“Better than Fried” Eggplant Parmesan appetizers

I live in Texas. Texas and fried food seem to go hand in hand, especially at fairs and festivals. At the Crawfish Festival a few weeks ago I had my first fried Twinkie. As the young lady behind the counter swirled the Twinkie in batter, I could almost hear my arteries getting ready for an attack.

So wrong on so many levels, yet soooo delicious…. There is something about the molten creamy filling that makes me feel like such a bad girl (in a good way). My husband indulged in the fried Oreos. Then we both went to the gym.

I don’t mind indulging once in a while, but as I get older I find my stomach is rebelling against oil laden foods so at home I tend to bake a lot of our breaded items, including this Eggplant Parmesan. Not to be confused with Eggplant Parmigiana, this is just a simple appetizer that is super easy, low fat, but high in flavor.

Eggplant Parmesan

• 1 medium eggplant, cut into 1/4 – 1/2 inch slices
• 1 egg white, beaten lightly
• 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs (Italian seasoned crumbs work beautifully)
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tsp Italian spices
• garlic salt and ground pepper to taste

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Mix together your breadcrumbs, grated Parmesan and Italian spices.
3. Make sure your eggplant is fairly dry by patting it with a paper towel. Season your eggplant on both sides with garlic salt and pepper.
4. Dip each eggplant slice in the egg white, then the breadcrumb mixture and lay on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with Pam.
5. When finished, spray Pam across all the tops of the eggplant slices.
6. Bake for 12 – 15 minutes until eggplant is tender.

Serve as is, or with a side of Express Marinara.

Original article and pictures take http://www.pinottopampers.com/2012/05/12/better-than-fried-eggplant-parmesan-appetizers/ site