Dinner last night: healthy Mexican Chorizo casserole (and my first post!)

I have a recent obsession with eggplant, both because it is delicious and because it can be used as a substitute for pasta. I also have an obsession with Chorizo, but that is much more longstanding than my eggplant obsession.

This is unfortunately the only photo I took of any parts of this meal, as I just decided to start this blog today and wanted to hurry up and write my first post. The final dish is a sort of hybrid lasagna/casserole but good for you and without noodles. If Logan's sausage is gluten-free (I have emailed them to ask), then the recipe would be gluten free. *Update from Logan's - all of their products are gluten free, with the exception of the Irish Banger. Woo hoo!

I made this in an 8x11 pan and made 6 servings out of it; all three people eating each had a half a piece of seconds.

Divided into 6 servings, this is only about 290 calories per serving - so eat up!

Here's what you need:

• 1 large eggplant
• 4 links of Logan's Mexican Chorizo sausage (this is my favorite brand, and it has less calories than chicken sausage)
• 1 cup of low fat cottage cheese
• 1 egg white
• 1 1/2 cups of low fat Mexican blend shredded cheese
• 1 cup of RAO's Homemade tomato basil sauce (or make your own, but this stuff is delicious and doesn't have preservatives or added sugar. It's all ingredients you can read.)
• 1 1/2 cans of black beans, drained

Preheat the grill on high. Slice the eggplant up into 1/4-inch thick slices and set aside. Cut the sausage links in half lengthwise and remove the casing. Turn the grill down to medium-high and place the eggplant slices and the sausage, butterfly side down, on the grill. The sausage takes about 10 minutes on each side, and the eggplant varies depending on the size of the slices. Start checking them for grill marks after about 6-7 minutes, and flip them when they're crispy. I like to cook them until the edges start curling a little and both sides are crisp. (See photo!)

Chop the sausage up and put in a small mixing bowl along with the 1 1/2 cans of drained black beans. Mix in about 3/4 cup of the tomato sauce - so everything is very well-coated, but not "saucy." My plan was to add some cumin and cayenne, but the Mexican Chorizo and the tomato sauce is so well seasoned that I didn't end up adding anything. Set this mixture aside.

Blend the cottage cheese and egg white in a small mixing bowl and set aside.

Grease a 8x11 glass baking pan and drizzle 1/4 cup tomato sauce on the bottom and spread it around so that the bottom is mostly covered (but not dripping with sauce.) Place a layer of eggplant on top, and then 1/2 of the sausage bean mix. Use a spoon to dollop half of the cottage cheese mixture evenly over the surface, and cover with half of the shredded cheese. Repeat the eggplant-sausage-cottage cheese-shredded cheese layers.

Make a foil tent and cover (so that the cheese doesn't stick to the foil and come off when you remove it) - bake on 350 for 30 minutes. Uncover and put back in the oven for another 5-10 minutes until the cheese is browned. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

This is my first post (and attempt at writing how I made something), please leave feedback if you make this or if anything is unclear in my directions!