This past weekend Big Guy picked up several zucchini and squash from the Farmers Market since our garden is all out of them. We only ended up using one of each when I made the zucchini and squash on Sunday so I knew I had to find a way to use them Wednesday evening for dinner. How about stuffed squash boats? I ran across this recipe on SkinnyTaste and loved the concept – I love stuffed peppers, stuffed jalapenos, stuffed dates, stuffed tomatoes…the list goes on. So why not stuff summer squash?
I made a few alterations to the recipe – first, I halved the recipe. It’s just me and Big Guy so there was no need for 8 servings. Plus I only had one squash and one zucchini. I simply split the squash in half and cooked at 400 degrees for a little bit to soften them up. (The recipe said to boil them for a minute in water but why dirty another dish?) And instead of chicken sausage, I used lean ground beef. I think the chicken sausage would be absolutely fantastic but I used what I had on hand (I used about 8 ounces – precooked weight). The cooked meet was mixed with an onion, Mexi-bell pepper (from the garden) and garlic that had been sauteed. Simply fill up the hallowed out zucchini and squash, top with a dollop of marinara (I used Newman’s Own brand – highest NuVal score at my store) and mozzarella and parm. Baked for 15 minutes and dinner was ready.
Served with a some greens and homegrown corn (simply sauteed with salt and pepper – perfect on it’s own).
So fun! Mix it up – make them vegetarian by using some quinoa instead of meat. Use more sauce if that’s what you fancy. The options are endless.
I’m looking forward to the leftovers tonight…
