A couple of weeks ago, my family brought in our very first zucchinis from the garden. I wanted to do something special with them as a side dish, but really didn’t have the ingredients to make any of the stuffed zucchini recipes I found. So I just created my own recipe, using ingredients I had on hand. They were enjoyed by my whole family (well, all of us who like zucchini really loved them) and I made sure to write down everything I put in there before the night was over. So, here’s what I did…

3 zucchini
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 medium onion, minced
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1/4 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
1 cup fat-free ricotta cheese (can use cottage cheese if you don’t have ricotta)
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons walnuts
2 tablespoons dried parsley, divided
1/2 cup low-fat mozzarella cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat an 8″X12″ baking dish with cooking spray.

Slice zucchini in half lengthwise. Scrape out all seeds, leaving skin and zucchini “flesh” intact. Place in a medium-size boiler, cover with water, and boil for about 4 minutes over medium heat. When finished cooking, immediately run cold water over the zucchinis to stop the cooking process. Arrange zucchinis, cut side up, in the prepared baking dish.

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil in a skillet until onion is translucent. Add next 6 ingredients, saving 1 tablespoon parsley for garnish.

Divide mixture between prepared zucchini halves. Top with mozzarella cheese and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon parsley.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes, or until cheese melts and zucchini is hot all the way through.

Yield: 6 stuffed zucchini halves – Nutrition Info (per stuffed zucchini half): 137 calories, 8 grams fat, 140 mg sodium, 10 grams carbohydrate, 3 grams sugar, 2 grams fiber, 8 grams protein

Print This Post Print This Post