Italian Eggplant/Chicken/Rice Bake

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I really need to get more creative with naming my dishes. :) But at least it gives you a good idea of what this is!I wanted to use up the rest of the rotisserie chicken from the weekend. And we haven't had Italian in a long time, but I didn't want pasta (since I had made pasta on Wednesday night). Rice is always a good sub!

I actually was planning on getting zucchini, instead of eggplant. But the zucchini at the grocery store all looked awful, then I saw the eggplant. It was like a bell went off in my head - eggplant = perfect! :)

J and I both thought this was good. Only thing I may do different is to partially cook the eggplant before adding it to the dish. I thought it wasn't quite soft enough. But, then again, others may like that texture.

Ingredients:
3/4 c brown rice (3 servings according to Uncle Ben :p )
2 cloves garlic, minced
Pepper, to taste
1 t dried thyme
1 t dried basil
1/2 small eggplant, sliced
Salt
5-6 baby portobellos, sliced
1 - 1 1/2 c shredded chicken, cooked
1-2 medium green onions, thinly sliced
Pasta sauce of choice (I used garlic & herb - from a jar)
3/4 c shredded mozzarella

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.

Salt the eggplant on both sides and let it sit on a cookie sheet for about 20-30 minutes, to draw out some of the moisture.

In the meantime, cook rice according to package directions.

Rinse the eggplant well and pat dry and set aside.

Note: you may want to partially cook the eggplant before adding it to the dish. Maybe just saute it in a skillet for a couple of minutes.

Coat a 9x9 square baking dish with cooking spray.

Once the rice is done, season it with the thyme, basil, garlic and pepper, and then add the rice as the first layer in the baking dish. Press down to create an even surface.

Layer on the eggplant, mushroom and then the chicken. Pour over the pasta sauce as evenly as you can.

Sprinkle on the green onion and, finally, sprinkle on the mozzarella cheese.

Cover lightly with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 10 more. Cut into 9 servings, and enjoy!

So the picture isn't so pretty, but it tasted good!