Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Quinoa & Veggie Stuffed Zucchini

In mid-July when we were at the height of having house guests and traveling to visit family in Wyoming, my garden started producing zucchini like crazy. I know, this is not a strange phenomenon. I didn't really have time to shred it all and freeze it and granted I could have just left them in the fridge and they would have been just fine for another week, but I had my mind set on trying out this delicious vegetarian recipe so I threw it all in a bag and hauled it to Wyoming with me and decided I could help my mom out and make a simple summer meal for the whole family. The 6 zucchinis that this recipe is for was not enough to feed my whole family so I doubled it and it turned out just perfect. And of course, I got so caught up on meeting my newest nephew that I never took a final product photo, so the process will have to do for now:
Ingredients:
2 T olive oil (or coconut oil if you prefer)
1 medium onion, diced
1 red or yellow pepper, diced
2 Roma tomatoes, finely diced
1 Tbsp thyme or 1-2 sprigs fresh thyme leaves
salt and pepper
6 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise
1 cup spinach leaves, chopped
1 cup cooked quinoa
3-4 large basil leaves
1 T. Parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 c. Mozzarella, grated
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375. In a skillet, saute onion and pepper in oil over medium high heat. While onions and peppers are sauteing, scoop the inside flesh of the 6 zucchinis out and dice into small pieces. When onions are translucent, add tomatoes and diced zucchini cook until soft. Add thyme and salt and pepper to taste. Saute for a couple of minutes and then add spinach leaves - cook until wilted. Remove from heat and add the cooked quinoa, fresh basil, and mozzarella to sauteed ingredients and mix.


 Distribute filling evenly into halved zucchinis.
 Top with parmesan and give another generous shake of salt and pepper on top and cover with foil. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 10 more minutes until cheese on top is golden
Remove from oven and serve.

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