Earlier this year the hubs and I did the Daniel’s Fast, for both spiritual and health reasons. And we discovered that eating healthy wasn’t as boring as we had imagined. So in an effort to maintain, a somewhat, healthier lifestyle we have incorporated more veggies into our everyday meals. Basically, we stick to veggies throughout the week and add meat on the weekend…while still trying to eat healthy. I of course, have an overwhelmingly, powerful sweet tooth and have back-slid something terrible, but that’s another story for another day…lol.

While on the fast, the hubs was really creative with coming up with new dishes for us to try but since then I have resumed my duty of planning and preparing most of the weekly meals. And I try to keep it healthy, despite the overwhelming desire of wanting to eat cake everyday, Needless to say dinner was getting a little boring and I wanted to try something new.

I had just bought zucchini from Aldi (one of my fav stores), so I headed to Pinterest for a little inspiration. There were several that recipes for zucchini as a side but I was on the hunt for a main dish. Then I saw it, Stuffed Zucchini Boats. After visiting several sites, all the recipes used meat as their stuffing so I decided to just wing it. Here’s what I came up with…

Ingredients:

• 2 Zucchini
• Approx. 1 cup of cooked brown rice
• 1/2 can (14.5oz can) of diced tomatoes with the juice
• 1 tablespoon of sun-dried tomatoes
• 2 sweet peppers sliced (approx. 1/2 cup)
• 1/2 tablespoon of minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon of dried onion (you can use fresh if you like)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Olive Oil
• Shredded cheese (not pictured)

Preparation:

• Prepare brown rice according to the packaging…I’m all about quick and easy so I use instant brown rice.
• Preheat the oven to 400°
• While the rice is cooking, prep the zucchini. Wash, cut in half and spoon out the seeds. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

• Pour olive oil into a sauté pan, add minced garlic, dried onion, sun-dried tomatoes and sweet peppers. Season to taste and cook until tender.

• Add cooked rice to the sautéed veggies.
• Add diced tomatoes.

• Simmer for 5-7 minutes.
• Spoon the rice & veggie mixture into the zucchini bowls and bake covered for 15-20 minutes until the zucchini is tender.

• Top with shredded cheese (of your choice) and back until cheese is melted or golden brown.

Like I mentioned I totally winged this dish but it turned out really good. It’s definitely one that will be put into the rotation. And it’s super easy and quick. It only took about 45 minutes including prep and interruptions from the kiddos…lol. If you like zucchini or stuffed peppers then you will like this. And what I love most about this recipe is that you can make the stuffing however you like…with or without meat!

Have you ever tried stuffed Zucchini Boats? Have you tried any knew recipes lately? Where do you go to find new recipes?