As usual, I have planted too many squash and zucchini plants in our garden. I do this partly because the squash bugs are inevitable and will most certainly come swooping in to kill any plant in the squash family before the season is over,and partly because I really love squash.
The summer glut of zucchini and crooknecks is as looked forward to in my house as fresh tomatoes. There’s something satisfying about pulling mountains of food out of your own garden and then having to figure out what in the world you are going to do with 17 zucchinis before the next batch comes in tomorrow. Will I be sick of it by August? Probably. But until then I’m looking forward to coming up with millions of ways to eat zucchini.
One of the first ways is stuffing it. This is a perfect way to get some use out of those squash or zucchini that have sat in the garden for a day or two too long. While you don’t want the gigantic ones, larger squash are great for filling. The important step here is to blanch them in boiling water first. This keeps them from weeping water all over the place while they are baking and gives them a head start in cooking.
This recipe freezes well too. Just place the finished zucchini on a wax paper lined tray and freeze. When frozen through, remove to a zip-top bag.
More Zucchini Recipes:
Ingredients
- 4-5 medium to large zucchini
- 1 package 19 oz bratwurst sausages
- 1 bell pepper finely chopped
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 15. oz can diced tomatoes drained
- 1 cup shredded provolone
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and submerge the whole zucchini into the boiling water. Blanch for 5 minutes or until the zucchini have softened somewhat. Then transfer the zucchini to a pot of cold water.
- Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Remove the bratwurst from their casings and add to the skillet to brown. After a couple of minutes, add in the onion, pepper, garlic and seasonings to the pan and continue to brown and cook until the sausage is cooked through and the onions and peppers have softened. Add in the drained tomatoes and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.
- Halve the zucchini lengthwise and scoop out the insides as best you can with a spoon or melon baller (if you have a grapefruit spoon, it works great!).
- Place the prepped zucchini on a greased baking sheet and fill each zucchini half with the bratwurst mixture. Top each with shredded provolone and place in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until the cheese has melted and the zucchini is cooked through
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