Italian Quinoa Zucchini Boats

I don’t really have anything innovative to say about these yummy boats. I just had a shitload of zucchini laying around and had no better plans for the squashes. This was absolutely a GREAT way to use them and a few zucchini and two cups of quinoa went a loonnnggg way. The quinoa mix alone smelled delicious and Jim kept eating scoops of it right out of the bowl as I was filling the zucchini skins.

And yes, the zucchini can be a bit of a pain to scoop out. One of those serrated spoons would definitely come in handy. I just passed that duty on to Jim and he handled it just fine though. So if you’ve got a dude around the house, this would be a nice way to get him to contribute to creating dinner!

Mangia!

4 zucchini, halved lengthwise and hollowed out

2 cups cooked quinoa

2 tomatoes, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 bunch fresh basil, chopped

1 cup organic whole wheat breadcrumbs

1/3 cup olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp dried oregano

Sea salt and pepper to taste

Daiya cheese and tomato sauce topping, optional-both are delicious!

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees
• Mix together the all ingredients except for zucchini (and Daiya and sauce if using)
• Scoop mixture into zucchini shells until they’re all filled
• Place zucchini boats in greased casserole or baking pans, cover, and bake at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes (if you want them crispier, uncover and bake for an additional 10 minutes)