Eggplant Rollatini

This is one of those meals that I throw together when there's nothin' in the house to make.  I had eggplant in the garden, just waiting for me to have an oven up and running again.  Typically, I'd do Eggplant Parmesan, but I didn't have enough cheese.  Shocking, I know.  So this is a good substitute that stretches your ingredients.

I've always used spears of mozzarella for the inside, but I didn't have any, so I used a package of pre-shredded mozzarella and provolone combo. Cheese is cheese, right?

I had stuff to make sauce, but a jar of pre-made marinara works just as well.  Other than the eggplant, that's all you need. Eggplant, sauce, cheese.  If you're feelin' fancy, you can roll some prosciutto up inside as well. It's delicious.  But the vegetarian way is just as good.  A dab of pesto inside would be amazing, too.

Start off by slicing your eggplant lengthwise, so that you have pieces big enough to roll.  Spread them out on a cookie sheet, brush with some olive oil, season them up with salt, pepper, and garlic powder, then bake them at 375, just long enough to soften them up.  Should only take about 10 minutes.

Once they've cooled enough to handle, lay them out and start fillin'.  If you're going the prosciutto route, put that on first.  If you're just feelin' the cheese this time around, pile it on.  If you you're using block mozzarella, cut it into rectangles and lay them across the eggplant pieces.

Once your goodies are on, roll 'em up.

Put some of your marinara in the bottom of a baking dish, then fill it up with the rolls, seam side down.

Spoon sauce over the top of everyone and sprinkle on some shredded cheese.

You can use more mozzarella, parmesan, or a combo of both.

Cover and bake for 30 to 45 minutes, or until sauce is bubbly and cheese has melted.

Remove foil and bake another 7 to 10 minutes, to brown up your cheese.

Sprinkle some fresh basil over everyone and dig in.

So good.

I tried a new turkey meatball recipe to go with, that I thought was really tasty.

The kids proceeded to tell me through the entire meal that the neighbor's meatballs are better.

Thanks, guys.

We had spaghetti, as well.

Here's dinner on my plate:

I've got five mouths to feed and two of them aren't eggplant fans, so I had to fill in, but just the eggplant and a salad would be a really yummy dinner, too.
You can get it all assembled, then stick it in the fridge until you're ready to bake it, even a day or two in advance.
Just add oven time on, since it will take longer to heat up.
Good stuff, kids.

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