Over-Stuffed Zucchini

Submitted by GotBoxer

"Dont let the length of the recipe scare you, it is extremely simple to throw together and this is a dish my children love. It is also a great way to use up ALL of those zucchini that one plant seemed to have made this summer :)"

 

• Ready In: 1hr
• Ingredients: 15
• Serves: 12-16

ingredients

• 8 medium zucchini
• 1⁄2 lb ground beef
• 1⁄2 lb ground pork
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1⁄2 cup mushroom
• 10 ounces frozen spinach, thawed and drained
• 14 ounces Italian stewed tomatoes, diced
• 3 cups croutons, slightly crushed
• 1⁄4 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon italian seasoning
• 1⁄2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1⁄2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 1⁄2 cup water

directions

1. Lop off the ends of each zucchini and slice in half lengthwise.
2. Scoop out the middle (pulp) with a spoon leaving 1/4 inch on the bottom and sides of the zucchini halves.
3. Chop the pulp and reserve.
4. Brown beef and pork.
5. Saute onions and mushrooms until soft.
6. Combine the two mixtures and set aside.
7. Blend spinach, tomatoes, zucchini pulp, bread cubes, parmesan cheese, egg, garlic, italian seasoning and red pepper flakes.
8. Add this to the meat, onion and mushroom mixture.
9. Equaly divide between the zucchini halves.
10. Top with mozzerella.
11. Place in 2 large baking dishes with 1/4 cup of water each.
12. Cover with aluminum foil.
13. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, then uncover and bake for 20 min longer or until zucchini is tender and cheese is browned and bubbly.

Reviews

[Tara1183]

Absolutely wonderful!!!! This dish had so much flavour and it wasnt a lot of work either. DH loved it and complimented 3 times during the meal. I did have some minor changes .... one due to a mombo zucchini that was a foot long and as round as a softball for the record this recipe stuffed it perfectly! I used mild italian sausage in place of pork because it was the same price and I had no italian seasoning. Diced tomatoes were on sale so again since I had no italian stewed I added 1/3 tsp of dried thyme, 1/2 tsp of dried basil and 1/4 cup of chopped freash parsley. No croutons so I chopped multi-grain bread in small cubes and toasted at 200 for 30 min. Due to the size of the zucchini I tried 30 min at 300 but not much luck so I increased time to 350 and did another 30 min then uncovered for 20 min. I knew that would be an issue though. Will make this many times, even thinking of doing some to freeze. Thanks

 

[Toddler Chef]

We make this and varieties of this every summer. It's also good with taco flavoring.

 

[Kelly-Mom2Girls]

I didn't have any ground pork so subbed more ground beef. Also didn't have stewed tomatoes so used diced with chili's then added some fresh herbs and Worcestershire sauce. Very good!

 

[Sheri Lou]

This is exactly the type of recipe I was looking for! I didn't have the two meats, so I just used a bit of bacon instead and it was really delicious. Thank you for posting this recipe.

 

[pennynickle]

Very good! We really enjoyed this!