Eggplant & Mozzarella Stuffed Shells

Total Time: 1 hr 30 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 1 hr 10 mins

Ingredients

• 1 lb eggplant (washed, peeled and diced)
• 1 lb lean ground beef (or any other lean meat)
• 1 (12 ounce) box jumbo pasta shells
• 1/2 cup onion (diced)
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tablespoon mixed italian herbs
• 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tablespoon salt
• 26 ounces spaghetti sauce
• 4 cups mozzarella cheese (shredded)

Recipe

• 1 add one quart water and 1/2 tbsp salt to a small saucepan and bring to a boil. wash, peel and dice your eggplant(s), about 1/2 inch cubes, and add to saucepan. boil about 20 minutes until eggplant is mostly translucent.
• 2 in a large saucepan, prepare jumbo shells as directed.
• 3 dice 1/2 medium onion and crush 2 cloves garlic. in a ten inch skillet, saute onions and garlic in 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil for five min, then add and brown ground beef (or other lean meat).
• 4 drain eggplant. in a large bowl, mash eggplant thoroughly. then add the beef and onion mixture and 3 cups of mozzarella cheese. mix until the cheese melts and you have a nice gooey blob.
• 5 preheat oven to 350. spray or grease a 13x9 baking dish. drain jumbo shells and stuff each with about 2 tbsp or so of the eggplant mozzarella mixture. arrange into 3 rows of 8 shells.
• 6 cover the shells with your favorite spaghetti or pasta sauce, then top with the remaining 1 cup of mozzarella cheese. bake about 30 minutes or until cheese just begins to brown. remove and let cool about 5-10 minutes and serve!