Stuffed Herbed Zucchini Boats
One thing that always seems to do well in our garden is Zucchini! We have done so many things with our delicious zucchini from zoodles to soups to muffins and everything in between. Once these little zucchinis pop out you have to keep a close eye on them because all of a sudden they can become pretty huge!
When we don’t get the zucchini off quick enough we love to make a stuffed zucchini boat. This meal is so easy and of course the entire family loves it, babies too! This dish can be made in the morning so all you have to do is pop it in the oven at dinner time.
I start by cutting the zucchini lengthwise and scrapping out the seeds and enough of the flesh to make room for the filling. Cover those beauties in olive oil salt and pepper and bake face down at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes.
Next I start a quick tomato sauce sauté garlic, 1 (28 oz.) can of chopped tomato, a cinnamon stick, and cumin. Let it simmer for about an hour add salt and pepper to taste. If i have leftovers I save this for pizza sauce.
For the filling I use either brown rice or quinoa. This time I used quinoa and ground beef filling. I chop the flesh from the zucchini, 1 medium onion, 4 cloves of garlic and 2 ribs of celery. The great thing about this dish is you can add whatever veggies you have on hand. Sometimes at the end I have added some spinach or kale. I sauté all the veg with some salt and pepper. Next I remove the veg from the pan and add the ground beef, salt, pepper and cumin. Crumble the beef and make sure your get some nice brown bits on it!
Finally you mix all the veg and beef, add in the quinoa and a few scoops of the sauce. The mixture needs to be moist so it does not dry out while cooking so add the sauce accordingly.
Take a good mix of herbs… I love mint, basil and cilantro! Chop them up and mix it in to the filling. Fill the boats and top with bread crumbs and parmesan cheese. Heat through in 350 degree oven.
Scoop of sauce on the bottom of the plate and place the boat on top and enjoy a delicious healthy meal!
