Eggplant Parmesan Burgers

I'm finding it a wee bit difficult to get motivated when it comes to putting together a meal plan.  A kitchen that smells like mildew isn't exactly inspiring.  We're still waiting for our insurance adjustor to call us back.  The lack of communication makes me crazy.

So because I haven't been to the grocery store in quite a while, our dinners have mostly consisted of scrounging through what we have, and making what I know.

I had an eggplant in the fridge that needed to be used and I found a pound of ground beef in the back of the freezer.  Plus, I had some ricotta leftover from the Skillet Lasagna.  So I kinda just faked everything as I went.

Eggplant cooked like this would be delicious in tons of different things.  Layered in a lasagna, topped with some marinara and cheese as a side dish, on pizza.  I mean, it's crunchy and fried, what's not to like?

I just did the flour, egg, panko thing, all seasoned with salt and pepper, and then cooked them in a cast iron skillet in some veggie oil.  Not too much, just enough to coat the bottom of the pan, adding more with each batch.

Take a look see...

Looks good enough to eat, right?

For the meat, I mixed in some onion powder, minced garlic, a pinch of cinnamon ('cause that's what I'd use in my eggplant parm), and some salt and pepper.

While The Dad grilled the burgers, I got the buns ready.

I put a slice of the eggplant, some tomatoes, and sliced parmesan cheese on one side, and a schmear of ricotta on the other.

Then I threw them in the oven at 350 for about 10 minutes.

Yum, right?

When the burgers were done, I put them up on top of the warm ricotta and added some fresh basil.

Here's dinner on my plate:

Seriously one of the best burgers I've ever eaten.

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