Rotten Tomatoes

Ok folks, this one is cousin to the casserole so it stretches the dollar and, above all, makes good use of that borderline tomato lingering about in your fridge.
You can’t let it spoil, so use it to make your own sauce which is a frugal foodie must-do. Not only do you get better flavor and less preservatives, you get more bang for your buck. Toss some eggplant and cheese into the mix and you’ve got a low-budge winner.

And don’t worry, if you’re lacking the fading ‘mater, it’ll still come out great—promise. Maybe even better because who likes to eat rotten tomatoes anyway? Well apparently I do…

Lasagna’like Eggplant
What you need:
1 eggplant
1 zucchini
1 lingering tomato

1 8oz container of ricotta cheese
2 fistfuls of shredded parmesan cheese

1 24-oz can of tomato sauce
1 8-oz can of tomato paste

1 clove garlic, diced
4 dashes of italian seasoning
4 dashes crushed red pepper (optional)
salt & pepper

What you need to do:
Preheat the oven to 400º

Dice up your tomato
Over medium heat, coat the bottom of a saucepan with olive oil
Once warm, sautee the tomato with the garlic
Toss in the italian seasoning and crushed red pepper (optional)
Let heat for a couple of minutes then pour in tomato sauce and paste
Stir. Cover. Low heat simmer.

Moving back to the cutting board:
Thinly slice your eggplant lengthwise and the zucchini at an angle
Place evenly on sprayed baking sheets
Salt & pepper then pop ‘em into the oven for 10 minutes.

Once they’re out, leave the oven on
Next, put a little bit of your sauce in the bottom of a medium baking dish
Place a layer of eggplant on top of sauce
Spread ricotta cheese over the eggplant
(Relax, it won’t spread easy but it doesn’t have to be perfect.)
Add more sauce. Repeat.
After placing last eggplant, coat with more ricotta & sauce then top with zucchini.

Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and bake for 40 minutes.
Remove. Whiff. Mmmmm.

Congratulations, you just saved a tomato from the trash and $2 by making your own sauce!