• 3 medium size zucchini
  • 1 green bell pepper, chopped
  • 1/2 onion chopped
  • 1 pound of Italian sausage
  • 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
  • 1 tsp salt and pepper each
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup bread crumbs
  • 1/4 cup green raisins
  • 1/4 cup chopped pecans
  • 1 tsp ground fennel
  • 1 tsp cajun seasoning
  • 1 tsp garlic powder

For a fun and healthy way to get your kids to eat their veggies I have the perfect dish for you! When in doubt- STUFF!  Vegetables like zucchini with their hard outer shell are a perfect vessel for filling with a variety of different stuffings. You can go healthy and use a stuffing with other roasted veggies mixed with ricotta cheese, you can go Italian and do marinara sauce with olives, peppers and cheese or you can go Belleicious Style and stuff these babies with a mixture of Italian sausage, onions and peppers, cheese and breadcrumbs! So many different ideas to chose from, neither of which will leave you disappointed!

I used sausage but you can easily use whatever meat you have on hand. I do suggest though that you stay in the meat department using pork, beef, turkey or sausage as your staple. You would think the filling would fall out of these cute little boats while they bake but the trick is to using a binder such as an egg or ricotta cheese to keep everything all together like one happy family.  I did zucchini 2 ways with this dish by using the shells as the base and scooping out the filling to add to my stuffing mixture.

With all of this said, I bet you can’t guess what my secret ingredient(s) were? Raisins and pecans. Yep, I stashed a few plump green raisins along with a handful of chopped pecans in the stuffing while it sauteed over the stove and I tell you what- that extra pop of flavor was a sure surprise and a much needed one! Oh I can’t rave over this little wonders enough and they are so much fun to eat that I know your kids will  fall in love all over again with their veggies. No more worrying about what to do with zucchini.

Directions:

Cut zucchini in half lengthwise. Using a small spoon, carefully scoop out flesh and seeds, leaving a 1/4-inch-thick shell around edges. Discard seeds and set aside the flesh.  Take the flesh and chop into small pieces for the stuffing.  Cook the sausage until no longer pink, drain and set aside. Saute the onions and peppers in the same cooking pan until nice and tender, approximately 6-8 minutes. Add the chopped flesh of the zucchini along with the seasonings, raisins, pecans and 1/4 cup of the mozzarella cheese.

In a large bowl combine the sausage and veggie mixture with the breadcrumbs and eggs. Mix together with your hand until thoroughly combined.  Place zucchini boats in a single layer in a greased baking dish and divide the stuffing equally among the boats, making sure to mound the stuffing.  Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and bake for 35-40 minutes at 375 until stuffing looks nice and browned.