I won’t devalue great eggplant parm by calling this eggplant parm.

The eggplant is not cut horizontally, I use a turkey meat sauce using red sauce from a jar and I even throw in a little cheddar.

I will, however, admit that this is one of my husband’s favorite things I make him.

Here’s what you’ll need.

Ingredients:

2 large eggplants (you may only need 1.5) cut into 12 disks. Mine are generally 1 inch disks

2 cups of flour, seasoned with salt and pepper on a plate

2 eggs, lightly beaten with a splash of milk on a plate

3 cups of panko, seasoned with 2 teaspoons of garlic powder, 1 teaspoon of oregano, salt and pepper on a plate – you may need more depending.

1 Tbsp olive oil per batch of eggplant rounds

(1) 19 – 20 oz package of ground turkey

(1) 24 oz jar of prepared tomato sauce

1/4 cup of water

2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese

2 cups of shredded mozzarella

Recipe:

Pre-heat oven to 350 F

Pre-heat skillet for eggplant to medium high heat

Take 3-4 Tbsp of the jarred sauce and coat the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish

Cook ground turkey until brown and cooked thoroughly in separate skillet. Add sauce and 1/4 cup of water and simmer on low until ready to be used

Dunk the egg plant rounds on each side and one at a time into the flour, egg mixture and panko. I prepare 3 rounds at a time.

Add 1 Tbsp of olive oil to skillet and place the first batch of 3 eggplant rounds into the skillet. Cook on each side until golden brown – about 4 – 6 minutes on each side. Place in bottom of baking dish. I usually get 6 into the bottom of a 9 x 13.

Add 1 Tbsp of olive oil to the pan per each batch of eggplant rounds.

Once you have 6 eggplant rounds on the bottom layer, spoon 3/4 of the meat and tomato sauce over the eggplant rounds and half of the shredded cheddar and mozzarella cheeses.

Cook the remaining eggplant rounds in batches of 3 and layer them on top of the meat and cheese mixture until all 12 rounds are in the baking dish. 6 in top of 6.

Carefully spoon the remaining tomato and meat mixture over the top of the second rounds and cover entire dish with remaining cheese.

Bake at 350 for 30 mins.

Enjoy.