My grandmother used to make something very similar but used a can of Rotel tomatoes with green chilies and topped the casserole with cheddar cheese, which is how I made this. She also cubed the bread instead of crumbling it so nobody knew what bite was bread and what bite was eggplant, and you really couldn't tell the difference anyway with all that flavor. Even those that claim they don't like eggplant love it. So tasty!