Friday, October 22, 2010

Nutty Stuffed Zucchini

Since we all should be eating our veggies, it is time that I post something for this category.  Most of your average eaters like zucchini.  It is a well accepted vegetable as opposed to beets.  Every time I think of beets I think of Dwight Shrewt (on the TV show called "The Office") and his beet farm.  Farming beets is probably a very unprofitable venture.  Come to think of it, I do not know a single person who likes beets.  Anyhow, back to the zucchini recipe:

Nutty Stuffed Zucchini 
adapted from recipe link
Ingredients
1/4 cup bread crumbs
2 tbs grated parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp thyme
1 tsp parsley
1/2 tsp oregano
4 zucchini
1 tbs melted butter
1 onion
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tbs olive oil
1 tsp salt

First, prepare a casserole dish or bottom of a roasting pan by spraying with non stick spray.  Then chop up the onion and set aside.  Take a zucchini and slice down the length, your slice should be an inch to 1 1/2 inches wide.  Then hollow out the inside like a canoe, leaving 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick shell.  Also, cut off about 1/2 inch from each end.  Discard the ends and chop up the pieces left from hollowing out the zucchini and put in the bowl with the chopped onion.  Continue with the rest of the zucchini.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Put the oil in a saute pan and place on the stove at medium heat.  Once the oil is heated add the walnuts, chopped zucchini pieces and onions.  Stir and cook until vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes and remove from heat.

Then add your spices (salt, pepper, parsley, oregano and thyme) and mix until combined.  The bread crumbs and Parmesan are to be stirred in next. Once everything is evenly distributed, stuff the mixture inside the hollowed out zucchini. 

Place zucchini in the prepared dish/pan and bake for 20 minutes.  Remove from oven and brush with melted butter.  Then put back in oven to bake for an additional 10 minutes.  Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.