Breaded Eggplant with Tomato, Basil, & Fresh Mozzarella on Baguette!!

This sandwich is so satisfying and tasty, that I make them at least once every two weeks. It's perfect for lunch, dinner, or sliced into appetizer sized portions for a party. Serve with a small side salad for a complete meal.

Ingredients:
1 fresh, large baguette
1 ball of fresh mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
Shredded Parmesan cheese
1 box of breaded eggplant cutlets from the frozen section at your local grocery store (FYI--Trader Joe's frozen and breaded Eggplant Cutlets are the best pre-made brand I have ever had!)
2-3 vine ripened tomatoes, sliced thinly and dusted with sea salt and pepper
2 handfuls of fresh, whole basil leaves
1/4 cup of mayo
juice from half of a large lemon
sea salt
fresh cracked pepper

Directions:
1. Preheat your oven, and bake the breaded eggplant according to directions on the box and set aside.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup of mayo, your lemon juice, and a pinch of salt and pepper.

3. Slice your baguette in half, and then length wise, making 4 slices of bread. Then broil on high for 1-2 minutes, until slightly toasted.

4. Remove from oven and layer your ingredients on each slice of bread. Start with the mozzarella slices, followed by one layer of breaded eggplant, your tomato slices, fresh basil leaves, and top off with generous amounts of shredded Parmesan.

5. Place back in the oven and broil on high until the shredded Parmesan starts to bubble. Remove from oven.

6. Take a spoon and drizzle your lemon mayo over each baguette. Then, carefully place each side together to make one ginormous, amazingly delicious sandwich!! Cut accordingly, and serve.

TVP Sloppy Joes

If you've never experimented with textured vegetable protein- I highly recommend it! It's actually a soy protein that is commonly used as a meat substitute. It works especially well when making veggie burgers and veggie sloppy joes. You can find tvp at most health food stores, and whole foods offers it in their bulk food section for a very reasonable price. Hope you like it as much as I do!

Ingredients:
•2-3 tbsp olive oil
•1 large onion, diced
•1 green or red bell pepper, diced
•1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
•2 1/2 cups tomato sauce
•1 tbsp chili powder
•1 tbsp garlic powder
•1 tbsp soy sauce
•dash hot sauce or Tabasco sauce (optional)
•1 tbsp sugar
•1 1/2 cups TVP
•salt and pepper to taste
•5-6 hamburger buns or tortillas if you prefer wraps

Directions:
In a large skillet, sautee the onion and peppers in olive oil for 3 to 5 minutes, or until onions are soft.
Reduce heat to medium low and add all ingredients (except the buns of course!) and stir well to combine. Allow to simmer for at least 15 more minutes.
Spoon onto hamburger buns/tortillas and serve hot.
Last time I made these I put a few strips of room temperature brie and some sliced bread and butter pickles on the buns before spooning on the sloppy joe mixture, and it was sooo good!