Eggplant Parmesan and Salad

  I decided I would clean out the fridge of  leftovers tonight. I took the leftover veggies Jake cooked last night, that was on top of the fish, the small hamburger patty he cooked 2 days ago, the red sauce I put in the freezer last month, and the salad from last night. I also decided since it was just me tonight, I would make something I love eggplant. Eggplant Parmesan it was, but I wanted it to be healthier since I am doing the whole weight loss thing. Here's what I did. I avoided turning the oven on, because it's over 85 degrees inside the house and didn't want it to get any hotter.

  I dethawed the red sauce, which is canned crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, onions, sweet mini peppers, mushrooms, garlic, basil, oregano, thyme, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper.

 Next, I took the eggplant, sliced it into 1/2 inch thick pieces, laid it on parchment paper, sprinkled it with salt, on both sides, and let it sit for 5 minutes. This draws out the excess water. Next, I heated a deep skillet with 2 tbls olive oil, then placed the eggplant in the skillet to sear it on both sides. Normally, you would coat the eggplant in egg, then bread crumbs, but I didn't want to add the extra calories. I seared them in batches so not to over crowd the pan, then placed them on a plate with a paper towel when done, this way the paper towel can soak up any oil and extra moisture. After all eggplant was cooked, I put the veggies and leftover hamburger in the pan to heat it up, I did add some of the new dark greens to it too. Next, I added the red sauce, and let it simmer for 5 minutes.

                                          To assemble, I placed 1 eggplant circle on my plate.

                                                Next, I placed some sauce on top of it.

                                           Then, I put another piece of eggplant on top of that.

                                          Lastly, more sauce, some parm, and fresh chives.

This plate of food is only 220 calories.