Eggplant Parmigiana

In our quest to use up as much of our food as possible before we move, I decided to make eggplant parmigiana.  Not that I had eggplant sitting around... but I did have breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, and a half a box of pasta.  Since I have a whole chicken that I'm planning on cooking tomorrow, I decided we didn't need to have our normal chicken parmesan.  So instead, I bought an eggplant and made this.  Delicious!

While this dish took a while to put together, a lot of it was passive.  The eggplant sitting after being salted didn't need to be attended to (got plenty of facebook checking -- umm... I mean studying -- done during that step).  And once it was in the oven, you can leave it alone except for checking on the cheese (although I was cooking pasta at that time... so I didn't make it back to my books to study).  And overall, this is a really easy dish.  A few steps but nothing too complicated.

Jeremy and I had a salad first and then I served this with some whole wheat pasta in more of the spaghetti sauce.  We have 1/3 of the eggplant parm left (we were hungry...) and some of the pasta.  There might be a fight over these leftovers. :)

Recipe:
1 large eggplant (mine was 20 oz.)
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. dry breadcrumbs
1/2 c. parmesan cheese, divided
1 tbs. dried parsley flakes
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
2 eggs
approximately 1/4 c. olive oil (or vegetable oil) for frying
salt and pepper to taste
1 jar spaghetti sauce (23.5 oz.)
8 oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded

1. Slice the eggplant into 1/2" slices.  Spread a layer of paper towel on a large cutting board or baking sheet.  Lay the eggplant in one layer.  Sprinkle evenly with 1/2 tsp. of salt.  Allow the slices to sit for 1 hour to draw out some of the moisture.  Pat the slices dry before continuing with the recipe.  (If you're pressed for time, you can skip this step.  But I think it makes for a more tender, tastier eggplant.)
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  In a medium bowl, lightly beat the eggs.  Add 1 tbs. water and mix well.  In a separate bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, 1/4 c. parmesan cheese, parsley flakes, and garlic powder.
3. Grind some pepper on the eggplant (to taste).
4. Heat a large frying pan over medium high heat.  Add olive oil and heat until just shy of smoking.
5. Coat the eggplant slices in the egg, then in the breadcrumbs.  Fry in the oil (in batches as necessary), flipping halfway through until they are golden brown on both sides (2-3 minutes per side).
6. In a 13"x9" casserole dish, spread 1/3 of the sauce.  Place one layer of eggplant in.  Top with another 1/3 of the sauce and 1/4 c. of the mozzarella and 1/8 c. of the remaining parmesan.  Top with another layer of eggplant.  Then add the remaining sauce and cheese. (My slices fit in just 2 layers... if yours don't, divide the sauce and cheese further so each layer gets some.) (Add more salt to the layers if you want... I added a pinch because my sauce was no salt added and needed a little bit.  It all depends on your taste.)
7. Bake in the oven (uncovered) for 20-25 minutes or until the cheese is slightly browned on top.