Yummy Recipe

I had some zucchini that needed to be fixed before it went bad, so I took to Pinterest and happened on this awesome recipe!  It is healthy and can even be modified to be MORE healthy if need be.

Sausage Stuffed Zucchini Boat 

 Original recipe from: The Thread Affect

Ingredients:

• 4 (31 oz total) medium zucchini  (I used 6 because they needed to be fixed)
• 1 tsp oil
• 1/2 small onion, finely diced
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
• 14 oz lean sausage (You can modify and use lean chicken sausage)
• 1/2 cup part skim shredded mozzarella
• 8 tsp grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil.
2. Preheat oven to 400°.
3. Cut zucchini in half lengthwise and using a spoon or melon baller, scoop out flesh, leaving 1/4″ thick.
4. Chop the scooped out flesh of the zucchini in small pieces and set aside.
5. Drop zucchini halves in boiling water and cook 1 minute. Remove from water.
6. Place 1/4 cup of sauce in the bottom of a 9 x 12″ baking dish, and place zucchini halves cut side up.
7. In a large saute pan, brown sausage, breaking up as it cooks into smaller pieces until browned; set aside.
8. Heat oil and add onion, garlic and bell pepper. Cook on a medium-low heat for about 2-3 minutes, until onions are translucent.
9. Add chopped zucchini, season with salt and pepper and cook about 2-3 minutes.
10. Combine with sausage and cook a few more minutes.
11. Using a spoon, fill each hollowed zucchini with 1/3 cup cooked sausage, pressing firmly.
12. Top each with  1 tablespoon each of shredded mozzarella cheese and 1 teaspoon each of parmesan cheese.
13. Cover with foil and bake 35 minutes until cheese is melted and zucchini is cooked through.

 *Note: the original recipe called for marinara sauce, which I didn't have, so I didn't use and it was still delicious.

Zucchini chopped long ways, diced onions, and bell pepper.

Brown sausage while you prepare vegetables.

Hollow out zucchini, leaving about 1/4....as you can see it doesn't look fancy...yet!

Dice onions, bell pepper, and contents of zucchini that you removed.

Brown diced onion and bell pepper until onions are translucent.  Then, add diced zucchini.

Combine browned sausage and browned diced vegetables.

After boiling zucchini from 1 minute put it in a pan. 

Stuff the zucchini with created sausage mixture and top with cheese of your choice.  Bake for 35 minutes at 400 degrees.