Ratatouille

I LOVED this recipe....I got it from my cute niece Emily... THANKS Emily!! Have you watched the Disney movie "Ratatouille"? It's one of my favs because it's all about cooking and being a chef. In it the mouse cooks this for the mean restaurant critic and he loves it. Since I'm looking for different vegetable recipes besides steamed broccoli (that gets boring after awhile, I might add) I thought I would give this a try. I made a few tweaks to the recipe by adding a little Italian seasoning to the veggies and I sauteed my veggies a minute or two before layering into the casserole dish. I was afraid they wouldn't get cooked all the way through...especially the peppers and the onions. It smelled sooooo good while it was baking I couldn't wait to taste it!  and it turned out YUMMO!! I love eggplant.. the flavor of this dish is to die for... I think I could have eaten the whole thing myself! I served it along side some grilled steak. This does turn out quite juicy... but we didn't mind, our steak soaked up the juices. Just keep that in mind when cooking, you could serve over noodles or rice to soak up the juices, or in a bowl. That's how I ate my leftovers, I sliced up my leftover steak into a bowl and put the Ratatouille on top. YUMMO!

Ratatouille
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons dried parsley
Italian Seasoning or dried basil
salt to taste
1 cup (about) grated Parmesan cheese
1 eggplant, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 zucchini, sliced
1 large onion, sliced into rings
2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
1 green bell pepper, sliced
4 Roma tomatoes, sliced
1/2 cup to 1 cup grated Mozzarella cheese

Directions:
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Coat bottom and sides of a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish with 1 tablespoon olive oil.
2.Peel and dice your eggplant. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add your garlic and saute 1 minute, then add your eggplant, saute 1 to 2 minutes; while it's cooking sprinkle a pinch of Italian seasoning and dried Parsley over it along with a sprinkle of Salt and pepper. 
While your eggplant is cooking slice your zucchini.
3.Spread eggplant mixture evenly across bottom of prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of Parmesan cheese.
Saute your zucchini for a couple of minutes sprinkling with a pinch of Italian seasoning, salt and pepper like you did the egg plant. While it's cooking slice your onion.
Spread zucchini in an even layer over top of the eggplant. Sprinkle with 1 more Tablespoon Parmesan cheese. Continue cooking and  layering in this fashion, with onion, mushrooms, bell pepper, and tomatoes, covering each layer with 1 Tablespoon cheese.  I cooked each veggie for a minute or two while I sliced the next one  called for and seasoned each with a pinch of  Italian seasoning, salt and pepper: the only veggie I didn't cook before layering was the Tomatoes... they cook enough while baking.
**This sauteing just gets the cooking process started I think.
4.Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes uncovered. When there is only about 5 minutes left on the baking time, sprinkle with Mozzarella Cheese and let finish baking. Remove from oven and let rest for about 5 to 10 minutes for the juices to settle.
Serve with any grilled meat, or serve over noodles or rice. Enjoy!!