It’s no secret that saving money has become more and more important in the past few years. With the economy’s downturn came cutbacks in many different areas, including food. Luckily, a website was formed to combat these money issues by discovering new and inventive ways to create delicious cuisines without breaking the bank.

While checking out fivedollardinners.com, I came across a recipe for eggplant pizza bites that instantly made my stomach growl. Even better was the fact that it was quick, easy and less than $5.

So, the next time you are looking for a mouth-watering meal with an even more appetizing price, try these simple eggplant bites!

Ingredients:

• One eggplant
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Pizza sauce (or your favorite pasta sauce)
• Shredded mozzarella
• Any type of seasoning

Directions:

• Wash and cut up the eggplant into approximately ½ inch slices.
• Draw out the eggplant’s bitter juices by submerging them in water (with a few pinches of salt) for 30 minutes.
• Tip: I put a pot on top of the eggplant to make sure each piece was completely under water.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
• Brush both sides of each eggplant slice with olive oil.
• Place the slices on a baking sheet and bake until each side is browned and/or a little tender (I did it for 4 minutes, each side).
• Take the baking sheet out and spoon the sauce onto each slice. Then sprinkle the shredded mozzarella and seasonings.
• Put the sheet back in the oven until the cheese is melted.
• Let cool and enjoy!

For other tasty and inexpensive vegetable dishes, check out CL’s tutorial on how to grill perfect vegetables.

Nicole Veenstra is a Fashion & Lifestyle writer for College Lifestyles. She is currently studying journalism at Rider University and loves dolphins, red velvet anything and spending time with her friends and family.