eggplant lasagna

so with intentions to eat healthier, i've decided that i'm going to swap out a lot of carbs whenever possible. craving Italian food, lasagna seemed appealing. i swapped the noodles for eggplant and the meat for mushrooms. i also used lowfat mozzarella and low fat ricotta. i'm aware that bottled pasta sauce has lots of sugar and blah blah blah but nobody said i was doing this super hardcore. little changes here and there add up so for now i'm okay with bottled sauce. plus, it's delicious.

there's no real specific recipe for this...

to get the bitterness out of eggplant, slice and sprinkle with salt on both sides. let it rest for half an hour or so to draw out moisture. rinse before cooking. who knew? i never knew you were supposed to do this. apparently it also helps during the cooking process with softening. i've cooked eggplant a few times where it didn't quite cook through the way i've known eggplant to be when cooked. voila! it works!

mushrooms cooked with rosemary, basil and red pepper flakes for some heat

eggplant cooked in a skillet with just a bit of oil

the layering process. sauce, eggplant, mushrooms, ricotta, repeat. then topped with a hearty amount of low fat mozzarella. 

also topped it off with some parmesan before baking it at 350 degrees F until cheese melted and browned and the sauce bubbling.

yum.