Baked Eggplant With Ground Beef Food

MOUSSAKA - EGGPLANT WITH GROUND BEEF (OR LAMB) AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Slice eggplants into 1/2-inch slices.
• In a large kettle, boil eggplant slices 5 to 10 minutes, until tender.
• Drain in a colander or on paper towels.
• Sprinkle eggplant with 2 teaspoons of salt and place a layer of paper towels on top of the salted slices.
• Place a heavy casserole or bowl on top of the eggplant, pressing down to squeeze out excess water.
• Preheat oven to 400 F. Arrange half of the drained eggplant slices in a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish.
• In a large skillet, brown ground beef ; drain off excess fat.
• Add drained tomatoes, breaking up with a spoon.
• Add tomato sauce, garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, pepper, oregano, and cinnamon. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Spread the meat sauce mixture over the eggplant.
• Top meat mixture with remaining eggplant slices.
• In a medium saucepan, melt butter.
• Stir in flour; cook, stirring, for about 1 minute. Remove from heat.
• Gradually stir in milk; return to heat and cook until thickened, stirring constantly.
• Add shredded cheese and continue stirring until cheese is melted and sauce is smooth.
• Add a small portion of the mixture to the slightly beaten eggs, beating quickly, then return egg mixture to sauce in the saucepan, whisking as you pour.
• Spoon the cheese sauce over the eggplant casserole.
• Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until topping is set. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

BAKED EGGPLANT WITH GROUND BEEF

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Put bread crumbs in a bowl with enough water to cover; set aside to soak.
• Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet. Cook and stir ground beef, onion, and garlic in hot oil until the beef is completely browned and no large chunks remain, 7 to 10 minutes.
• Stir eggplant into ground beef mixture; cook and stir until eggplant is tender, about 5 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and set aside to allow mixture to cool.
• Drain excess water from bread crumbs and dump into a large bowl; add ground beef mixture, half the tomatoes, rice, Italian cheese blend, egg, and basil. Stir the mixture until ingredients are evenly mixed, adding more liquid from the tomatoes if too dry; season with salt and pepper. Fill the eggplant shells with the mixture and put into a large baking dish. Top with remaining tomatoes and cover dish with aluminum foil.
• Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, remove foil, and continue baking until beginning to brown around the edges, about 10 minutes more.

GROUND BEEF WITH EGGPLANT

Steps:

• 1. Select your eggplant! Experts say the ones with the ovals at the bottom are females of the species, and they are supposed to taste better. (No, I'm not making this up.).
• 2, In salted boiling water, cook eggplant to soften it up for 5 minutes. Or, alternatively, just cook it in the microwave for 10-15 minutes. It's easier.
• 3. In a 6-quart casserole dish, render bacon until crisp; drain and reserve. In the remaining bacon fat, cook onions and garlic until onion is translucent. Drain off excess fat. Add meat and brown.
• 4. Combine tomatoes, a 6-oz can of tomato paste, and seasonings. Mix flour and water in separate dish until smooth, then add to tomato sauce mixture. Now add meat mixture, stirring to blend.
• 5. In casserole, add alternate layers of eggplant and meat mixture. Top with reserved bacon bits and grated cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes.

EGGPLANT "MEATBALLS"

Steps:

• Heat a large high-sided skillet over medium heat. Add the olive oil and saute the garlic in the hot oil until just fragrant and barely starting to lightly brown, about 30 seconds. Add the eggplant and 1/4 cup of water. Lower the heat to low and cover the skillet. Allow the eggplant to steam until soft, about 20 minutes. Allow to cool slightly, if you have time.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with unbleached parchment paper.
• Place the eggplant mixture in a food processor and pulse until well chopped, but not pureed. Or just do this on a cutting board with a knife.
• Transfer the eggplant mixture to a large mixing bowl and add the cheese, parsley, basil, eggs, breadcrumbs, salt, and pepper. Stir the mixture well to combine, using your hands or a wooden spoon. The mixture can be refrigerated at this point, covered for up to a day. It is easier to roll into meatballs when the mixture is cooled down. (If doing so, preheat the oven 30 minutes before baking the meatballs.)
• Roll or scoop the mixture using a 1- to 1 1/2-ounce ice cream scoop into 1 1/2-inch balls and place on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes, or until firm on the outside and light brown underneath.
• Meanwhile, heat the marinara sauce in a large saucepan over low heat until simmering. Transfer the meatballs to the saucepan with marinara sauce. Toss with the sauce and serve.

EGGPLANT BEEF LASAGNA

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400 degrees, slice eggplant into ½ inch slices, coat with olive oil salt and pepper. Lie flat on cookie sheet and bake until tender (about 15 minutes).
• In small saucepan, sauté onion and garlic until tender. Add can crushed tomatoes with 1 tsp Italian seasoning. Simmer for about 10 minutes.
• Brown ground beef with 1 tsp greek seasoning, 1tsp Italian seasoning, add tomato sauce and stir through. Adjust with salt if needed.
• Reduce oven to 350 degrees. In 9x9 pyrex casserole dish, put layer of crushed tomato mixture and spread around on bottom, add layer of cooked eggplant, spread layer of ricotta cheese, add layer of beef, layer of mozzarella, and repeat all layers, ending with the layer of crushed tomatoes, topped by the parmesan cheese. Put in oven for 30 minutes until lightly browned on top. Let set for about 15 minutes before slicing. Delicious!