EGGPLANT STUFFED BELL PEPPER

Steps:

• 1. Liberally salt diced eggplant and set aside to drain for 30 minutes. Rinse well & drain.
• 2. If using ground beef, season with salt, pepper, granulated garlic and onion and fry off the ground beef and/or breakfast sausage in a skillet until no longer pink.
• 3. Remove meat to drain in paper towel lined colander and discard grease. Wipe out skillet with paper towels and use to toast bread crumbs.
• 4. Slice top off of peppers and remove seeds and ribs from inside. Stand up peppers in a rectangle baking dish with just a little water in the bottom. Set aside.
• 5. In a stockpot saute eggplant, tomatoes, vegetables, and seasoning (first 11 ingredients) in 4 tablespoons olive oil until it's really cooked down, stirring occasionally, for about 1 hour.
• 6. In a skillet heat 2 tablespoons olive oil and add breadcrumbs; stir to completely coat breadcrumbs. Continue to cook, stirring constantly until breadcrumbs get about 2 shades darker. Remove from heat and set aside.
• 7. While eggplant mixture is cooking, get a large mixing bowl add beaten eggs, and toasted bread crumbs, (See Note Below), shredded cheese (except cheese for topping) & seasonings. Mix well and set aside.
• 8. When the eggplant mixture has cooked down for an hour or so, add the meat or seafood and cook until hot and/or seafood is cooked through. Taste eggplant mixture and adjust seasoning as needed. Remove from Heat. Add eggs and cheese mixture to eggplant and mix well.
• 9. Stuff mixture into bell peppers and pack firmly. Liberally top with cheese reserved for topping and bake at 350* F for about 20-30 minutes or until cheese is melted and begins to turn golden. Enjoy!
• 10. *Note: Toasting the breadcrumbs is an important step and will keep the mixture from becoming gummy. Toast extra and put in Ziploc bag in freezer for later use.