My friend Renae came over for dinner on a night that her family was out of town. Since we both like eggplant and a lot of people don’t, it seemed like the perfect choice for dinner. This meal was mostly make ahead. I made the eggplant in the morning and put it in the refrigerator. Before dinner I baked the eggplant and the garlic toasts.

Note: We each had 2 halves of a stuffed eggplant. Only 1 is in the photo.

Cheesy Vegetable-Stuffed Eggplant – I used Cheddar instead of Jack cheese and Asiago instead of Parmesan. I did not use thyme.

Garlic Toasts – with homemade french bread, olive oil and garlic powder baked at  375 degrees until browned and crispy (about 10 minutes)