The Vegetarian
Veggies rule eggplant dish

A medley of vegetables, brown rice and wheat germ are seasoned and stuffed into eggplant for a hearty dish. Use globe eggplant, the round ones, but look for those on the smaller side for this recipe.

Vegetable Rice Stuffed Eggplant

• 4 small round eggplants, about
• 6 ounces each
• 1 cup chopped onions
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 3/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
• 3/4 cup chopped zucchini
• 3/4 cup chopped mushrooms
• 1 cup seeded chopped tomatoes
• 1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice
• 1/2 cup toasted wheat germ
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup finely shredded Swiss cheese

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Halve eggplants lengthwise, leaving stem intact. Scoop out pulp, leaving a 1/4-inch thick shell. Arrange eggplant shells on a baking pan coated with cooking oil. Chop eggplant pulp and set aside.

Spray large nonstick skillet with cooking oil. Cook onion and garlic over medium heat until onion is tender. Add bell pepper, zucchini, mushrooms and reserved eggplant pulp; cook about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until vegetables are crisp-tender. Stir in tomatoes, rice, wheat germ, parsley, thyme, salt and pepper; heat through.

Fill eggplant shells with vegetable mixture. Sprinkle with cheese.

Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until shells are tender and cheese is lightly browned. Sprinkle with additional wheat germ, if desired. Serves 4.

Nutritional information per serving: calories 250, calories from fat 50, total fat 5 grams, saturated fat 2 grams, cholesterol 10 milligrams, sodium 480 milligrams, total carbohydrates 43 grams, dietary fiber 9 grams, protein 12 grams.

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