Aubergine Lasagne

Hello all!!

It's been a while since I last posted one of my recipes. I cook every night (almost every night) and never buy ready made meals. Only occasionally do I do take away so I know exactly what I eat. I know what I put in my meals, and I always have at least five vegetables every day. 
So, here is a healthy but super delicious recipe, with one of my favourite and most versatile vegetables; the mighty aubergine.

I first came across a version of this recipe in one of Jamie Oliver's books. But, as I am not that good at following recipes, I followed the basic formula, but made up my own sauce. His original recipe was a bed of grilled aubergines with a layer of tomatoe sauce on top.
Well, I "corrupted" his version, and came up with something even better.

First, take 3-4 aubergines, peel them, cut them in circles and grill them. This is how they should look once they are done:

In the past, I used raw peppers, but this time, I grilled two red peppers, peeled them and then cut them into small pieces.

You can use any vegetable you want. I had a courgette in my fridge this time, so I used that:

Once you prepared your vegetables (you can put more if you'd like, or chuck in anything you have in the fridge), move onto the sauce. Take two tins of tomatoes and cut them in pieces. Add oregano, bay leaf, cube stock, two cloves of garlic and one chili (optional). Set the sauce aside while you do the first part of cooking:

Add a splash of olive oil into the pan, and then put one onion and a carrot. Once it is slightly brown, add red paprika. I was going to make this a vegetarian meal as a vegetarian friend was coming for dinner. But as they cancelled at the last minute, I decided to add chicken to my dish. So, once the carrot and onion were done, I added one piece of chicken breast, cut in pieces. I cooked it until the chicken was brown.

Once the chicken was done, I added my chosen vegetables; peppers and courgettes:

I cooked that for two minutes and then added my tomatoe sauce, already prepared earlier:

I left that on the hob for the next 5 minutes and then proceeded to make my aubergine lasagne.
In an oven dish (any size or shape will do), I first layered half of my grilled aubergines:

I then put a layer of my sauce on top of the aubergines:

I continued until I ran out of all my grilled aubergines and the sauce:

At the end, I put on some grated Parmesan cheese (this is optional). 
Once you have prepared this, put the dish in the oven, (200 degrees) for about half hour. And voila, it is done:

I will admit, this dish is somewhat time consuming and preparation time is probably a good half hour. However, it is worth it. It is not only very delicious, but it is very healthy and if you use as many ingredients as I have suggested, you will have at least four meals out of it. I don't make this dish very often, but when I do, I am reminded of what home cooking and fresh ingredients can do. 
I call this dish a lasagne dish because of the layering, but, trust me, it is more delicious and more healthy then your average lasagne (although I do have a recipe of a very healthy lasagne too. That is to come soon.). 

So, how often do you cook? Do you know exactly what you put in your body every day? Are you a fan of ready made meals, or do you like a home made meal?

Whatever the case, enjoy your food. Bon apetit.

Red xx