Eggplant Lasagna

This lasagna might seem like it's missing some essentials like egg to bind the ricotta and mozzarella. It's not, it's absolutely delicious. The cream cheese gives it a rich and creamy texture, and there is so much flavor with the herbs, eggplant, marinara and meat that you would never miss the extra cheese. I do like to add a generous portion of Parmesan on my slice when I serve it, but that's just me. The other thing that might seem unusual are the turkey meatballs. They are amazing! You have to try them. They are precooked, pre-seasoned little wonders and great when you are in a hurry. I love this meal because I can assemble it while my 1 year old is napping then bake it for dinner while I am chasing him around the house. He loved it by the way (the two or three bites I let him have). Next time I am going to use whole wheat pasta to make it just a bit healthier. I served it with a spinach salad tossed with heirloom tomatoes, cucumber, and a pinch of fetta. I used Goddess dressing from Trader Joes (another of my favorites) but any balsamic vinaigrette would go great with it.

Ingredients:

1 medium eggplant, cut into 1/2 inch rounds
1 tsp each of dried oregano, garlic powder, and thyme
4 oz part skim ricotta
1 oz cream cheese
2 cups Trader Joes Organic Tomato Basil marinara
6 Trader Joes Turkey Meatballs
4 oz no boil lasagna noodles ( 4 sheets)
Freshly grated Parmesan to taste

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375 F. Place eggplant rounds on a baking sheet covered with aluminum foil and coat with oil. Use a misto to spray rounds with a light coat of oil (or simply drizzle it on top) then sprinkle 1/2 tsp each of the dried spices . Bake for 20 min. While eggplant is baking mix the ricotta, cream cheese, and remainder of the spices. Slice each of the precooked turkey meatballs into rounds. Lightly oil a baking dish then pour 1/2 cup marinara on bottom. Next place a pasta sheet, then all ricotta mixture, then the turkey meatballs (reserve 1 to crumble on top). Once eggplant has finished roasting, add another pasta sheet. Add another 1/2 cup marinara then eggplant, followed by another sheet, marinara and eggplant. Place the last pasta sheet down, coat with marinara, layer the last of the eggplant. Crumble the last turkey meatball on top then the remainder of the marinara. Throw a few pinches of oregano on top. Cover snugly with foil to avoid crisp pasta. Bake at 375 F for 30 minutes, remove foil and cook another 15. Remove from oven, cover again with foil and let stand for 10 min before serving. Grate Parmesan to taste.

Serves 2-3