My boss gave me a huge zucchini from his garden. It was about 20 inches long and maybe 3.5 inches wide at the widest end (you shouldn’t let them get this large but, I still worked with it). I decided to go ahead and make the best of the bountiful veggie gifted to me.
The first night I wanted to make stuffed zucchini but usually I stuff the zucchini long-ways, like boats, but this wasn’t going to work. So, I cut slices about 2 inches thick off of the wide end. Then I scooped out the middle sections firstly because the seeds and center flesh of a zucchini that large would not be tasty at all, and secondly because well these were going to be “stuffed” zucchini remember?
As you can see those 4 slices are in a 13″x9″ pan and they take up the whole pan. Did I mention the zucchini was huge?
Next, I filled the “holes” with a meatloaf mixture I quickly whipped up. (I just added some breadcrumbs, spices, spaghetti sauce, and a little parmesan cheese this time.)
Next I poured the spaghetti sauce all over the tops and into the bottom of the dish and around the zucchini slices. I usually like to keep most of the sauce on top of whatever I am using as a “stuffing” vessel because it will just end up in the bottom anyway. This way the sauce adds flavor to the “vessel” and the meat first and makes it way down naturally. I was using up a jar of sauce we had already used a quarter of and it worked out perfectly. I also sprinkled a little more parmesan cheese on top because well…. I love it!
I popped them in a 350 degree oven and waited for the hubby to come home. They were all cooked in about 30-40 min time. I wasn’t really keeping track but, I think thats how long it was. The stuffing/meat-loaf part wasn’t very thick so it cooked up pretty fast and the zucchini cooked right along with it. They pretty much looked the same as when i put them in as when I took them out…just with cooked meat of course, and more translucent zucchini. We were just so darn hungry that I forgot to take a picture. I brought one of the leftover slices for lunch today. It fit perfectly in a bowl and, I added….parmesan…big surprise there!
i waaaaaaant oooooone!