Stuffed Zucchini/ Zucchini Boats

A few months ago, I made a delicious zucchini lasagna, this has a similar taste but a bit lighter. The original recipe is from www.skinnytaste.com which I modified slightly.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups quick marinara sauce
I used Barilla Marinara Sauce
4 medium zucchini
1 tsp canola oil
1 shallot finely diced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 diced red bell pepper
Approximately 2/3 pounds sweet sausage casting removed
My links were small, I used 4 of them
1/2 cup part skim shredded mozzarella (Polly-O)
8 tsp grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Bring a large pot of water to boil. A wide pot worked well for this.

Wash and pat dry your zucchinis. Cut them in half lengthwise and school out the flesh, I used a teaspoon for this and it worked perfectly. Leave about 1/4 inch thick. Cut the flesh into small pieces and set aside.

Once your water boils, add your zucchini halves and cook for about a minute. Remove from water.

To a 9x12 baking dish, add about 1/2 cup of marinara. Place zucchinis half side up.

Preheat your oven to 400°.

In the meantime, in a large pan, brown your sausage, crumbling into small pieces. Cook till brown. Set aside.

If the pan is dry, add a bit of oil. Add and add onion, garlic and bell pepper. Cook on a medium-low heat for about 2-3 minutes, until onions are translucent. Add chopped zucchini, season with salt and pepper and cook about 2-3 minutes. Combine with sausage and cook a few more minutes.

Using a spoon, fill each hollowed zucchini with 1/3 cup cooked sausage, pressing firmly. Top each with 2 tablespoons each of sauce, 1 tablespoon each of shredded mozzarella cheese and 1 teaspoon each of parmesan cheese. I personally had some of the mixture left, maybe my zucchinis were too small. I reserved the mixture and ate it over quinoa for lunch the next day.

Cover with foil and bake 35 minutes until cheese is melted and zucchini is cooked through.

Remove the foil and bake another 5-7 minutes to brown the cheese a bit.