How to Make Giant Stuffed Zucchini

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By Heather Lamborn
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Six large and tasty servings.

All gardeners who grow zucchini are sometimes faced with a monster which was overlooked when harvesting. What do you do with an 8 pound vegetable?

You stuff it, of course.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Large garden zucchini
1 lb. Hamburger
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 box Rice-a-Roni
14-1/2 ounce can diced tomatoes
Sliced cheese
Onion, diced
Bell pepper, diced
Garlic
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Other spices as desired
Optional - Louisiana Sausage for adding spicy taste.

Step 1

An 8 pound zucchini

Wash the zucchini and carefully slice it down the center. These large zucchinis often have a curved shape which makes cutting difficult, so be careful!
Step 2

Ready to cut and scoop

Lay the half zucchini on a cutting board and make a cut on each side, about 1/2 inch from the edge of the skin. Cut down until you feel a slight firmness, which indicates you are approaching the bottom of the cut.

Make a third cut down the center.

Cut across the ends which will prepare for scooping out the center portion.
Step 3

Zucchini boats ready to stuff.

Using a large spoon or an ice cream scoop, carve away the center portion of the squash. As you carve out the center, dispose of the seeds but keep the firm portion of the flesh. This will be saved for the stuffing mix.
Step 4

Place the two zucchini boats in a large casserole in preparation for addition of the stuffing mix.
Step 5

Dice one onion, one bell pepper, garlic and seasoning to taste. Set aside the mix in a bowl.

Dice the Zucchini saved from hollowing out the zucchini boats, and add to the mix in the bowl.
Step 6

In a pan, pour 1 box of Rice-a-Roni and add 2 tablespoons of butter or margarine. Stir the Rice-a-Roni and butter until the Rice-a-Roni acquires a brown color.

Slowly add 2 1/2 cups of water while stirring. Add the seasoning packet from the Rice-a-Roni box and stir.

Add a 14 1/2 ounce can of diced tomatoes while continuing to stir.

Let the mixture simmer for 15 to 20 minutes until the rice is fully cooked.
Step 7

Place 2 or 3 tablespoons of oil in a large pot or wok and and 1 pound of lean hamburger. If you like it really meaty, add more hamburger.

Cook on medium heat until browned.

If you like spicy food, you may cut up 1 or 2 Louisiana Sausages and mix it with the hamburger.

Be sure the pot is large enough to hold the large quantity of stuffing ingredients.
Step 8

Add the vegetable mix to the hamburger and stir fry. Cover the pot and cook on low heat for 5 minutes.

Add the Rice-a-Roni to the Hamburger and onion mix. If you chose a too small pot, leave out some of the Rice-a-Roni.

Add one jar of spaghetti sauce. Stir the mixture on high heat for 4 minutes. Turn heat to medium, then cover the pot and let cook for 12 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Step 9

Zucchini boats are stuffed and ready to bake.

Spoon the stuffing mix into the zucchini boats until full.

There will probably be stuffing mix left over, so it may be refrigerated or frozen to keep for either another zucchini stuffing or poured over rice for another meal.
Step 10

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place the casserole in the oven and cook for 30 minutes (less for a smaller zucchini).

Remove the casserole from the oven and place cheese slices over the top of the zucchini boats.

Replace the casserole in the oven and cook for another 15 minutes or until the zucchini boat is done.
Step 11

Remove the casserole from the oven and cut one of the zucchini boats into 4 portions. If the zucchini is small, make fewer portions.

The zucchini may be served with other spices or catchup according to taste.