Do you have zucchinis around that are the size of a limb or a small child? Are you overwhelmed, maybe not in size but in quantity? It’s about that time of year where the zukes start taking over the garden. You go down there, and WHOA! Monster zucchinis everywhere! I swear they weren’t that big the last time I was down here! What my mother would do with these giants was stuff them silly and cover them in melted cheese and call it dinner. I have fond, fond memories of zukes the size of me. I’m currently no where near a garden and I’m still overwhelmed with zucchini. My CSA is hurling them at me and a co-worker brought me in one, that I swear to you, was the size of my leg.

So it was about time for me to whip this childhood classic out. This isn’t quite my mom’s recipe, but it was one of those summer comfort foods I had to figure out how to recreate. Her's involves stovetop brand stuffing, which is, SO good. But I wanted to up the protein and avoid the grains. So this version uses ground beef, a ton of vegetables, and some of the seed pulp that you scoop out at the beginning of the process.

I’ve played around with other meats too, like Italian sausage and chorizo and thrown in different veggies. The kale ended up in here just because I had some hanging out in the crisper. This is one of those recipes that has endless ways you can change it up - meat, spice, or veg-wise. Get creative. I don’t think it could taste bad! Use what you got!

I like to serve mine with a fresh tomato salad on the side and maybe even a little sour cream if I’m feeling saucy.

Don’t hate on the one tablespoon of tomato paste, I know, annoying, but it really adds body. Here’s what I do when I only use a little bit from the can: scoop it out onto a square of saran wrap and fold it up into a little square. Then throw into the freezer. Next time you need some tomato paste just hack off a bit from your frozen square.

Stuffed Zucchini

Ingredients:

1 large zucchini (or 4 small-medium ones) halved, with seeds scooped out (reserve 1 cup of seed pulp)

1 lb ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped

1 Italian pepper, diced

1 cup shredded kale

1 cup of reserved zucchini seed pulp (from above)

1 tablespoon tomato paste

½ teaspoon oregano

½ teaspoon cumin

½ teaspoon paprika

1 tablespoon chili powder

salt and pepper

1 cup quartered baby tomatoes (or diced regular tomatoes)

Optional: cheese for melting (a hard pecorino or parmesan would work ((what I did)) but so would a cheddar or mozzarella – the theme of this recipe is pretty much anything goes)

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees

Take your scooped out zucchini halves and place them on a sheet pan or in a baking dish. Lightly salt them. Pour about 3 cups of water in the bottom of your baking pan, there should be about an inch of water in the pan around the squash. (This can be easier to do when the pan is already inside of the oven.) Bake squash in oven for about 30 minutes or until squash is tender when pierced with a fork.

While the zucchini is baking, brown your ground beef. When the meat is browned, remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside on a plate. Using the rendered fat from the meat, begin to sauté your onions and peppers over a medium heat. When the onions and peppers have softened, throw in your kale, and reserved seed pulp. Wait until your kale has wilted and then add back in your browned meat. At this point also add in your tomato paste, oregano, cumin, paprika, and chili powder. Stir everything together to combine well and then salt and pepper to taste. Let cook and meld together for about 5 minutes. Lastly add in your tomatoes and cook just until wrinkly.

Now it’s time to fill those oven tender squash. If you’re melting cheese on top, feel free to use the same pan - most of the water has probably evaporated but if not, move the zucchini off and pour out lingering water and then lay squash back down. Fill each half equally with your meat-veg mix and then sprinkle your cheese on top, if using. Throw back into oven until cheese is golden and bubbly.

If you’re not using the cheese then stuff your squash and serve!