Egg Plant Parmesan & Homemade Bread Crumbs

This is another one of my husband’s creations. He really is such a huge help at meal times! One evening, I had to work late and the meal plan just indicated Eggplant Parmesan. A lot of times, my recipes are just something I create on the fly as I am rummaging through the fridge finding something for dinner. I can’t lie, I usually just cook some pasta, cut up some veggies, find a can of sauce and call it good. He actually made his own tomato sauce (since we don’t by regular spaghetti sauce anymore) and had everything ready when I got home. Let me tell you, this smelled delicious! I don’t know what it is about spaghetti but we think it tastes even better the next day!

1 clove roasted garlic, minced

1 can diced tomatoes, or about 1 cup fresh diced tomatoes
1 small can of tomato paste
¼ cup water
1 tsp basil or rosemary
1 small egg plant cut into ¼” slices
1 egg,
1 cup GF bread crumbs (see homemade recipe below)
1 Tbsp olive oil
6 servings of cooked rice pasta (or other pasta)
6 ¼” slices of mozzarella cheese
Parmesan cheese

• Combine the garlic, tomatoes, tomato paste, water and basil in a saucepan. This will be your “spaghetti” sauce. Cook on low while cooking the eggplant
• Beat egg in a small bowl. Add the bread crumbs into a separate bowl. Dip the eggplant slices into the egg until covered. Then dip the eggplant in the bread crumbs until the eggplant is covered with crumbs.
• Place battered eggplant into a hot skillet with olive oil. Repeat with remaining eggplant slices. Pan “fry” until both sides of the eggplant is lightly brown and crispy.
• In a greased 9x13” pan, put cooked pasta. On top of pasta, pour on tomato sauce. Place the slices of eggplant on top of sauce in a single layer.
• Place the slices of mozzarella on top of the eggplant. Sprinkle a thin layer of parmesan cheese on top of dish.
• Bake at 350°F for about 20 minutes or until cheese is melted

HOMEMADE GLUTEN-FREE BREAD CRUMBS

Use these on top of casseroles for a nice crunch or as a coating for baked veggies or meats. You could even make a stuffing if desired. I created this after part of a loaf of my gluten free bread dried out in the fridge and became very crumbly. No sense in wasting it!

3-5 slices of dry gluten free bread, broke into small pieces

1/2 cup of cornmeal

1 Tbsp of dried parsley

1 tsp of dried thyme

½ tsp of garlic salt

¼ tsp of black pepper, paprika, cayenne, etc

• Place pieces of bread on to a cookie sheet. Let set overnight or even longer if your bread is still too moist. You basically want your bread pieces very hard and dry, enough so that you get small crumbs when you try to break it.
• In a food processor (or with your hands), pulse your bread pieces until they become find crumbs.
• Mix in cornmeal and spices. Store in a sealed container.
• NOTE: If you are making more of an Italian dish, use black pepper. If you are wanting to make something spicy or smokier tasting, use the paprika or cayenne. These breadcrumbs can be used to coat anything so just add the spices you prefer to get the flavor you want.