Eggplant and Beef Casserole

Lately, I have been obsessed with casserole dishes. ob-sessed.  I found this recipe but tweaked it to make it a bit less calorie-filled by not breading the eggplant (even though the original recipe only had 340 cals per serving!)  This dish is simply a layer of eggplant, then a layer of meaty tomato sauce and finished with a layer of cheese--and then repeated! mmmmm.

This dish is SUPER easy.  Unfortunately, I have an oven that is the WORST and sometimes cooks things at supersonic speeds, and other times it's right on track. Because of this, I cooked the eggplant pieces a little bit on each side before putting them into the dish.  This worked out perfectly because I only cooked my casserole for a bit (I hate New York City kitchens.)
For most normal ovens, this step (step #2) is unnecessary.

Ingredients:
1 1.5 lb eggplant (an eggplant usually is anywhere between 1 and 1.5 lbs.  If you find one that's not quite right, it will still work!) .  Cut these into 1/2 thick slices.
1 lb. lean ground beef.
1 large green sweet pepper, chopped (1 cup)
1 medium onion, chopped (3/4 cup)
~25 oz can tomato sauce (there are big cans that contain 28 and smaller ones that are 15- and 8- oz which will work)
1 1/2 tsp. dried Italian seasoning, crushed*
2 cups shredded mozarella cheese**
(if necessary: oil)

Recipe:
1. Grease a 9 x 13 baking dish (or a 3-qt baking dish) and set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. If necessary, heat oil in skillet and cook eggplant just a few minutes on each side.
3. In a large skillet, cook ground beef, pepper, and onion until meat is cooked through, using a wooden spoon to break up meat as it cooks; drain off fat.  Stir the two cans of tomato sauce and Italian seasoning into meat mixture.
4. Layer half of the eggplant slices in the prepared baking dish, cutting slices to fit.  Spread with half of the meat mixture; sprinkle with half of the cheese. Repeat layers.
5. Cover dish with foil and bake for 20 minutes.  Uncover and bake for 10 to 15 minutes more or until heated through.  Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
6. ENJOY!!!

Eggplant and Beef Casserole!

*If you don't have Italian seasoning, you can make your own by using equal parts: basil, oregano, thyme, sage, and rosemary.  Other variations can consist of savory, marjoram, and other spices that you can experiment with.

**I used mozarella cheese because that's all my little market had.  An Italian blend cheese will work too.