easy cheesy eggplant bake

If you follow "a Latte' with Ott, A" on facebook you know I was showing off pictures of the eggplants growing in our garden. I think the hotter than usual summer weather helped my crop to grow better than usual. After making my favorite eggplant Parmesan dish I decided to try something a little new with my eggplants and made up this cheesy eggplant dish. This made for a tasty side dish to go along with our dinner entree' and we really liked how the Italian seasonings played off the flavor of the eggplant.  Ott, E said he really liked this dish and we have made it two more times. 

Start about 30 minutes before you want to bake your dish and cut one large eggplant into 1/4 inch slices.  Sprinkle with salt and let sit for 30 minutes.  (By salting the eggplant you are removing some of the moisture which will cause it to absorb less fat during cooking.)  Then rinse with cold water and pat dry with a paper towel. 

In a bowl combine 3/4 cup dried bread crumbs, 3 tsp. garlic salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper.  In a separate bowl beat one egg.  Dip eggplant into egg and then bread crumb mixture then place in a large skillet with 2 T. EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) for 2 minutes on each side.  Then transfer to a 9 x 13 greased baking dish. 

Please note as a healthier alternative I have skipped this frying step and just placed the sliced eggplant into the bottom of the dish and sprinkled lightly with garlic salt and pepper.  It still tasted fine and I baked it for the same amount of time.  

Next cut up 3 large tomatoes into bite sized pieces and sprinkle on top of eggplant.  (If you don't have fresh tomatoes, you can open a can of diced tomatoes, drain and pour them on top.)  Sprinkle a dash of oregano and basil on top.

Cover and bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees.  Then remove cover and sprinkle with 1 (6 oz) package of shredded mozzarella cheese and continue baking for 25 minutes.