Stuffed Eggplant Boats

I mentioned that I like eggplant and now all these beautiful eggplants keep showing up on my doorstep. Have I mentioned I love money, too? Maybe some of that will start showing up as well. I was looking for some different eggplant recipes other than eggplant parm, and my coworker suggested stuffing it with sausage. I liked her idea and came up with my own recipe. You can stuff an eggplant with any meats or veggies you'd like. I kept it simple so my husband would eat it: meat and cheese with peppers and eggplant. This recipe was more time consuming than I anticipated and the skin of the eggplant was kinda bitter, so we ate around it. I'd make this again and experiment with different veggies or meats.

Ingredients:
2 eggplants
1 pound ground sausage
1/2 red pepper, chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 tablespoon canola oil
salt & pepper, to taste
1/3 cup shredded cheese

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Slice eggplants in half. Sprinkle liberally with salt and set in a colander or on a baking rack in the sink to "sweat."

Meanwhile, brown the sausage with half the garlic and the red pepper. Drain and transfer to a bowl.

After about 20 minutes, wipe the eggplant halves with paper towels. Scoop the flesh out of the eggplant, leaving about 1/4 of it in the skin. Chop the flesh of the eggplant.

Heat a skillet on medium-high heat and add the remaining garlic and eggplant. Saute until golden brown and add to the sausage. Mix well. Stuff the eggplant "boats" and top with shredded cheese.

Bake for 20 - 30 minutes until the eggplant is tender. Top with your favorite tomato sauce.