Zucchini Boats

Wash zucchini or squash and cut off ends. Do not peel. If they are larger, also cut them in half. Cook in boiling water (whole) until tender. Depending on size, about 15 minutes for medium/large. Drain, cut them in half lengthwise, scrape pulp out with a spoon, careful not to break the shells. I don't scrape out all of the pulp, I leave a little for stability for the "boats". Place zucchini/squash shells in baking dish.

Combine the pulp with cracker crumbs (I prefer Panko bread crumbs), small minced onion, parsley, salt, pepper and 2 beaten eggs. I throw in some cayenne or smoked paprika, because I like it. I drizzle a little olive oil in and mix it up. You can also add cheese in the mixture at this point if you want.

Fill the shells with the mixture and bake at 375 for about 30 minutes or so depending on your oven. I had a ball of fresh mozzarella, so I sliced it and placed a piece on top of each. You can add parm on top or any other shredded cheese you have on hand, or sprinkle some more bread crumbs for more crunch, make it your own. This dish was one large zucchini and a medium yellow squash. If you want meat in it, you can brown some sausage with onions and add that as well. So many possibilities!

I love the ease of this recipe! I can't wait to try it! Its great to be able to be creative with this recipe, too. And its perfect for that overlooked (time after time) zucchini that got a bit too big and seedy. I may try this on that one zucchini I let grow and grow so I can harvest the seeds.

My mouth is watering just looking at the picture of this delight!

Oh, and of course I also add garlic, forgot to put that on the list. Sherry, this one had gotten pretty big and it had some seeds I had to scrape out from the pulp. It will work great for those monster ones you save for seed. I probably make the filling a little different each time, depending on what I have on hand. I've made them for years, I hope you enjoy! Sorry my ingredients aren't to the tee as far as measurements, but it depends on what you're working with.

I'm not too bad on making guesses as to amounts. I usually do a recipe a few times to the exact measurements then I take off and do my own thing. I just wish I had a zucchini to try this on! I have lots of babies!

Okay Girls...I am trying this recipe as we "speak". Going to take it over to our friend's house for supper tonite. I hope it turns out okay, but they will be good sports if it doesn't. It's a good thing they don't mind being guinea pigs!!

I would try it out on you guys, but it's probably a little far to bring it to you

Question...how long does a zucchini stay good in the refrigerator?

I'm sure they'll be delicious and your friends will love them, PI! I'd say they stay good for 7 to 10 days from my experience. My last zuke was in hiding and it had turned into a monster by the time I found it. So I made these last week myself! I hope you enjoy them.

Thanks, Piper!

I had a zucchini monster in my fridge as well. It had lots of white spots on it! I did have one pretty big one that I picked just today, so I used it. The other one that I thought might work was too soft.

I'll let you know how they turn out~

pi-girl wrote:Question...how long does a zucchini stay good in the refrigerator?

If you pick it up and it totally droops, its pretty much no good.

LOL, Sherry.....soft and droopy = no good :)

I hated to pull up my plants for the year ~sigh~, but at least I found that last zuke and was able to enjoy it.

Piper wrote:LOL, Sherry.....soft and droopy = no good :)

I hated to pull up my plants for the year ~sigh~, but at least I found that last zuke and was able to enjoy it.

Yeah, I didn't want to yank mine up either. I had a great crop though! Now i can't get my hubs to stop wanting chocolate zucchini cake! Of course, my weakness are those muffins you gave the recipe for...

YAY!!!!!!! They turned out excellent! Big hit! Everyone loved them!!!

Thanks, Piper for sharing the recipe - it is definitely going to be a repeat

Woo-Hoo!!!!

They look so yummy! Great job, pi-girl!

Sherry wrote:I love the ease of this recipe! I can't wait to try it! Its great to be able to be creative with this recipe, too. And its perfect for that overlooked (time after time) zucchini that got a bit too big and seedy. I may try this on that one zucchini I let grow and grow so I can harvest the seeds.

My mouth is watering just looking at the picture of this delight!

Oops! I made the cake out of it and shredded/froze the rest. Darnitall!

Sherry, I just spotted that cake recipe. I can't wait to make it.

Great job, Pi!! They look yummy!