Pizzucchini

I am always searching for recipes that make vegetables a big part of the dish. Vegetables are super nutritious for you and always help to keep the calorie count down, most of the time, and really balances out the meal. This is a scrumptious way to eat zucchini for a meal. It is really fun to make, or at least it was for me, and it delivers great tasting food. These may look like they are time consuming but they come together very quickly. I served this dish with some whole wheat penne pasta and tossed it with a little olive oil, garlic, and fresh herbs and sprinkled some parmesan cheese on top.

This particular recipe calls for using ground turkey but you could probably use lean ground beef or italian sausage if you wanted to. Using italian sausage would probably increase the fat and calorie content, so just make sure you look at what products you are using.

Pizzucchini
Serves: 4, 2 zucchini boats per serving (you can cut the recipe in half and only use 2 zucchini for 2 servings)
Adapted by: http://www.dashingdish.com/2010/08/pizzucchini/

Ingredients:
4 large green zucchini, halved lengthwise
1 pound lean ground turkey breast or ground turkey sausage
1/4 cup onion, diced
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon lite salt
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup pizza or pasta sauce, of your choice (I purchased a pasta sauce that was full of summer veggies to boost the nutritional value even more)
2 tablespoons grated reduced-fat parmesan cheese
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded (buy the reduced-fat version if you can find it)
1 tablespoon dried basil, optional
1 tablespoon dried oregano, optional

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
-In a nonstick skillet, add the turkey, onion, garlic, salt and pepper and cook over medium high heat until turkey is brown and cooked through. (If you are using the basil and oregano, you would add it at this time as well)
-While turkey is cooking on the stove, make the zucchini boats by scooping the seeds from the center of each zucchini half, using a spoon to do this. This will make 8 zucchini boats. Set each of them in the baking dish, making sure to place them side by side.
-Spoon turkey mixture into each of the zucchini boats. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until cheese is golden brown and zucchini is cooked to your preference.
-Serve

Enjoy! :)