The perfect pairing with Milky Way Blue Blueberry-Blackberry Wine
By Denise Grisham, author of Man that Stuff is Good
My Aunt Kay was telling me about how my cousins loved it when Grandma Albert fixed them baked zucchini. Why hadn’t I thought of that before? This is the perfect way to use this quickly overgrown vegetable. Basically you will mix up an “Italian sausage meatloaf” and add whatever goodies to the mix to make it even better! Grandma poured tomato sauce over the zucchini but I opted to use two jars of canned crushed Roma tomatoes from the pantry.
Lay the zucchini on the counter to figure out which way to cut it in half so that it will lay flat. With a heavy duty serving spoon, scoop out all the seeds so that all you have left is the firm flesh.
Lay the zucchini on a baking sheet. (Salt and pepper to taste) I try to make this a little on the healthy side and leave out the additional salt, but Andy thinks the zucchini is too bland if you don’t add additional seasonings.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a medium bowl mix well:
- 5 mild Italian sausages (casing removed)
- 1/4 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
- 1 egg
- 1 cup onions, chopped
- 1 cup colored peppers, chopped
- 1 cup fresh mushrooms, chopped
- 2 tsp. minced garlic
Stuff into the zucchini “boats”
Cover with your choice of sauce or two cans of crushed tomatoes. Sprinkle with shredded Parmesan cheese. Bake uncovered for one hour.
Top each zucchini with 2 slices of mozzarella cheese. Return to oven and bake until cheese is nicely browned and melted, about 20 minutes.
If the zucchini is not tender enough, cover with aluminum foil so the cheese doesn’t burn. The flesh of baked zucchini a lot firmer. Spoon extra tomato sauce over the top and serve with garlic bread.