Roasted Zucchini Boats

Every time I've seen my neighbor Jessie this summer, she has forced zucchini from her garden on me- she must have quite the prolific crop over the fence! It is delicious and it's giving me great motivation to a) find creative recipes and b) actually eat more veggies! The latest batch included a monster of a squash- this zucchini was literally over 1 foot long- hoo doggie!

Jessie made a good suggestion to use it for stuffing since it probably had lost some of it's baby sweetness. I thought it was a fantastic suggestion and went on the hunt for inspiration. A lot of recipes called for ground beef, turkey or sausage meat. My father gave me this giant tub of fake sausage meat that his Boy Scout troop couldn't use. My brother is a vegetarian and swears it's good even if it's a little scary.

This is the industrial tub of the stuff:


That's right it says "Imitation Sausage #10, Flavored Textured Vegetable Protein" and it looks like cat kibble. Mmmmm-mmmm! Honestly, it does taste like sausage, but I'd only ever use it in something else like omelets, soups, meat sauces, etc. And I'd never show them the canister first! Ha! It works for vegetarians though and you can easily sub in real meat in this recipe.

In the end, the baked zucchinis were delicious and it was nice having a warm, healthy, filling meal.


Roasted Zucchini Boats

• 1 Large Zucchini
  
• 1 Onion, chopped
  
• 2/3-3/4 C. Cooked Sausage Meat (real or fake!)
  
• 1/2 C. Breadcrumbs
  
• 1/3 C. Parmesan
  
• 1/4 C. Shred Mozzarella
  
• 1 Tbsp. Dried Oregano
  
• 1 tsp. Garlic Powder
  
• 1 tsp. Dried Basil
  
• 1/2 tsp. Fresh Rosemary
  
• 1/2 tsp. Dried Thyme
  
• 1 C. Pasta Sauce

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
   
2. Cut off the ends of the zucchini. Slice the zucchini in half lengthwise.
   
3. Using a spoon or melon baller, scoop out in the interior of the zucchini and place what comes out into a large bowl. Leave about 1/4" of the walls on the zucchini, making a hollow boat shape.
   
4. In the large bowl, add in all of the remaining ingredients except the pasta sauce. Mix well, creating the stuffing.
   
5. Place each zucchini half into a 9" x 13" baking dish. Drizzle insides with olive oil and salt if desired. Fill the boats with the stuffing, filling high and round. Cover stuffing equally with the pasta sauce.
   
6. Bake in oven for 20-25 minutes until the zucchini is tender and stuffing is warm throughout.