SOUTHWEST ZUCCHINI BOATS

Before I share this recipe, I want to say thank you so so much to those who left comments, or sent me emails (loved it), on our kitchen transformation yesterday! Billy kept checking back throughout the day and I think he kinda sorta loved seeing all the positive feedback, just as much as I did.

Today I have a recipe to share that I've been making for the past month or so. I'm sure you've seen recipes for zucchini boats out there, but what I think is the best part about them is that there are so many different ways and ingredients you can use to make them. You can literally pull whatever you have in your kitchen and make italian ones (use mozzarella cheese, pasta sauce, green peppers, onions!), or you could do southwest style ones like I did and trick your husband into another filling vegetarian meal.

Zucchini boats are perfect for a quick evening dinner and require little work. It was hard for me to come up with an actual recipe per say, because I didn't use any measurements really, but here are the steps to make them and what I used:

Southwest Zucchini Boats

Ingredients:

-2 zucchini's, cut in half and hallowed out

-3/4 cup black beans 

-3/4 cup pinto beans 

-1/2 cup corn

-1/4 cup onions

-1/4 cup tomatoes with green chillies

-reduced fat shredded cheese (to sprinkle on top)

-1/4-1/2 cup salsa (I used organic)

1. Cut your zucchini's in half

2. Take a spoon and hallow out the seeds 

(you can actually combine the seeds into your filling  if you want more veggies but I didn't)

3. Dice the onions and green peppers and toss with EVOO and some minced garlic

 in a saucepan and saute for 2-3 minutes.

4. Add all the other ingredients except the cheese + any spices you want

 and cook until the beans are heated throughout, approx 4-5 mins. 

-I prefer chili powder, and a sprinkle of cayenne pepper (to taste)

5. Place your zucchini boats in a baking dish with about 1/4 cup water at the bottom.

You don't need much water - just enough for the zucchini's to sit in, but not have any water flow over the sides.

Then, spoon your bean mixture evenly into the zucchini's. 

DON'T top with cheese yet - like I did here. ;)

6. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, then sprinkle cheese on top and bake for another 10 minutes.

-I accidentally put the cheese on too early this time!

Voila!

So yummy.

*Ladies, Billy loves these! He does add a piece of sausage to have as a side if he's really hungry, but he loves them alone as well. 

I'd encourage you all to try your own combinations for the mixture...get a little creative!

Link up for Tasty Tuesday: here.

Have you made zucchini boats before?

What is your favorite kind?