Cooking probably isn’t something I should do to de-stress. We all know that it just gets me hyper and usually pretty annoyed. Of course during a particularly stressful day, I decided it was time to try out cooking eggplant. This is my second attempt, the first being The Sandwich That Made Me Cry debacle. I found this recipe on a blog that I read daily Cheap, Healthy, Good. The recipe is Roasted Eggplant with Mushroom Tomato Sauce. There was no way I was going to try to make another sandwich. My sandwich cooking days are over! I cannot tell you how important it is to read through the entire recipe before you start cooking. When will I take my own advice?! I remembered that the eggplant had to be salted and than it sits out for 30 minutes after being sliced (I didn’t know why I was doing this, but apparently it draws out some of the bitter liquid. Very interesting I had no idea this was done!). So I paused Housewives of Orange County and sliced and salted the eggplant.
After Housewives was over I went back into the kitchen to continue with my cooking. Don’t forget to rinse off all that salt!! Thank goodness I didn’t. You broil the eggplant for 8 minutes, flipping them once. While the broiling was happening I chopped a green pepper and onion and I sliced some mushrooms. Of course since everything I do in the kitchen is very slow the eggplant finished cooking before I was done chopping. I was also pretty distracted by the ants that had invaded my living room that day (part of my stress!) and I felt the need to check 50 times or so to see if they were still there (they were and they still are! ) By now it’s was about 6:30 and I was starving. So I grabbed a skillet (heated the oil of course) and put the onions, peppers, and mushrooms in it with some garlic, Italian seasoning, hot pepper flakes, and salt. You cover the skillet and cook this until most of the liquid is gone, then you uncover and cook another couple of minutes.
Meanwhile you get a baking dish ready and spray it with some cooking spray. Once the mushroom mixture is ready you pour half of it into the baking dish, than put ½ of the eggplant layered over that, and add some ground pepper. Spread half of the tomato sauce onto the eggplant, and add half of each of the cheeses (I used mozzarella and feta). Then you go back and do the same thing again (like lasagna), but don’t add the mozzarella cheese this time. Now you have to bake this and that’s when I realized the huge mistake I made! This thing is supposed to bake for 60 minutes! Are you kidding me?! I turned my eyes to the clock and it was 7!! Yikes I wouldn’t be able to eat until 8. This is why you MUST read the recipe through once before you start cooking. I was devastated, but alas I put it in the oven and watched some more reality television (I also snacked on some leftover Crab Rangoons). Once the 60 minutes is up you add the mozzarella and let it get melted and bubbly in the oven for about 5 minutes.
Even though I had to wait a millennium (between the debacle and the cooking time) to eat eggplant, I was very happy I tried to cook it again. This recipe is great. Once again I over did it with the cheese (you think I would stop and think before putting cheese on my food!), but it was super delicious!! I will be making this every time Anthony isn’t around for dinner (if I don’t order take out)! And there is enough leftover (if you are eating single) for lunch for 2 days at least!! Loved it! If you like eggplant, mushrooms, and red sauce try this out! Finally something I was really happy with. Next time I will remember that I have to cook it for an hour though and start the process earlier. It's a perfect dinner for those who want to eat vegetarian once in awhile!
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