Eggplant Lasagna

This is one of my favorite comfort foods to make that actually fullfills my craving for italian food since the consistency my "noodles" actually taste and feel like noodles.  It is one food also that actually gets better with reheating.  For some reason the eggplant noodles meld together in the fridge and when you reheat it it tastes exactly like normal italian lasagna.  My mom and I have both fooled finicky eaters with this reheated, we just neglect to tell them its eggplant instead of egg noodles until after their plate is empty.  And one nice thing about this is that you can really add what ever you want for vegetables in the intial saute.  My recipe is just what how I made it when I was experimenting.  This can easily be made vegetarian if necessary, I just am an omnivore.

3.5 oz Shiitake Mushrooms, sliced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb ground beef
1 Tbsp various italian herbs
1 large eggplant
1 jar marinara
1 lb shredded mozzarella
32 oz ricotta
2 eggs

Saute the mushrooms, onion, pepper, garlic, and ground beef in a hot pan until the beef is fully cooked.  Add the sauce and bring to a simmer and add the herbs. 

In a seperate bowl combine the ricotta and eggs and set aside. 

Peel the eggplant and slice thinly.

Take a deep dish and put the sauce down first, then layer the eggplant, ricotta, mozzarella cheese, and sauce. 

Make sure to finish with the sauce on top.  I did about 4 layers of eggplant.  Bake for about 1 hour at 375 degrees.  This will be VERY juice so definitely let it sit for a bit before cracking into it.  The only reason why I used a circular pan was because it was my only deep pan.  If you don't want to use egpplant you can also use zucchini slices in the exact same way as the eggplant for a similar texture.

Enjoy!