The past four days of my life have been crayyyyyzaaaayyyyy. Yes. I must use that specific amount of hyperbole. We had a cute four-year-old niece sleep over, a filthy dog that rolled in all sorts of outdoor nastiness, a fun dinner party with friends, and family dinner and all sorts of little in-between things that came up. Most inconvenient of all was the terrible weather that rendered it impossible to take decent pictures inside, and the loss of water in our house on Saturday morning. Suffice it to say that I did not document any of my cooking exploits Friday-Sunday. I will put those recipes up in the near future when I take another swing at them.
Today, though, I am making a yummy, simple supper-these quick and easy Quinoa Stuffed Italian Zucchini Boats, and a post to come in the near future, a fast and good for your belly and your soul summery Greek Yogurt Chicken Salad with Apples on Whole Wheat. Look for that one soon!
We got a ton of pretty little Italian squashes in our Bountiful Basket produce haul this week. I had to come up with a few dishes that used them this week, and this is the first. I have never really cared for zucchini unless it was baked and covered in cheese, marinated and grilled, or grated up into bread or heavenly Chocolate Zucchini Cake. These little boats are a great new addition to my limited list of methods of zucchini consumption. They are roasted to bring out their natural flavor, stuffed with deliciously seasoned quinoa and baked to meld all of the flavors together. You will love these. I think kids will enjoy them a lot, and they are really, really easy to whip up. If you have 10 minutes of prep time, you can make these babies and then you can eat them and feel satisfied that you made an amazing, whole-food meal that is nutritious and absolutely mouth-watering. This could easily be made vegan if you omit the cheese.
Start with three zucchini. Mine were on the smaller side, maybe two inches in width and six inches in length. Be sure to wash them really well.
Add a 1/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese and 1/3 cup of Panko bread crumbs. The cheese adds great flavor and the Panko gives it a wonderful crunch.
When your zucchini boats are done baking, pull them out of the oven. They should be slightly browned and softened.
Plate with your main dish, and enjoy these little bites of fresh wholesomeness!
Quinoa Stuffed Italian Zucchini Boats
(Serves 3)
Ingredients
-3 small zucchini
-2 Roma tomatoes, diced
-1 cup of cooked quinoa
-1/2 teaspoon of dried basil
-1/2 teaspoon of Italian seasoning
-1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
-1/2 teaspoon of sea salt
-3-4 turns of freshly ground black pepper
-1/4 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese plus more for topping
-1/3 cup of Panko bread crumbs
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Wash 3 small zucchini, and cut them lengthwise. Scoop out the inside to create a boat. Discard the inside. Place zucchini on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake 10 minutes. Remove from pan.
2. Mix one cup of cooked quinoa with 1/2 teaspoon each of dried basil, Italian seasoning, crushed red pepper and sea salt. Add 3-4 turns of freshly ground black pepper and mix well.
3. Add 1/4 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese and 1/3 cup of Panko bread crumbs. Mix well to combine. Add the two diced tomatoes and mix well.
4. Stuff the zucchini boats with the quinoa mixture. Return to the oven and bake for 10 minutes until the filling has browned a bit and is crispy.
5. Remove from oven and grate fresh Parmesan over the top of the boats. Return to the oven for 5 minutes, until the cheese has browned slightly.
6. Serve with a main dish, or enjoy several boats on your own. Savor the whole-foodishness of your creation.
We got a ton of pretty little Italian squashes in our Bountiful Basket produce haul this week. I had to come up with a few dishes that used them this week, and this is the first. I have never really cared for zucchini unless it was baked and covered in cheese, marinated and grilled, or grated up into bread or heavenly Chocolate Zucchini Cake. These little boats are a great new addition to my limited list of methods of zucchini consumption. They are roasted to bring out their natural flavor, stuffed with deliciously seasoned quinoa and baked to meld all of the flavors together. You will love these. I think kids will enjoy them a lot, and they are really, really easy to whip up. If you have 10 minutes of prep time, you can make these babies and then you can eat them and feel satisfied that you made an amazing, whole-food meal that is nutritious and absolutely mouth-watering. This could easily be made vegan if you omit the cheese.
Start with three zucchini. Mine were on the smaller side, maybe two inches in width and six inches in length. Be sure to wash them really well.
Slice them in half, lengthwise.
Using a spoon, hollow out the center. I sort of scored the zucchini on each side with my spoon and just scooped out the insides into a bowl. I got rid of mine, but I am sure you could find something creative to do with zucchini guts!
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil. Place the zucchini boats cut side down on the foil, and bake for 10 minutes.
While the zucchini is baking, grab two tomatoes. I used some Roma tomatoes, and just diced them up.
You'll want to have pre-cooked your quinoa. I cooked a cup (dry) in advance (see this for a tutorial on cooking quinoa), and used all of it. In a bowl, combine the cooked quinoa with 1/2 teaspoon of dried basil (fresh minced basil would be great too!), a 1/2 teaspoon of Italian seasoning, 1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes, a 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt, and 3-4 turns of freshly ground black pepper. Mix well.
Mix well to combine.
Add your diced tomatoes to the quinoa. Mix well.
When your zucchini boats are done baking, pull them out of the oven. They should be slightly browned and softened.
Fill the boats with a few spoonfuls of the quinoa mixture. You can really pack the filling in there. Return them to the oven and bake them for another 10 minutes at 375.
Bake until the quinoa is toasted up and browned a little on top.
Grate some fresh Parmesan cheese over the top of the zucchini boats. Be generous.
Return them to the oven and bake at 375 degrees for another 5 minutes, until the cheese has browned slightly.
Quinoa Stuffed Italian Zucchini Boats
(Serves 3)
Ingredients
-3 small zucchini
-2 Roma tomatoes, diced
-1 cup of cooked quinoa
-1/2 teaspoon of dried basil
-1/2 teaspoon of Italian seasoning
-1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
-1/2 teaspoon of sea salt
-3-4 turns of freshly ground black pepper
-1/4 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese plus more for topping
-1/3 cup of Panko bread crumbs
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Wash 3 small zucchini, and cut them lengthwise. Scoop out the inside to create a boat. Discard the inside. Place zucchini on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake 10 minutes. Remove from pan.
2. Mix one cup of cooked quinoa with 1/2 teaspoon each of dried basil, Italian seasoning, crushed red pepper and sea salt. Add 3-4 turns of freshly ground black pepper and mix well.
3. Add 1/4 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese and 1/3 cup of Panko bread crumbs. Mix well to combine. Add the two diced tomatoes and mix well.
4. Stuff the zucchini boats with the quinoa mixture. Return to the oven and bake for 10 minutes until the filling has browned a bit and is crispy.
5. Remove from oven and grate fresh Parmesan over the top of the boats. Return to the oven for 5 minutes, until the cheese has browned slightly.
6. Serve with a main dish, or enjoy several boats on your own. Savor the whole-foodishness of your creation.
Thank you. :)
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