Italian Zucchini Boats

So I don't have much to say in this post, other than there wasn't much to making this healthy meal! (AndI wish I had better lighting!) I had seen a recipe for something with zucchini and inspiration struck! Why not stuff them and make them a meal? The great thing about these zucchini boats is that you can use your preferred meat (ground beef or ground turkey, etc.), preferred spaghetti sauce (in a jar or use your own recipe), top it with cheese (or not), the only thing you can't change is the zucchini. Well, maybe you can. Yellow squash? Though I am guessing those might bake up too squishy?! In any case, these were super easy and delicious, and healthy to boot.

Ingredients:

6 zucchini, cut in half lengthwise, seeds removed

1 lb Ground turkey (what I used) or ground meat of choice

Italian seasoning

Salt to taste

Spaghetti/Marinara sauce of choice

Mozzarella cheese for topping (optional)

Directions:

Brown your meat and season to taste. I am not adding the measurements of what I used because everyone likes to season differently; though I did use garlic powder, minced garlic, and oregano for mine since I was out of Italian seasoning. I am sure the addition of finely chopped fresh onion would be wonderful!

While the meat is browning, wash and cut the ends of your zucchini and cut your zucchini lengthwise. I found it best to scoop out the seeds with a melon baller (pictured below) in a see-saw motion with my hand. You can scrape down if you'd like, just find what works best for you. It may take a little doing, but I got the hang of it pretty quick. 

After your meat is browned, add your sauce and let simmer for about 10 minutes for the flavors to meld. Fill each "boat" with a spoon as pictured below, then place in a 350 degree oven. My zucchini took about 35-40 minutes to bake. At the 35 minute mark, I took the zucchini out and sprinkled shredded cheese on top and let it bake for 5 more minutes. 

Enjoy! Thank you so much for looking, now go bake something and spread some YUM!

As always, I welcome your ideas, thoughts, questions and and comments!