Baked Cheesy Eggplant

My grandmother is 83 and she is amazing.  I can only hope I am as cool as she is, if I live that long!  She has a facebook account,  and emails, and she swims everyday.  She is a pretty spry old(er) lady.  She still will walk 18 holes when golfing.  Two weeks ago we went down to visit her at her condo in Florida.  She winters there because the snow in upstate NY gets a bit much.  Anyway, we had a great time visiting with them and enjoyed the meal her and her dear husband Lou made, thoroughly!

She enjoys entertaining, and she really is a master with vegetables.  Like the Jedi of veggies.  She once made these little beauties and I so enjoyed them, I could've easily made a meal just out of them.  Like little mini eggplant parmesans, but way easier, and much healthier.  Nothing fried here.  Just yum.
I made these last night as they passed through on their way back up to NY.  Later in the evening, I remarked to my husband the smell of our house reminded me of the smell of her house anytime I would visit when I was growing up. A comforting smell of spaghetti sauce... sweet and homey.  Like a little Italian cafe...  La Casa Delectable.


BAKED CHEESY EGGPLANT

INGREDIENTS:

• 1-2 eggplants
• Italian bread crumbs
• prego or favorite jarred sauce
• asiago (or Parmesan) and mozzerella cheese (about 1 cup total)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 425.  Slice eggplant in thin slices, about 1/4" thick.  Sprinkle each with salt and place in bowl or on cookie sheet with a heavy pan over them.  Let sit for about 30 minutes.  (You can skip this step but it helps get rid of the bitterness in the eggplant).  Rinse each piece off and place on paper towel.  Line cookie sheet with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray or smear with olive oil.  Place eggplant in a single layer on the cookie sheet (I used 2 cookie sheets for 2 eggplants). Place spoonful of sauce on each piece.  Spread evenly to cover each piece.  Sprinkle about a tsp of bread crumbs over the sauce on each piece.  Sprinkle about 1-2 TBSP of cheese over the breadcrumbs on each piece.  Place in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, until eggplant is tender and cheese is bubbly and browning.  Enjoy!