Zuchini Boats

As promised, I am going to tell you what I did with the zucchini I got at the Farmer's Market on Tuesday. The simple explanation is I scooped them out and stuffed them.....but the pictures are going to add a lot to that explanation..



The vegetable mixture you use to stuff the zucchini with are up to you....I sauteed a mixture of chopped tomato, garlic, scallions, broccoli, mushrooms, and fresh basil in olive oil or EVOO as Rachel Ray calls it. But you can use whatever you want or whatever you have on hand. They just need to be a mushy consistency, so saute for about 5 minutes.


The mixture will look something like this...I actually had too much filling so I used the rest of it as sauce on grilled pizza....works for that too. I would also use it as pasta sauce, stuff like this is just so versatile!!



Ok, here is the zucchini. I used a vegetable brush to wash them, then sliced, them in half and boiled for about 8 minutes. As you can see the seedy stuff needs to be removed, creating the "zucchini boat". I have found a grapefruit spoon works beautifully to remove the seeds.



Now put the zucchini in a baking dish and top with your filling....



Now the last step is to top this with a sauce, it can actually be any sauce you like. Maybe ranch dressing or something that tastes good to you, I use a dressing I buy at Trader Joe's. It is called Cilantro Salad Dressing and is found by the pre-washed salad greens, as it has to be refrigerated at all time. Oh and a 2 tablespoon serving is only 45 calories!! I also top my zucchini boats with crumbled blue cheese....but you could use feta or anything that you like.

I like my cheese melted a little so I just zap it in the microwave until the cheese melts and the boats are warm. The zucchini and filling are already hot from the sauteing and boiling so it is just a matter of warming up the dressing and cheese. This is a wonderful use of all the fresh veggies you get at the Farmer's Market and as a bonus, it tastes great!!