We had lots of eggplant available during food pantry distribution last week. Eggplant is a fairly uncommon vegetable, but has tons of uses. We’ve come up with two easy-to-make recipes that we hope you and your family will love!

Eggplant Parmesan

Ingredients:

• Eggplant
• 2 eggs
• 1-2 cups bread crumbs (you might also try crushed croutons instead of bread crumbs or try adding a little parmesan cheese to the bread crumbs)
• Oil
• Pasta sauce
• Mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cut eggplant into half-inch slices. You may peel or partially peel the eggplant with a vegetable peeler, if desired, or you may leave the peel on.
3. Beat two eggs in a bowl and dip each eggplant slice into the beaten eggs and then dip into a bowl of bread crumbs, coating thoroughly.
4. Pan fry the coated slices in a skillet with a small amount of oil, cooking about 5 minutes on each side. Drain on paper towels while cooking the other slices.
5. Spray a baking dish with cooking spray. Pour a little pasta sauce on the bottom of the dish, just enough to cover the bottom. Place a layer of eggplant slices, cover with some more pasta sauce, then add a layer of mozzarella cheese. Repeat with a layer of eggplant slices, pasta sauce, and cheese until you are out of eggplant slices or the dish is full. The top layer should be cheese.
6. Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes until sauce is bubbly and cheese is melted.

Eggplant with Spaghetti

Ingredients:

• Eggplant
• Fat
• Onions, peppers, zucchini, or other vegetables, if desired (chop, slice, or dice)
• Pasta sauce
• Prepared spaghetti (or another pasta)

Directions:

1. Peel eggplant and cut it into half-inch cubes.
2. Heat a small amount of fat in a skillet and sauté the eggplant. If desired, you may add onion, peppers, zucchini, or other vegetables. Cook until tender. Add pasta sauce and heat through.
3. Serve as a topping for spaghetti or your favorite pasta.

Enjoy!