I’ve intended to post this recipe every Friday for the past two months, but I’ve been a little caught up in rewriting book #3, Sweet Satisfaction, of my Castle of Dreams Series. Book #2, Sweet Liberation, will be here soon and it’s hard to focus on anything else. Add to that our recent move and when I’m not doing any of the things in the title of this post, I’m still unpacking boxes and decorating.
Luckily for my family, the suppers I’ve been concocting of late are easy, delicious, and require a minimal number of cooking vessels. I believe they’ve been rather healthy, as well. And I’ve been trying new recipes found on Pinterest. 
Beautiful picture from Skinnytaste.com
One of the pictures that appeared on the main page was this Turkey Stuffed Zucchini. I clicked through to the original recipe found on Skinnytaste. It looked amazing and I actually had almost all the ingredients. I worried that it might not be hearty enough for my big guys, but they loved it! I think I served a salad on the side, but I can’t remember.
Here’s my slightly modified recipe:
Turkey Sausage Stuffed Zucchini
- 5 large zucchini
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 chopped onion
- 3 tsp. jarred minced garlic
- 1 roll of turkey sausage
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (I didn’t actually measure this)
- 4 slices wheat bread, finely cubed
- 2 plum tomatoes, finely diced
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella
- 1/4 tsp. dried thyme (of course I’m just guessing here. I just shook some in.)
- 1/4 tsp. dried rosemary (same as above.
) - Salt and pepper
Obviously I need to take lessons on how to photograph food. :-\
Cut zucchini in half lengthwise and use a teaspoon to scoop out the seeds and flesh, but don’t take out too much or your zucchini will fall apart. I lined them up on a baking sheet/jelly roll pan. Chop up scooped out zucchini.
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet and add the onion and garlic. Cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes then add the turkey sausage, tomatoes, chopped zucchini, salt, pepper, thyme, and rosemary. Stir often, breaking up the meat. When the sausage is cooked through, take the pan off the heat and let it cool for a bit. Add the egg and mix well. Stir in the breadcrumbs, Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses. Spoon into each zucchini boat, packing it down a little.
Throw the pan in the oven, preheated to 400 degrees. I baked mine for about 40 minutes, until the zucchini was tender and the stuffing was nicely browned on top, but not burned.
Next week I’ll share with you the super simple crock pot breakfast casserole that was a huge hit with my clan.
Happy cooking, writing, blogging, jogging, whatever you’re doing, y’all!
So I gotta know – your clan may have liked the dish, but did they actually eat the zuchinni shells, too?
Or zucchini, even…
They ate the whole thing! \o/ When they were little it was a tough row to hoe to get them to eat anything other than tomatoes and corn. Once they hit their teenage years they became open-minded. I still have one that thinks avocados and artichokes are gross, but otherwise, they’ll give the new ways I find to do up vegetables a try.
Lis’Anne – I used to make a version of this when I had the garden from hell and people ran from me when I stopped by their house with zuchini.
My husband is a boring veggie guy too. So it’s hard to find new recipes.
Lynn, I can only imagine! We used to have a huge garden and we’d fill the wheelbarrow to overflowing with veggies and put it down by the road with a bunch of plastic bags for neighbors to stop by and load up.
Last week I had some yellow squash and didn’t have any plans for it so I sliced it up, sauteed it in a little olive oil, salt, and pepper. Zac, (middle son) said he was going to put it on his hotdog. I tried it and it was SO good!
Lis’Anne, I’ve done something like this but I left the flesh in and cooked it a little longer, and it’s still pretty good. Being a veg, if I took out the flesh, there wouldn’t be much left for dinner.
Plus the leftovers, sliced, taste great mixed with tomato sauce or thrown into soup.
A friend of mine did exactly like you did, but without the turkey sausage. She actually put a slice of bacon on hers and broiled it. Until I can find vegetarian bacon that doesn’t look like it came from a Pink Floyd video, I’ll take her word for it.
Yours looks delish, though!! Thanks!!
I did chop up the scooped out zucchini and put it into the mixture. I couldn’t see wasting any of the good stuff. Do you have any good yellow squash recipes?
The Wall! The kids falling into the meat grinder…yikes!That’s one of the most bizarre movies I’ve ever seen, but Pink Floyd is my all time favorite for music to write to.
Lis,
When taking pictures close up, use the Macro feature on your camera. It is usually signified by a flower. If using a camera phone, most have a macro feature. That will allow you to take a close shot without the image blurring.