eggplant with turkey bolognese

Remember when we thought Andy was going to live with my parents for one month and one month turned into five? During that time he was spoiled rotten by my momma's yummy cooking and he's been talking about an eggplant dish she made ever since. I finally got around to making it and now I see what all the fuss is about! I'm going to be making this dish all the time now. It's comfort food without the fatty ingredients and carbs and it only took 15 minutes to make. Winner winner eggplant dinner!

Eggplant with turkey bolognese
serves 6

29 oz can tomato sauce
1 lb ground turkey
1 medium to large eggplant
1 cup milk
1/4 cup panko or bread crumbs
2 Tbsp (or more) parm cheese
2 bay leaves
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp oregano
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp salt

Heat tomato sauce over medium setting and add bay leaves, garlic and onion powder, oregano, Italian seasoning and salt. Stir and let simmer a few minutes before tasting and adding more spices, if needed.

Meanwhile, cook turkey in a skillet over medium heat and chop eggplant into one-inch-thick rounds. Pour milk into a dish that's large enough to hold all of the eggplant rounds (I use a large pyrex) and place eggplant into milk. Set oven to broil and line a cookie sheet with foil. Drizzle a small amount of olive oil on to the foil. After a couple of minutes, flip the eggplant rounds so the other sides get dipped into the milk.

Mix bread crumbs and parm cheese in a shallow dish. Dip the milk-soaked eggplant into the bread crumb mixture. Place it on the foil and broil 3-4 minutes per side. Add cooked turkey to sauce and stir. Place 3-4 slices of eggplant on a plate and spoon meat sauce on top.