Baked Eggplant & Zucchini Parmigiana

I woke up this morning with no voice. Thought the night was going to end in celebratory fashion, yet unfortunately as usual my Spartan's end up coming up on the short end in last night's Valero Alamo bowl. Can't really complain too much...14 players suspended including our two stud wide receivers, a home crowd of 57,000 plus in Texas, and all fate on the side of the red & black as their highly touted coach gets fired for what some would call sticking their bench player in the "execution" room! (seriously - What on earth is an electric closet??).

Well..it's now noon on a frigid Sunday in New York and I'm just rolling out of bed. I'm in need of a good grocery run as I have to cook dinner for 4 tonight. I was going through the pantry making a list of what I need for tonight's meal when I realized I've got some items leftover from the week that if I don't use quick I'm going to lose.

So in honor of this weekends final "no pride" game for the G-men, I decided to try whipping something up real quick.

BTW- I love chicken parm....in fact I love any kind of parm, so if you a similar foodie to me you'll really enjoy this recipe.

Baked Eggplant & Zucchini Parmigiana

Ingredients

• 1 large eggplants sliced lengthwise
• 1-2 large Zucchini's sliced lengthwise
• 1 cup of tomato sauce (recipe below)
• Part Skim Ricotta Cheese
• Shredded Mozzarella
• Grated Parmigiana cheese
• 2 tablespoons of panko bread crumbs

Preparation

Using a deep casserole or lasagna dish spread a couple tablespoons of tomato sauce on bottom of dish. Layer two slices of eggplant followed by 2-3 slices of zucchini. Next add a good amount of the ricotta cheese topped with shredded mozzarella. Repeat this process three times or til the dish is topped off. On the last layer end with a healthy sprinkling of Parmigiana cheese and some panko bread crumbs

Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes or until dish begins to bubble over. When dish begins to bubble, remove cover and broil for additional 5 minutes to brown bread crumbs and create a crispy top.

Serve and enjoy!

Homemade Tomato Sauce

• 16 oz. can of crushed San Marzano tomatoes
• 3 cloves of garlic minced
• 1 medium white onion diced
• 2 tablespoons of good olive oil
• 1 cup of chicken or vegetable broth
• Fresh Italian parsley
• Fresh or Dried basil
• Dried Oregano
• Salt & Pepper
• Red Pepper Flakes

Heat Olive oil over medium heat. Add chopped garlic and simmer (if the garlic begins to brown your heat is turned up to high). Add onions and let sweat (onions should become translucent). Add tomatoes and herbs and stir together well. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Once sauce begins to boil reduce heat to a simmer and let reduce for about 30-40 minutes. Extra sauce can be frozen or kept in a refrigerator for up to a week.