Vegetable Stuffed Eggplant

This recipe is full of flavour, and very easy and quick to make. I make them ahead of time, and just wrap them in foil and either leave them in the fridge, or freeze them. I found it on the sparkpeople.com site and keep loosing it, so I decided to add it here.

• Ready In: 45 mins
• Serves: 4
• Yields: 4 eggplant boats

Ingredients

• 2  eggplants
• 1  onion, chopped finely
• 1  zucchini, chopped chunky
• 1 -2  garlic clove, minced
• 1  pinch black pepper
• 1  tablespoon olive oil
• 1⁄2 cup  pasta sauce
• 1  cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
• 1⁄2 cup green olives, sliced
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons thyme
• 1  teaspoon basil
• 2  ounces monterey jack cheese or 2  ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 4  tablespoons parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Trim the stems from the eggplant, and cut them in half lengthwise. Cut the pulp from the center of each half, leaving about a half-inch shell.
3. If your eggplants are large, soak them in a quart of water with an added tablespoon of salt for 10 minutes to remove any bitter flavor.
4. Remove the eggplants from the brine and rinse off the salt then pat them dry.
5. Cube the pulp into a medium dice. Place a large saute pan over moderate heat, then add the oil.
6. Once the oil is hot, add the onion, garlic, zucchini, pepper, and cubed eggplant. Cook, stirring until very tender, about 5-7 minutes. Add the tomato sauce, tomatoes, olives and seasonings and heat through. Lightly spray the cut edges of the eggplant with nonstick cooking spray, then spoon a quarter of the mixture into each shell. Top each eggplant with a quarter of the cheeses. Place in a baking pan coated with nonstick cooking spray.
7. You can add other vegetables like mushrooms, hot peppers, shredded carrots if you've got them.
8. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the eggplant is hot and the cheese is bubbly.