Sausage Sutffed Zucchini Boats

My friend, Sarah, has been keeping me afloat regarding all the delicious recipes from Skinny Taste that I just have to make! She raved and raved about these sausage stuffed zucchini boats, so of course, I had to try them immediately! Well, let me tell you, Sarah's raving was completely justified! These were delicious! Delicious I tell you!!! And healthy to boot! My only disappointment is that I halved the recipe.....I SO wish I would have had another zucchini! They were just THAT good. And with them having under 160 calories per "boat" I didn't feel the slightest bit guilty for wanting more. This is a meal I would make again and again. My husband agreed wholeheartedly!

I did make a few changes which I will note in the recipe below. Thank you to Skinny Taste for yet another delectable meal! Enjoy!

• 1 1/4 cups quick marinara sauce (I used good quality jarred marinara sauce)
• 4 (31 oz total) medium zucchini
• 1 tsp oil
• 1/2 small onion, finely diced
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
• 14 oz lean Italian chicken sausage, removed from casing (Al Fresco)
• 1/2 cup part skim shredded mozzarella (Polly-O)
• 8 tsp grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400F

Bring a large pot of water to boil.

Cut zucchini in half lengthwise and using a spoon or melon baller, scoop out flesh, leaving 1/4" thick. (I don't have a melon baller, so I actually used a knife and a grapefruit spoon! It worked!) Chop the scooped out flesh of the zucchini in small pieces and set aside. (I only used 2/3 cup of the scooped out flesh and I squeezed out the excess water by putting it in two paper towels and squeezing it over the sink....you will be surprised at how much water comes out!)

Drop the zucchini halves in the boiling water and cook for one minute only. Remove and set aside.

Place 1/4 cup of sauce in the bottom of a 9 x 12" baking dish, and place zucchini halves cut side up.

In a large saute pan, brown sausage, breaking up as it cooks into smaller pieces until browned; set aside. Heat oil and add onion, garlic and bell pepper. Cook on a medium-low heat for about 2-3 minutes, until onions are translucent. Add chopped zucchini, season with salt and pepper and cook about 2-3 minutes. Combine with sausage and cook a few more minutes.

Using a spoon, fill each hollowed zucchini with 1/3 cup cooked sausage, pressing firmly.

Top each with 2 tablespoons of sauce, 1 tablespoon each of shredded mozzarella cheese and 1 teaspoon each of Parmesan cheese.

Cover with foil and bake 35 minutes until cheese is melted and zucchini is cooked through. (At this point I removed the foil from the dish and turned the oven to broil. I broiled the zucchini for 2 minutes just to get the cheese a little brown and bubbly on the top).