Stuffed Zucchini

This recipe can be easily customized to your tastes! The basic ingredients are: large zucchini, a type of meat, and other "stuffing" items. You could use ground beef, ground chicken or turkey, tuna, or sausage. You could use bread crumbs, stuffing mix, peppers, onions, cheese, egg, tomatoes, diced carrots, marinara sauce, BBQ sauce, thyme, oregano...the list could be endless! My Grandmother made it with spaghetti sauce, seasoned ground beef, Parmesan cheese. I tried to add more vegetables in, so here's the version I made!

STUFFED ZUCCHINI

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Total Time (Prep to Finish): 

You will need:

• 1 large zucchini
• 1 to 1 1/2  lb. ground beef
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• Shredded cheese, about 10 oz.
• 1 Clove garlic, minced
• 1 small carrot, diced
• 1 egg, beaten
• Ground pepper, to taste (I used about 1 tsp.)
• Salt, to taste (I used about 1/2 tsp.)
• Baking dish
• Skillet
• Non-stick spray
• Mixing bowl

Directions:

1. Wash zucchini. Cut zucchini in half lengthwise, but don't cut off the ends. Scoop
    out the seeds.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

3. Brown ground beef. Cook with onion, pepper, carrots, and garlic. Drain if
    needed.

4. Transfer beef mixture to mixing bowl.

5. Combine beef mixture, egg, and cheese
    together.

6. Lightly spray baking dish.

7.  Place zucchini in baking dish and fill with
     meat mixture.

Slice of the baked Stuffed Zucchini

8. Bake for 45 minutes, or until zucchini is
    softened. (Larger zucchini may take an hour or so to cook.)

Alternative: Place shredded cheese or
slices of cheese on top before baking. I made one with cheese on top and one without because my oldest will not eat it if he can see the cheese. The stuffed zucchini was a big hit at our house; we didn't even have any left-overs!