So, do you know that we have gone in with a friend to by a cow? We get a small portion of a grass-fed cow. If you have read any of my post regarding food you have probably heard that we do this. You might also know that our favorite type of meat is the ground beef. My hubby and I love hamburgers. We usually have two “regular-sized” burgers and then some. By “regular-sized” I mean big enough to fit a bun but not really thick. I am still working on trying to get the burger to actually fit the bun. It doesn’t have to be perfect but I would like it just a little closer to the edges of the bun. Anyway . . . I end up with a little meat leftover. I could just make two burgers out of it, but I really don’t want to have 1/2 pound burgers. We ALMOST have them that big, but not quite. Without using the entire package to make two burgers I have a little left over. The challenge is always, what to do with that little bit left over. I often throw it over pasta. Yum! Always a quick, easy dinner. The other day, though, I looked in my fridge and saw two zucchinis I need to use up. And you know, if you have read some of my other recipes, how much I love stuff pumpkin. So I decided to stuff the zucchini.
I didn’t get all fancy with the ingredients. I just basically used the meat, the zucchinis, onions, and cheese.
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Stuffed Zucchini
coconut oil
2 zucchini
1/2 of a large onion (I prefer white)
1/4 lb of ground beef
garlic salt
salt
pepper
3/4 cups shredded cheese (your favorite)
Preheat the oven to 450° F. Wash the zucchini. Slice them in half length-wise. Use a spoon and drag it down the inside of the zucchini. Only remove a little bit. Just enough to make a little shallow “gully” down the middle of the zucchini. Spread a little bit of coconut oil on both sides of each half. Then place all four halves face down on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Let them bake for 10 minutes. Then take them out of the oven and salt all eight sides. Then put them back in the oven for 10 minutes.
While they are baking, heat up a tablespoon of coconut oil in a pan. Chop up two thirds of the onion then heat them in the pan. Once they are starting to get translucent add the meat. Let the meat begin to cook then start adding the garlic salt and pepper if you would like. Since the meat is going to be baked in the oven you might want to be certain not to cook it TOO much.
If you have to grate your cheese do that while everything is cooking. Also finely chop/mince the rest of the onion.
Check on the zucchini, I like the “inside” to start browning. Then once it is the color I like it, I flip them over and bake them some more. I would say I roast/bake the zucchini 20 to 30 minutes before I stuff them. So keep an eye on them so they are cooked to your liking.
Then once your zucchini are roasted to the way you like and the meat is cooked and drained, if need be. You can “stuff” the zucchini.
I always add more garlic salt. And a little pepper for my hubby. Then “sprinkle” the minced onion . . . some on each half of zucchini. I don’t necessarily measure here because I like less onion than my hubby. So just put the amount on that you want. Then put the meat on top. Distributing it as you see fit. Then top with cheese. You might want to press down on top of each half to ensure (for the most part) that everything stays on while you are baking.
Then put the pan with the stuffed zucchini back in the oven until the cheese is browned.
Then you can serve it.
We usually eat it as an entrée, but you can serve it however you would like.
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Dang, as usually when I type up the recipes I end up wanting to have it for dinner. Also, as usually I hadn’t planned to post about this, but then I thought, why not?
Do you like zucchini?
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