Eggplant Lasagna Creation and Savory Bubble Bread

I am calling this eggplant lasagna, but I am actually missing a few ingredients. We're going to go grocery shopping this week, so I am trying to use up what we have to make room for our future goodies. I also wanted to make a budget friendly meal since we inhaled a huge steak the other day. One quick note before we get started! I used no-bake lasagna noodles for this recipe. I bought them a looonnnggg time ago and never got around to using them, so in an attempt to clear out the old, I decided to use them. I do like them, but I prefer the boil-first noodles because they are thicker and cheaper. Obviously, my number one preference is homemade lasagna noodles though. Hopefully, the next time I make lasagna it will be with homemade noodles, and I will include the recipe and instructions. But, for now, lets just clear out the pantry. :)

Kitchen Tip! Salt the eggplant and let drain in salad spinner for 30-40 minutes.
Remove basket and rinse.

Layer and place cheese on top. Use grated if you don't have fresh.

When cheese melts, remove and serve.

Eggplant Lasagna Recipe

Serving Size = 6-8

• 1 large eggplant, cut into round slices (1/2 inch or so)
• 1 package of fresh mozzarella, cup into small chunks
• 2 cans of tomato sauce (use fresh tomatoes if you have them, our tomato season is over though)
• 2 cans of whole tomatoes
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• Salt/Pepper
• 3-4 cloves of finely chopped garlic
• Brown and white sugar to taste (equal parts is fine)
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 onion, roughly chopped
• 4 oz or so of mushrooms, roughly chopped
• 2 bell peppers, roughly chopped
• About 6 no-bake lasagna noodles
• Parmesan Cheese

1. Salt the eggplant slices and place in a colander to drain for 30-40 minutes (I used a salad spinner).
2. While that is draining, start the sauce. Heat oil (medium heat) in a medium stockpot and add the onions, bell peppers, mushrooms and garlic. Let them cook down for about 10-15 minutes. Add the whole tomatoes, sauce, salt/pepper and spices. Once the sauce starts to gently boil, add the sugar to taste or omit if you want sour sauce (start with 1 tablespoon of each). Second kitchen tip! Partially cover the stockpot to keep the sauce from covering your kitchen.
3. Let the sauce thicken for about an hour.
4. Preheat oven to broil. Place the rack about 5 inches from the burner. Rinse the eggplant well, place on a baking sheet or glass pan and lightly coat with oil. Broil one side until it softens, turn, broil the other side. Remove from oven and set aside.
5. Get a 9x12 baking dish, layer a small amount of sauce in the bottom, then 3 noodles, then more sauce, parmesan cheese, 3 more noodles, sauce, parm cheese, eggplant, sauce, parm cheese, mozzarella. Bake until cheese melts and sauce is bubbling.
6. Serve!

Onto the bread.....

I think just about any spice mixture would work.

Roll each dough ball in butter and spices.

Ta da! Time to eat!

As recommended, I used a Bundt pan to make this bread. In the future, I am going to try a cake pan because I don't care for the hole in the middle. Also, I rolled each dough ball in the spice mixture, but next time I will either partially roll, or sprinkle the mixture on as I go. The spices on the bottom of the bread burned a tiny bit during the cooking process. But, other than that, I love this bread and I love pulling it apart. I realize how immature that sounds, but it's true. And for anyone that is incapable of correctly slicing bread (ahem, me), just follow this recipe.

Savory Bubble Bread Recipe

Original Recipe

Serving Size = 1 lb loaf

Dough

• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 tablespoons softened butter
• 1/2 cup of warm water
• 1/2 cup of warm milk
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 2 1/2 cups bread flour (unbleached)
• 1 package active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast)

Topping

• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 1 teaspoon paprika (I used sweet)
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon dry minced onion
• 1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage
• 1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon

1. Add the egg, 2 tablespoons of butter, water, milk, salt, sugar, bread flour and yeast to the bread machine in the recommended order of your machine. Select dough cycle and press start.
2. When it's done, remove the dough and cut into 20-25 dough balls (I had around 18). 
3. For the topping. Place 1/4 cup of melted butter into a bowl. In a separate bowl mix all of the spices and cheese.
4. Quickly and lightly roll each dough ball in the butter and then the spice mixture. Do not coat it thickly (like I did) or you will run out of spices. Place each ball into the Bundt pan, stacking randomly next to each other and on top of each other.
5. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise for 30 minutes, or until doubled in size. If you used bread machine yeast, it will probably rise in half the time.
6. Preheat oven to 350F
7. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until golden brown.

I am linking to Hearth and Soul, Tasty Tuesday, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday and Kitchen Tip Tuesday.