1 lb. ground turkey or beef
1 egg, beaten
1 large eggplant
1/3 cup olive oil
basil, oregano and parsley flakes, garlic powder
20 pepperoni slices (from 6 ounce package)
2 cups pasta sauce
12 slices Mozzarella cheese (from 16 oz. Polly-O brand package)

Preheat oven 375°F (350°F for glass) and coat 10-inch square or round baking pan with cooking spray.

In large bowl, mix ground meat, 1/2 teaspoon each basil, oregano, parsley, garlic powder and egg. Mix lightly and form into 4 patties. Set aside on a plate.

Trim stem and blossom ends from eggplant and discard. Slice eggplant into 1/2-inch slices getting at least 8 slices uniform in size. Set aside on a large plate.

In small bowl, combine olive oil and 1 teaspoon each basil, oregano, parsley and garlic powder. With basting brush or teaspoon, lightly coat tops of meat patties and all eggplant slices.

In baking pan, mix about 2 tablespoons pasta sauce with a little water and spread around to coat bottom of pan. Begin making stacks by first arranging 4 eggplant slices in baking pan over sauce and spreading 2 tablespoons sauce over eggplant slices.

Place 1 slice Mozzarella cheese over each sauce-topped eggplant slice. Top each with a meat patty, 2 tablespoons sauce, 5 pepperoni slices and 1 Mozzarella slice. Finish with last eggplant slice. Add 2 tablespoons water to remaining sauce and spoon around and in between stacks. Cover.

Bake 35 minutes. Remove cover, add last Mozzarella slice and continue baking about 10 more minutes or until eggplant and meat have cooked well and stacks look nicely browned. Allow stacks to rest 5 to 10 minutes before removing with spatula. Spoon remaining sauce over each stack.

Serves 4 generously.

Submitted by: Rose