Vegetarian Eggplant Lasagna

I really liked this.  I've never had eggplant before.  Why didn't anyone tell me it tastes like squash, with the texture of a mushroom?  My daughter however, did not like this, for the same reasons I did.  I found the original recipe online, I changed it so much I have decided to claim this recipe.  It is time consuming as most lasagna recipes are.  I think it was worth it.  I had it the next day for lunch.  I also fed it to my children that I watch.  It was about 1/2 that liked it.  I didn't tell them what was in it.  Just that is was lasagna.  We have a family of 5 usually, sometimes more sometimes less.  Only two of us are vegetarian.  To make this not so rough on me, I have decided to make our dinner the side dish and serve it with a traditional meat.  My husband and 2 other children had porkchops as their main dish.  I will let you know how this works out.

Have a great day.. Remember eat your veggies!

1 tablespoons salt, or as needed 627 grams eggplant, sliced 1 large egg ½ cup water 1 cup bread crumbs 6 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil 1 cup onion, chopped ½ cup red bell pepper, chopped 1 cup mushrooms, sliced 1 tablespoon dried thyme 1 cup pasta sauce 2 cups mozzarella cheese, freshly sliced 7 ounces ricotta cheese 3 ounces olives, canned

1.Slice Eggplant and sprinkle salt over eggplant slices.                                                   Let rest for 30 minutes and allow eggplant to release extra liquid.

2.Whisk egg and water in a bowl. Measure bread crumbs into  a separate shallow bowl. Dip eggplant slices into egg  mixture and then press both sides into bread crumbs.  Set aside.

3.Mix remaining egg and ricotta together, set aside.

4.Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat; cook and stir onion, red bell pepper, and mushrooms in hot oil until lightly browned, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove and set aside.  (this is where I sampled my first taste of Eggplant.  YUM!)

5.Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in the same frying pan over medium heat. Place a layer of eggplant slices in the pan and cook until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Flip and cook other side until browned, about 3 minutes, adding more olive oil as needed.

6.Spread 1/2 cup of tomato basil sauce in bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Place a layer of cooked eggplant on  top of pasta sauce. Cover eggplant layer with half of ricotta mixture, then mushroom mixture. Repeat. Lay final layer of  eggplant on top cover with 1/2 cup of sauce, mozzarella cheese, and olives.

7.Cover with aluminum foil, bake at 350 F for 35 - 40 minutes.  
Let rest 15 minutes, before serving.