Zucchini Boat Pizza

Why is eating something out of an eatable boat so fun? And if it tastes like pizza, count me in! Cooking healthy CAN be easy and so yummy, it just takes some planning. This took me about 15 minutes of prep and 20 minutes in the oven. It's low-carb and full of zucchini, how awesome is that?? Originally from Budget Bytes, I added turkey pepperoni and more parmesan, and skipped the olives and bread crumbs. I <3-ed these!
Here we have a little picture tutorial to show how this works. I used a spoon to scrape out the zucchini and roughly chopped it into bite-sized chunks. Those chunks mixed with the rest of the ingredients to make the filling.

The filling was placed back into the hollowed-out boats and sprinkled with chopped turkey pepperoni and cheese. After about 20 minutes @ 350 degrees, the pizza boats were soft, not slimy, and the cheese perfectly toasted.  These boats were in the harbor, ready to be served! (I'm such a nerd about my food passions, sorry.)

Zucchini Pizza Boats

6 med. zucchini

1-8oz can tomato sauce

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (or 1/4 cup parmesan, 1/4 cup bread crumbs)

1-1/2 tsp Italian seasoning blend

1-2 cups grated mozzarella cheese

  Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Wash the zucchini well to remove any grit. Slice the zucchini lengthwise and, using a spoon, scoop out the flesh from the center. Leave about one centimeter of zucchini around the edges. Save the scooped out zucchini flesh in a bowl.

Place the scooped out zucchini halves on a baking sheet. Dump the reserved zucchini flesh out onto a cutting board and chop it into smaller pieces. Return the chopped pieces to the bowl and stir in the tomato sauce, bread crumbs (if using), parmesan cheese and Italian seasoning.
 

Refill the zucchini halves with the prepared mixture. Top with mozzarella cheese and pepperoni. Place in the oven and bake for approximately 20 minutes or until the cheese has melted and is slightly browned. The longer the zucchini are in the oven, the softer they'll be so if you like firmer zucchini, bake for a shorter amount of time.

We can all eat Asparagus again!

         Asparagus isn't a dirty word anymore in our house. My kids aren't heaping their plates with it yet, but at least they eat a few bites of this flavorful and healthy vegetable dish. Time saving tip: Costco sells a bag of frozen pre-cooked brown rice in 4-serving portions, ready in 3 minutes, that makes this recipe so easy and fast.The back of bag had this great recipe.

 Asparagus and Parmesan with Toasted Pine Nuts - serves 3
  1 pouch Rice Expressions Natural Brown Rice (or 2 cups precooked brown rice)
  2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  8 ounces asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1/2 inch diagonal pieces
  1 teaspoon minced garlic
  1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  2 Tablespoons toasted pine nuts (pignoli)
  Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cook rice in microwave for 3 minutes.  
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add pine nuts as oil heats and cook until brown. Stir frequently and take care not to burn.
Add asparagus to oil as soon as pine nuts brown and stir fry until crisp tender, 1-1/2 minutes; add a pinch of salt and a grinding of black pepper.
Add garlic and stir fry 30 seconds.
Remove rice from microwave and add to the skillet.
Stir fry until heated through, 1 minute. Add cheese and serve.

 

My Fav Veggie Side: French String Beans with Bacon

         All side dishes are made better with bacon, and my vegetables are no exception. As a kid I hated green beans, frozen, canned, fresh or steamed. Bleh. As an adult, I've tried to embrace vegetables and make healthy eating taste amazing! Here is my favorite vegetable side that's impossibly easy, healthy, and SO TASTY. If I had these as a kid, I would have changed my mind about green beans sooner!

 

Costco sells a 2-pk of fresh french string beans, and a large bag of real bacon bits. Easy, easy.

French String Beans with Bacon 

1 - 1.5 lbs fresh french string beans, washed

2 tsp. tub margarine (Smart Balance is my taste preference)

Garlic salt and pepper to taste

2 Tbsp real bacon crumbles (more, if you really love bacon!)

(Possible additions: Almond slivers, blue cheese crumbles, toasted bread crumbs)

 Bring a small amount of water to a boil in a saucepan with a steamer insert. Place string beans in steamer basket and cover, steaming for 7-8 minutes. 

When beans are tender/crisp, place in a bowl and toss with remaining ingredients. Delicious and healthy!