Melanie's Moussaka

Total Time: 1 hr 5 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion
• 5 garlic cloves
• 8 ounces sliced mushrooms
• 2 -3 large japanese eggplants
• 3 tablespoons parmesan cheese
• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1 teaspoon lemon pepper
• salt
• 2/3 cup plain yogurt
• 3 eggs
• 1/3 cup parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
• garlic salt, to taste

Recipe

• 1 slice the eggplant in 1/3 inch slices. do not peel, do not salt. just slice—you have enough to do in a day. i use the japanese eggplant because the slices are smaller and easier to layer in the baking pan.
• 2 line a large cookie sheet with foil and spray with non-stick spray.
• 3 lay the eggplant slices on the sheet in a single layer and spray them with non-stick spray.
• 4 sprinkle 2-3 t grated parmesan over them, some salt and pepper, and roast at 350 until fork-tender, while you make the sauce.
• 5 chop the onion and garlic and saute the onions, garlic, mushrooms and ground beef together.
• 6 add the tomato paste and ground tomatoes, wine, rosemary, cinnamon, and lemon pepper (maybe the greeks did invent this) and simmer until meat is cooked and flavors melded.
• 7 in a large baking dish sprayed with non-stick spray (we don't like to waste a lot of time scrubbing dishes in our house) and layer a little sauce, the eggplant, sauce, etc. and end with a layer of sauce.
• 8 over this pour the following mixture: the larger amount of parmesan, mozarella, eggs and yogurt, plus a little garlic salt.
• 9 pour the sauce over the eggplant/meat mixture and cover pan with foil.
• 10 bake 350 for 30 minutes, then uncover and bake until the moussaka is hot and bubbly. time will vary according to how deep your baking pan is.