have just the recipe for it...

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  10. I love the Cocoa Chez somersaults too. So delicious.

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  11. Julia ~ Thanks - the combination was pretty tasty!

    The Actor's Diet ~ Beware - OMG - so addicting!

    K ~ I didn't know you could make it bitter cooking...good to know. Yup - cheese makes anything amazing!

    The Twins ~ No problem - do tell if you try it out and like it.

    Natalie ~ It's fun to find different things to use in place of the veggies I think :)

    Fitnut ~ I totally agree it is hard, but, making your own can turn out to be totally healthy and delicious.

    C.G ~ Nope, not at all - just a bunch of posts and recipes :) LOL Hope you enjoyed your vacation.

    Janetha ~ It was pretty amazing and the leftovers are even better!

    Caroline ~ Yeah - I can't wait to see how yours turns out.

    The SkinnyPlate ~ OMG - they are totally addictive. I am glad there was only 2 servings in a bag :)

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  12. So creative! I love this! I've made lasagna with lettuce leaves and lean meat before, but this has a whole new twist. THANKS!

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  13. Thanks Lindsay - it's delicious! I cannot wait to hear what you think of it :)

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