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1
Heat the olive oil in a medium to large sized saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the garlic, oregano and thyme sprigs and allow everything to cook in the olive oil for about 2-3 minutes.
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2
Pour in the crushed tomato sauce and diced tomatoes and mix well. Bring to a slight boil, turn the heat down to medium-low and let simmer for about 10-15 minutes. Stirring occasionally.
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3
Season with the red chili pepper flakes and salt and pepper. Mix well and let cook for an additional 2-3 minutes more. Remove from heat and set aside. Remove the oregano and thyme sprigs and discard the sprigs.
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4
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Using a mandolin slicer, slice the eggplant and zucchini and set aside.
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5
To assemble the baked goat cheese marinara: pour in half of the marinara sauce into the baking dish. Spread evenly to cover the bottom of the baking dish. Layer on the thinly sliced eggplant and zucchini, alternating if desired. Pour in the remaining marinara sauce to cover the vegetables. At this point, you can mix the veggies in the sauce so some vegetables are poking out. I think this makes the baked marinara look more interesting.
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6
Bake the marinara sauce for about 20-25 minutes or until bubbly.
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7
Remove from the oven during the last 5 minutes of cooking and cover the top with three slices of goat cheese. (*Kitchen Tip: Use dental floss to cleanly cut your soft goat cheese.) Return the baking dish to the oven and bake for another 2-3 minutes to soften the cheese.
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8
Change the oven setting to broil and broil for about 3-4 minutes or until the edges and top of the goat cheese become browned. Watch to ensure the goat cheese does not burn.
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9
For the crostini
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10
Toast the bread: Cut your baguette and lightly butter each slice on one side. Place into the KitchenAid(R) Countertop Oven to toast. Set the toast dial to your desired level: light or medium. Alternatively, you can bake your slices of bread.
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11
For added flavor, lightly brush on some roasted garlic onto the crostini once out of the countertop oven.
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12
Serve with the baked goat cheese marinara and enjoy immediately.
