One Pot Meals- Eggplant XXX

Okay so I'll admit that as I write this I'm super hungry... last week's meal prep on Instagram is inspiring this post... and then I'm going to go make it again because it was a HUGE hit and I'm effing starving from my morning workouts.

SO- Husband was out of town on business last week so I indulged in all of my favorite foods that he refuses to eat. (Namely eggplant, mushrooms, and mangos,.. does anyone else's beau also despise these? I feel like it's a thing...)

As you all know by now I'm SO into my Monday Mealprep. Sunday's are my day off and it's football season so I rarely get anything done so we move all the household stuff to the start of the week. Monday's I see clients and teach all morning long, but I'm usually done by 2pm. So, that's when I do ALL the domestic stuff. Cleaning, shopping, cooking etc. It was a little strange to do all of this for just me when Graham was OOT, but it's a habit that I'm pretty stuck on.

(Also- it's a great way for me to procrastinate and catch up on TV... !)

Now that my schedule is booking up fairly quickly I'm running low on time during the week (which I am SO grateful for, I love you my amazing clients!!!) so having meals prepared in advance saves me so much time and I don't have to worry about getting my macros.

I made this eggplant parmesan thing while catching up on How to Get Away with Murder (guyyysss), roasting a tray of cauliflower, a pot of quinoa, and responding to emails.

You will need:

1 Large Eggplant

1/2 onion

3 cloves garlic

3 cups of spinach

1/2 cup chopped basil leaves

1 jar marinara sauce

1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese

1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs

1/4 cup shredded mozzerella cheese​

How:

Preheat Your Oven to 400 and spray a pan with cooking spray. Lay out eggplant and roast to dehydrate it a bit.

While you do this:

1. Thinly slice your onion, chop your garlic, and lay out your ingredients.

2. In a deep casserole dish, spoon out about 3 -4 tbsp of marinara sauce.

3. Place a layer of spinach, onion slices, basil, and a few garlic cloves on the bottom of your pan.

4. Remove eggplant from oven and layer on top of your veggie / sauce mix. (Use a fork)

*Reduce the heat of your oven to 350. I keep forgetting to do that... it's annoying...*

5. Carefully shake your panko crumbs over everything and use 2 spoons to dish out dollops of ricotta cheese. Repeat until your dish is full.

6. Place an extra layer of sauce and sprinkle the mozzerella cheese on top. If I have extra basil I add it here.

Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes or until your cheese is melted and brown. Allow to rest for 5-10 minutes after baking and then serve. I think this entire pan is about 800 calories, costs less than $15 to make, and reheats very well.

(And when my husband did return home I made him the same thing with zucchini instead of eggplant... and it also turned out great. I think it's safe to say that anything covered in marinara sauce and cheese will be a total crowd pleaser..) If you don't have panko- regular old breadcrumbs will do.

Please try this recipe out and leave any additions/ modifications you try below in the comments section!

Finally:

I mean....

Porn.