The story I read to my son about a princess who’s sole goal is to meet a prince who can bake a cookie as tiny and delicate as she is inspired the name of this recipe. This is a wonderful tiny lemon biscuit that won’t let you down! For a more subdued lemon flavor, you may either roll them in sugar before baking or spread a glaze composed of confectioners sugar and lemon juice over them.
| Prep Time: | 20 mins |
| Cook Time: | 1 hr 20 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 40 mins |
| Servings: | 6 |
| Yield: | 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds lean ground beef
- 2 onions, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
- 2 ¼ cups water
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can peeled and diced tomatoes
- ⅓ cup dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 eggplant
- 1 onion, sliced
- ½ cup dry bread crumbs
- 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- In a large skillet over medium heat, saute the ground beef, onion and garlic for 5 to 10 minutes. Drain excess fat. Stir in the tomato paste, water, tomatoes, parsley, thyme, oregano and basil. Set aside.
- Slice eggplant into 1/4-inch rounds. Place a layer of eggplant into the bottom of a lightly greased 9×12-inch glass baking dish. Then place a layer of the ground beef mixture over the eggplant, followed by a layer of sliced onion. Top this with 1/2 the breadcrumbs and cheese. Then repeat the layers: eggplant, ground beef mixture, sliced onion and remaining breadcrumbs and cheese.
- Cover and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 1 hour, remove foil and bake for 20 more minutes.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 495 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 27 g |
| Cholesterol | 100 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 7 g |
| Protein | 31 g |
| Saturated Fat | 13 g |
| Sodium | 739 mg |
| Sugars | 10 g |
| Fat | 29 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I used up some leftover pasta sauce and diced tomatoes. Followed the recipe aside from that. It makes a lot. Very good and the calorie count is great if you don’t go back for seconds.
My husband is on a low carb diet and wanted Eggplant Parm so this was a great substitute. Made exactly as called for but halved the recipe since it”s just the two of us. He raved about it! Only thing I added was in final cook time uncovered and added shredded mozzarella for parm taste. Definitely a keeper!
Very good but not quite awesome. I love eggplant but could barely taste them in this dish. I followed the recipe except added raw red peppers instead of raw onions. I did add caramelized onions that was a great add.
Very tasty! I used two medium sized eggplant diced and layered without the recommended sliced onion. The cheese on hand was a blend of mozzarella and parmesan which was delicious. Next time I may try ricotta cheese for the first layer. Instead of the half a cup bread crumbs, I split a fourth a cup of Italian style bread crumbs when layering. I did not use amount of stated water in recipe but poured beef bone broth intermittently when simmering for about 30 minutes. Also, based on other reviews, I used only a teaspoon of parsley. Overall, recipe is good inspiration and can be adjusted for personal tastes. I liked one’s suggestion to add zucchini and may try that too. Thanks.
I make this dish with a jar of ready made pasta sauce instead of tomato paste and water. I also use Italian spices. It is quite good as written though. Thanks for your recipe.
This is a great base recipe. My husband and I really enjoyed this dish. However, I gave it four stars because I changed a few things. First I used 1 pound of lean ground beef and 1 pound of ground sweet sausage. I sauteed them in a pan with about a quarter cup of onion,one clove of garlic, and some red pepper flakes.Then I added a 32 oz jar of tomato sauce which I doctored up with basil, oregano, parsley, salt, ,and pepper. I made sure to taste the meat mixture before I started layering. My husband is lactose intolerant so I skipped the cheese. I also took the suggestion of other reviewers and skipped the layer of onion. I don’t eat gluten so I used gluten free bread crumbs instead of regular breadcrumbs. I cooked the dish as the recipe called for. It came out delicious! I would definitely make it again.
Very good base recipe. I think the thyme was a bit heavy and didn’t understand the sliced onion and breadcrumbs between the layers, next time will omit. I added mozzarella along with Parmesan between the layers. Will definitely make this again.
If you like eggplant, this is for you. We were hoping the strong tomato flavor would hide the eggplant. That did not happen. This was very eggplant strong, even overpowering the tomato and seasoning. and we only used half the eggplant.
Delicious! Will prepare this recipe again. I would add shredded cheese as well.
Substituted no boil lasagna noodles for the layers of onion and salt and pepper to the sauce. Absolutely delicious!
This was really tasty. I made it with 1lb. of hamburger and a 24 oz. jar of marinara sauce instead of tomato paste. Used a large eggplant.
This is a wonderful recipe! I did make a couple of changes. I chopped the onions and added them in with the ground beef to brown. I also used fresh herbs from my herb garden, adjusting the amount taking into consideration that more fresh herbs are needed. I used 1 Tablespoon each of fresh instead of 1 teaspoon dried. I increased the garlic to 4 cloves since our family loves garlic, and I sprinkled 1 cup shredded mozzerella over all. It was awesome!!!!!!! My whole family loved it.
I used this recipe as a jumping off place and used the recommendations from several reviews to make the most INCREDIBLE eggplant dish. I used a pound of ground chicken and a pound of chicken sausage, cooked with thin chopped onions, fresh parsley, fresh garlic and spices. I had grilled red and yellow peppers, so I chopped and added them to the meat mixture along with a cup of fresh sliced mushrooms, a can of petite chopped tomatoes and a jar of marinara sauce. I chopped the eggplant into 1.5″ to 2″ squares. I used 2 cups of whole wheat bread crumbs and 1.5 cups of shredded mozzarella. I layered the meat sauce, eggplant, bread crumbs, mozzarella, another layer of meat sauce and topped with a good sprinkle of parmesan. I put it all together in an electric skillet set at 250 degrees, covered and simmered for 20 minutes. Everything blended perfectly and we were thrilled with the flavors and seasonings. It’s definitely a recipe that will be used for company. It’s healthy and tastes amazing. I’m proud to serve it along with a lovely green salad including crasins, walnuts, carrots, and sliced cucumbers with a Catalina dressing. We had a small bowl of sliced strawberries with a dollop of light whipped cream for dessert. Oh my, what a satisfying dinner. HURRAY!
Used tomatoe sauce instead of tomatoes and less parsley, but other than that followed the recipe. Loved it!
This was perfect for a cold winter evening. I used mozzarella between the layers and jar sauce since I had them on hand. Otherwise I followed the recipe exactly and we both thought it was delicious.
This was okay. My husband said it was delicious but I felt like the eggplant would have made a better statement in another dish.
I peel the eggplant and also add a layer of mozzarella and some ricotta just like a lasagna. I just use tomato sauce and fresh diced tomatoes because I never seem to have canned tomatoes or paste so why bother? I also slice my onions paper thin for kid sake. Very good recipe that’s always a hit and leftovers are always eaten by the next day.
This recipe is AWESOME!! I have 4 children from 14 to 1 and they all ate it and asked for more. I made it just as the recipe said and figured I would have to change it up the second time but I was suprosed when it was great the way it is!
This recipe is AWESOME!! I have 4 children from 14 to 1 and they all ate it and asked for more. I made it just as the recipe said and figured I would have to change it up the second time but I was suprosed when it was great the way it is!
I loved it, but I like eggplant. My husband, who doesn’t like eggplant liked it, but said it needed more cheese and more tomato.
This is Delicious!!!!! Used mozzarella, can of chopped tomatoes, & can of spag sauce…. Cubed eggplant. Baked 60 min…… Mmmmmmmm