Yummy Zucchini Boats

I can't take any credit for this recipe. My mom and my sister, Annie, created it with all the yummy zucchini they are getting from their garden. Who doesn't have zucchini laying all over your kitchen counters when you have a garden? These are DELICIOUS!! Especially with the big zucchini that you can't do a whole lot with. My sister in law, Shera, took these out of the oven about half to 3/4 of the way done and put them on the grill with her meat to finish cooking. The smokey flavor made them so yummy!!


ZUCCHINI BOATS
2 large zucchini (at least 12 inch if possible)
1/2 onion
Garlic, minced
1 lb turkey or pork sausage
2 medium sized tomatoes
1/4 cup green, red or orange bell pepper (or all three)
Salt/pepper
Olive oil
1/2 cup cheddar cheese (they are also really yummy with parmesan cheese sprinkled on top)
2 eggs
1/2 sleeve ritz crackers
2 Tbs butter

Sauté sausage. Try to break up into really small pieces. Combine with vegetable mixture. In the same pan, after sausage is removed, saute onions and garlic then add sausage back to the pan.

Slice zucchini in half lengthwise and spoon and throw out seeds. Carve out the rest until about 1/2 inch of zucchini is left in the "boat." Make sure to keep this part of the zucchini to put back into the veggie mixture. Rub a small amount of olive oil and salt and pepper and put on a cookie sheet in the oven on 375 degrees while you dice the rest of the veggies.

Dice tomatoes, bell pepper and rest of zucchini. Grate some cheese maybe 1/4 to 1/2 cup and add to vegetable mixture. Add sausage, onion and garlic mixture. Whisk 2 to 3 eggs depending on how much vegetable mixture you have. Add in with vegetable/sausage mixture.

Remove boats from the oven and spread mixture evenly into prepared zucchini boats. Top with a little more cheese (cheddar or parmesan).

Lastly, crush ritz crackers in a gallon baggie and combine well with melted butter. Top each boat with these crumbs.

Bake for about 30-40 minutes at 375 degrees or until zucchini boats are fork tender and topping is golden brown.