Stuffed Italian Eggplant.

Ok this is a Karen recipe which means all ingredients are added to your tastes and until it looks right for you.

I have adapted this recipe many times. Here is the basic recipe.

Ingredients

eggplant 2 largish

Italian sausage about 1/2 a pound – 2 pounds depends on whether you are stuffing or casseroling!

Cubed dried bread slices about 4 (french bread works great)

tomatoes 2 med. chopped

Mozarella cheese cubes; about 1 cup

mozarella cheese grated; enough to sprinkle on the top of the eggplants.

brown the sausage and break it up into chunks, and chop everything else and grate and cube the cheese.

Slice the eggplant lengthwise and scoop out the eggplant meat.  Leave the skin intact if possible. Slice the eggplant and sprinkle with salt. Leave the eggplant to weep for 1 hr or so. Dry the eggplant off and mix into a mixing bowl with the rest of the ingredients, minus the grated cheese. Spoon the mixture back into the eggplant shells (placed on a rimmed cookie sheet or casserole pan.) Top with the grated cheese and bake at 350 degrees until the eggplants are cooked to your satisfaction. (Lightly browned cheese and bubbly mixture about 20 -30 minutes).  You may serve this with spaghetti sauce to top your eggplant casserole.

This smells wonderful cooking! If you cook for a crowd like we do then up the ingredients and place it all in a casserole forgoing the stuffing part.