How to make stuffed zucchini boats

Zucchini is by far one of my favorite vegetables and they taste even better in the summer time, especially when they are freshly picked from the garden. Since I eat them at least twice a week- every.week.- I need to learn how to make them in different ways.

I recently had them at a friend’s house mixed with a taco seasoning and actually loved them (world’s pickiest eater), so I figured if you can use taco seasoning, I can make them with a little Italian flare (aka lots of minced garlic and onion powder). This recipe is super easy and quick to make. Perfect if you have to cook for 1 or a family.

I had a very large zucchini that came from my friend’s garden, but you could do this with 2 medium sized zucchinis from the market (which is what I normally cook with). Wash and cut your zucchini into halves.

Next, you want to cut or scoop out the inside of the zucchini (I cut it out). Once you have that part of the zucchini, chop it up and put the pieces into a pan for sautéing. Flavor with EVOO, minced garlic, and onion powder. At this time, you also want to preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

In another pan, heat up a little bit of EVOO and minced garlic. Once it’s hot, put in your ground beef (you can also use ground turkey or ground chicken). Let it brown.

Once both the ground beef and zucchini are cooked, marry them into the ground beef pan and mix in some red sauce (aka gravy).

While both are cooking, you can line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Place the zucchini, skin side down. Once you’re ready, stuff them with the ground beef and zucchini mix.

I decided to top mine with these cute little mozzarella balls I found at my local market. You can add any kind of cheese you like, but I love mozzarella and it melts nicely. Once you top your boats, they are ready to go into the oven. Make sure to place the baking sheet onto the bottom shelf. This is so your cheese won’t burn. Cook your zucchini boats for 35 minutes.