Zucchini Boats

I made these a week ago for dinner. They interested me mostly because I thought they looked like little French bread pizzas. (They taste nothing like French bread pizza, by the way.) But it was another one of those light dishes I had to make to get out of my “heavy dish = heavy, groggy, unhappy me” fog. I love zucchini, so I knew I’d love this. Zach took more convincing, though. He was less thrilled to have this as a dinner because he’s never really had zucchini–I’ve put it in dishes, but it’s never been a dish. But it went over quite well!

What you’ll need:

• 3-4 zucchini
• olive oil
• Parmesan cheese
• shredded cheese (Italian blends are probably better, I used sharp cheddar)
• grape tomatoes, sliced
• broccoli florets, chopped
• carrots, diced
• salt
• pepper
• onion powder

Step 01: Preheat your oven to 350°F. Cut your zucchini into halves.

Step 02: Scoop out the middle of your zucchini to make it look like a boat. I started with a melon baller because it seemed like it should have been easier, but I found that a regular tablespoon was what I needed. It was easier to guide than the melon baller.

Step 03: Rub it with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt pepper, and onion powder to taste. Then start stuffing it with your toppings. I started with the broccoli, then the carrots, and then the tomatoes. (You can add whatever veggies you want to this, by the way. I added the broccoli and carrots because I had some leftover in my fridge and they needed to go.)

Step 04: Bake for 30 minutes. Remove boats from the oven, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and your shredded cheese (in my case, sharp cheddar).

Step 05: Place it under the broiler for 1-3 minutes, or until your cheese is melty and gooey and delicious. Serve warm!

This would make a better side dish or appetizer than it does a meal. It kept us full for a couple hours, but we were starving again by bedtime. It was really good, though. Zach drizzled some Italian dressing on his, but I thought mine was just fine without it.

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