Stuffed Zucchini Boats

In the last post for Zucchini Parmesan, I mentioned how I wanted to find more uses for zucchini. I found this recipe and, OMG, soooooo good! At first, I was just going to make it easy on myself and just buy marinara sauce but I decided to try out theirs and I'm so glad I did! It was very easy, especially since I had all the spices on hand, and tasted amazing. I even used the leftovers later!

Taken from:  http://low-carb-news.blogspot.com/2015/04/stuffed-zucchini-boats.html 

4 large zucchini (makes 8 boats)

1 lb lean ground beef 

1 lb ground sausage

2 tsp crushed garlic (I just minced by hand)

2  cups grated Mozzarella cheese (I just used shredded from a bag)

¹/₂  cup Parmesan cheese (calls for grated from the can, but I used shredded that I get at Trader Joes)

2 tbsp coconut flour (use this for sure because it helps to soak up the moisture from the zucchini)

Easy Marinara Sauce:

14 oz canned, finely diced tomatoes, OR fresh, chopped tomatoes 

1 tsp salt

¹/₂  tsp dried basil 

¹/₂  tsp dried oregano 

¹/₂  tsp dried thyme 

¹/₄  tsp black pepper 

Preheat oven to 375°F. Slice zucchini in half lengthwise and scoop out pulp.  Chop pulp finely and set aside.

Marinara Sauce:  In medium bowl, combine tomatoes, salt, basil, oregano, thyme and pepper. 

Boats: In large frying pan, over medium heat, cook ground beef, sausage meat and garlic until browned and cooked through.  Pour off fat, if necessary. Stir in ¹/₂  cup Mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese, plus 1 cup of the reserved zucchini pulp and coconut flour.  Now stir in the Marinara Sauce. Use the remainder of the pulp in a veggie stir-fry, if desired.  Stuff the zucchinis and place on greased cookie sheet.  Bake 40 minutes.  Cover with 1 cup Mozzarella cheese.  Bake another 10 minutes, or until cheese has melted and zucchini are getting quite soft.  Cover with the remaining ¹/₂  cup Mozzarella cheese and bake another 5 to 10 minutes, or until the zucchinis are completely soft to the tip of a sharp paring knife.

Zucchini Parmesan

I've been wanting to find ways to use zucchini since I know it's good for us but I'm just not clever enough to buy some some and cook it up. But this was really good and didn't need a lot of prep work.

Taken from: http://acozykitchen.com/zucchini-parmesan 

3-4 zucchini

Coarse salt

1 cup flour

Olive oil

2/3 cup of your favorite tomato sauce

1 large ball fresh mozzarella (I just cut up some string cheese we had in the fridge!)

Small handful of basil leaves, roughly torn (I bought a small container of fresh leaves)

3/4 finely grated Parmesan (it's not finely grated but I love the containers they sell at Trader Joes)

Slice the zucchini into about 1/3" discs. Sprinkle slices with a small pinch of coarse salt on each side.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Lightly dredge the zucchini slices in the flour. Heat 1/4″ of olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. When a pinch of flour sizzles on contact, add the zucchini slices in a single layer, turn the heat to medium-high and cook for about one and a half minutes on each side or until dark golden brown. Drain the zucchini on paper towels and repeat in batches until all of your zucchini it is cooked, adding more oil as necessary.

In a 13″ x 9″ baking dish (or cast iron skillet), arrange as many slices of zucchini as can fit snugly in a single layer. Top each slice with a small spoonful of tomato sauce, a few small pieces of torn mozzarella, a bit of basil and a dusting of parmesan. Continue the layers, evenly distributing all the ingredients, until everything is used up.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the cheese is melting and bubbling and the house smells divine