Eggplant Pizza Bites (AKA OMG YUM)

I was really craving Eggplant Parmesan the other day while grocery shopping, so I snagged a ripe looking eggplant with all intents on making it for dinner that night.  Once the groceries were put away though, I forgot all about the eggplant (shoved into the veggie drawer) and made something different.  I rediscovered that eggplant last night...thankfully before it had molded away...and no longer craved Eggplant Parmesan.  But I still needed to use this veggie before it went bad.  I decided to try out an Eggplant Pizza Bites recipe I found online at FirstBites.org.  It looked fairly easy, and best of all I had everything I needed in the cabinet.  I did alter the baking time, as my eggplant seemed to cook faster, and omitted the salt since it has enough flavor already.

Eggplant Pizza Bites

Ingredients

1 eggplant, sliced thinly (about 1/2 inch thick)

Olive oil

Bread crumbs (I used Italian style because that is what I had)

Grated Parmesan Cheese

Garlic powder

Tomato sauce (i used about 1/4 of a small can)

Mozzarella Cheese

Parchment paper

Additional toppings as desired: Pepperoni, tomatoes, mushrooms, artichoke hearts, etc

Directions 

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Slice the eggplant.

Lay the slices onto parchment paper and brush topsides with olive oil.

Sprinkle some bread crumbs onto the topsides of the slices.

Sprinkle some Parmesan onto the topsides of the slices. 

Lightly sprinkle the topsides with garlic powder.

Bake for 20 minutes.

Flip the slices over and repeat the process:

Sprinkle some bread crumbs onto the new topsides of the slices.

Sprinkle some Parmesan onto the new topsides of the slices. 

Lightly sprinkle the new topsides with garlic powder.

Bake for 20 minutes.

Spread a small spoonful of tomato sauce onto the topside of each slice.

 Sprinkle as much mozzarella cheese as you desire onto the topside of each slice.

Add additional toppings as you like.

Bake for 5 minutes.

Enjoy!

I did notice that the skins do bake up a bit tough to chew, so I peeled the skin off of the ones I gave to my little boy. These turned out amazingly yummy!  My little Dragon especially liked that they were a perfect size for him to pick up and eat. 

 Yummmm!!