Sausage Stuffed Zucchini

So, I have been trying really hard lately to figure out ways to add more veggies to our diets. Stuffed veggies opened a whole new world to me. This is my first attempt. Brooks gave it 10. He said it I should boil the Zucchini a little longer to make it a little more tender (I originally only boiled for 10 minutes). A 10 from Brooks is a HUGE compliment because he's basically a food snob :)

This recipe is adapted from about.com by Diana Rattray

Ingredients

1 lb pork sausage
2 large Zucchini
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 tblsp minced garlic (we REALLY like garlic so I probably used 1 1/2 tblsp)
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup crushed slatine crackers (I used red box Zesta)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp salt
pepper (I lightly covered the entire top of the pan while cooking the meat...I didn't measure)


Instructions

Boil the Zucchini whole for 15 minutes. (Keep an eye on it at 15 minutes. You want the Zucchini to be soft enough to 'mash' the inside easily and you want the outside tender because it won't get much more tender when baking it BUT u want it firm enough to hold the fillings).

Cut the Zucchini in halves and scoop out the meat inside. Scoop out as much of the meat as you can, however, make sure to leave a least a thin layer or the Zucchini will be too unstable to hold the filling. Put the meat in a mixing bowl and set aside.

In a large skillet brown the sausage with the onion. Once everything is cook add the garlic, the thyme, the salt and pepper.

In the mixing bowl mash the Zuchinni meat (there will look like there is A LOT of liquid but I promise the crackers and parm cheese will soak it up). Add the egg, 1/2 cup parmesan cheese and cracker crumbs and mix well.

Add this mixture to the meat mixture and FULLY integrate it.

In a backing dish line up the Zucchini and scoop the filling into the Zucchini. They will be very full but that's a good thing.

Sprinkle the tops with a healthy dose of parmesan cheese and bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.


Possible changes for future:

Brooks suggested adding 1/2 cup of shredded cheese (cheddar, mozerella, colby jack, etc) to help bind the filling to the Zucchini better. The filling does slide off a bit but it's still RIDICULOUSLY yummy!

UPDATE::::
To reheat extra Zucchini boats goes WONDERFULLY in the oven at 300 degrees for 15-17 minutes. Keeps the crunch of the Parmesan cheese on top. Brooks tried in the microwave and said it wasn't as good.

Also, a small amount of cheddar cheese before the parmesan cheese was delicious.

2ND UPDATE::

Ok, if you don’t wanna worry about stuffing the zucchini I’ve got the solution: casserole. That’s right. After you cut open the boiled zucchini simply chop it into chunks and mix it in with the sausage mixture. Top with bread crumbs or crushed up saltines and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes and bam  you have a casserole! 

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