Meat & Eggplant Pasta Bake
Interestingly enough, I feel like I haven’t been taking the time during this Coronavirus quarantine to cook nearly as much as I thought I would have. I am assuming it is because I’m not in my own kitchen (I’m currently at my parent’s house going on week 3) so I am without a lot of my pantry staples, kitchen gadgets, and other essentials that usually provide my comfort and confidence in a kitchen. Also, there are more people here than just Joe and I. Cooking for a family of five, which was eight for the first week, is a whole lot harder than the two people I’m used to (major credit to parents out there!). Instead of beating myself up for not taking this time to get creative in the kitchen and put in more Freckled Foodie work, which I of course was mentally doing to myself, I decided to take the stress off and go back to what I enjoyed most about being in the kitchen: having fun.
What has helped me a ton when it comes to social-distancing and separating the days from the nights and also making the most of grocery hauls so that we are not doing them too frequently is setting up a menu of dinners for the week. I sat down on Saturday, asked for input from my family, and got brainstorming. Once I had the menu set for the week it instantaneously made grocery shopping more efficient and productive. Plus, now we are all set for the next seven plus days.
This past Sunday night I knew I wanted to make something cozy for us all. After all, we are all in need of some extra comfort right now. Originally we had discussed making spaghetti and meatballs, but when I realized how somewhat lazy I felt and took note of the pantry to find out we were fresh out of spaghetti, this lasagna bake instantly popped into my mind. Something I had made for Joe and I recently and was a huge success. Plus, what is better than the whole family diving into one large dish for their dinner? Something about this shared aspect made my heart full.
To make this incredibly easy and delicious meal you will need ground beef, eggplant, kale, Greek yogurt, shredded cheese (we used a “pizza blend” from Whole Foods), rigatoni pasta (or really any shape you’d like), and pasta sauce (we used this Primal Kitchen tomato basil sauce, but I also love Raos). While you can use any pasta you prefer, I love the rigatoni shape for this dish and I prefer this brown rice version if you are looking for a gluten-free option. To make, simply boil the pasta in a bot while sautéing the ground beef, eggplant, and kale in a skillet. Once the vegetables are tender and the ground beef is fully cooked through, add the marinara sauce into that skillet and combine well. Remove the pasta while it is still al dente, drain, and set aside. In a baking dish, add a layer of the marinara mixture and then top with a layer of pasta and a layer of some Greek yogurt. Continue this layering of sauce, pasta, and Greek yogurt two more times so that there is a total of three pasta layers. Finally, top with the remaining marinara mixture and then top with the shredded cheese. Place in the oven at 375 degrees, bake for 20 minutes, and enjoy!
While we enjoyed this meal all nice and warm straight out of the oven, this is a great meal prep option. Given that we had some leftovers and I just enjoyed them for launch, I can attest to this dish’s ability to uphold its flavor and taste just as good the next day!
Meat & Eggplant Lasagna Bake
Ingredients:
- Ground beef (1lb)
- Eggplant (1)
- Kale (4 leaves)
- Greek yogurt (1/2 cup)
- Shredded cheese (1 cup)
- Rigatoni pasta (1 box) – I used GF brown rice
- Pasta sauce (24oz)
- Avocado oil (1 teaspoon)
- Cayenne pepper (1/2 teaspoon)
- Red pepper flakes (1/2 teaspoon)
- Salt
- Pepper
Instructions:
How to cook Meat & Eggplant Lasagna Bake
- De-rib the kale and cut the kale and eggplant into small pieces and set aside
- Bring a pot of water to boil and add the pasta and cook for around 5 minutes so that it will finish cooking in the oven
- Strain the pasta and set aside
- On a hot skillet, add 1 teaspoon of avocado oil and the ground beef and season with cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper
- Using a wooden spoon, crush the ground beef into small pieces and allow to sear on one side for around 5 minutes before mixing around to cook on all sides
- Add the chopped eggplant and kale into the skillet and sauté for around 10 minutes until they are soft and tender and the ground beef is fully cooked through
- Add the tomato sauce into the skillet and combine well
- In a baking dish, add a layer of the sauce mixture and then top with a layer of the pasta
- Top the pasta with ¼ cup of Greek yogurt
- Repeat the layering with another layer of the marinara mixture, pasta, and Greek yogurt
- Top that with another layer of pasta and then top with the remaining marinara mixture (giving three layers of pasta) so that all of the pasta is covered
- Pour on 1 cup of the shredded cheese
- Place in the oven at 375 degrees for 20 minutes
- Remove from the oven and serve hot
- Gluten Free (depending on pasta used)
- Dairy Free (depending on yogurt & cheese used)
- Soy Free
- Nut Free