Cheese Stuffed Zucchini Recipes

STUFFED ZUCCHINI I

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add zucchini and cook until tender, about 15 minutes; drain. Scoop out the flesh of the zucchini, making a 'boat'.
• In a medium bowl combined zucchini flesh, bread crumbs, Cheddar cheese, onion, parsley, salt, most of the Parmesan cheese and egg. Fill zucchini boats with mixture. Dot tops with butter and sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese.
• Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes.

CREAM CHEESE STUFFED ZUCCHINI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°F.
• Halve zucchini lengthwise.
• Scoop out middle (seeds and some meat) of zucchini.
• Chop tomatoes and scallions, or any other vegetables you would prefer to use.
• Blend together flavored cream cheese and regular cream cheese. A mixer works best, but this can also be done by hand.
• Add chopped vegetables to cream cheese and mix.
• Scoop or pipe cream cheese mixture into hollowed-out zucchini and place in casserole dish.
• Cook for 15-20 minutes or until the top of the cream cheese is starting to brown/stiffen.
• NOTE: Some moisture will be released during cooking and the zucchini will still be firm after 15-20 minutes. You may cook longer, but the cream cheese will start to liquefy.

FRIED CHEESE-STUFFED ZUCCHINI BLOSSOMS

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, water and salt until smooth. Set aside.
• In a small bowl combine the goat cheese, cream cheese, heavy cream, basil, and green onion. Mix until smooth. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Spoon 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons filling into each blossom. Close the blossoms and gently twist the petals to seal.
• In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan, pour enough oil to fill the pan about a third of the way. Heat over medium heat until a deep-frying thermometer inserted in the oil reaches 350 degrees F. (If you don't have a thermometer a cube of bread will brown in about 1 minute.) Dip the stuffed zucchini blossoms in the batter and allow any excess batter to drip off. Fry for 1 to 2 minutes, turning occasionally, until golden brown. Allow the cooked blossoms to drain on paper towels.
• Season with salt and serve with your favorite marinara sauce or vinaigrette.

THREE-CHEESE STUFFED ZUCCHINI

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350ºF.
• Cook zucchini in boiling water in large saucepan 5 to 7 min. or until tender; drain, reserving 1 cup cooking water. Cool zucchini.
• Cut thin slice off stem end of each zucchini. Carefully scoop out centers, leaving 1/4-inch-thick shells. Chop removed zucchini; combine with mozzarella and feta cheeses.
• Heat oil in medium skillet on medium heat. Add onions, chiles and garlic; cook and stir 3 min. or until onions are crisp-tender. Remove from heat. Add half the onion mixture to zucchini mixture; spoon into zucchini shells. Place in 13x9-inch baking dish.
• Blend reserved water, tomato sauce and remaining onion mixture in blender until smooth; pour over stuffed zucchini shells. Cover.
• Bake 25 to 30 min. or until heated through. Sprinkle with Parmesan. Serve with rice.

STUFFED ZUCCHINI

Steps:

• Slice zucchini in half lengthwise. Scoop out insides leaving about 1/4-in shell.
• Finely chop zucchini pulp; set aside. Saute onion in oil in large heavy skillet. Add mushrooms, garlic and reserved chopped zucchini; cook over medium heat until most of moisture evaporates.
• Add cream cheese, egg, Parmesan, parsley, and pepper.
• Mix well; cook for about 10 minutes.
• Cool filling slightly and fill zucchini shells.
• Sprinkle with additional Parmesan cheese. Place on jelly roll pans; bake for 30 minutes at 350°F until bubbly and golden brown on top.

ITALIAN SAUSAGE-STUFFED ZUCCHINI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Cut each zucchini lengthwise in half. Scoop out pulp, leaving a 1/4-in. shell; chop pulp. Place zucchini shells in a large microwave-safe dish. In batches, microwave, covered, on high 2-3 minutes or until crisp-tender., In a large skillet, cook sausage and zucchini pulp over medium heat 6-8 minutes or until sausage is no longer pink, breaking sausage into crumbles; drain. Stir in tomatoes, bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, herbs and pepper. Spoon into zucchini shells., Place in 2 ungreased 13x9-in. baking dishes. Bake, covered, 15-20 minutes or until zucchini is tender. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Bake, uncovered, 5-8 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. If desired, sprinkle with additional minced parsley.

SAUSAGE-STUFFED ZUCCHINI

Steps:

• Cut zucchinis in half lengthwise and spoon out the seeds, being careful not to go through to the skin. Place zucchini guts in a bowl; mix in diced tomatoes, white onion, and green pepper.
• Heat butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and sautè until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the zucchini pulp mixture. Sautè until almost tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in sausage, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.
• Let mixture simmer for about 5 minutes; add the tomato sauce. Simmer for 5 minutes more, then reduce heat to low.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bring a pot of water on the stove to a boil.
• Place the zucchini halves in the boiling water for 3 minutes. Remove the zucchini.
• Place zucchini halves into an oven-safe baking dish. Fill the pieces with your sausage mixture. Top them off with mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Cover with foil.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Remove the aluminum foil. Continue to cook until tender, about 30 minutes more.
• Garnish with fresh parsley and enjoy!

CRISP ZUCCHINI BLOSSOMS STUFFED WITH GOAT CHEESE

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, cover 3/4 tablespoon of the sumac with 1 tablespoon of boiling water and leave to infuse for 5 minutes. Add both types of cheese, oregano, walnuts, lemon zest, 1/4 teaspoon salt and a generous grind of pepper. Mix well.
• Fill the flowers by carefully opening them and either spooning or piping about a tablespoon of the ricotta mixture into each, gently pushing the filling all the way to the bottom of each blossom but being careful not to fill them too much; if you can get someone to hold the flower open for you, it would make it much easier. Gently twist the tips of the petals to secure the filling inside and set aside until you're ready to fry.
• Pour enough oil into a medium (about 8-inch/20-centimeter) nonstick frying pan so that the oil rises about 1 inch/2 centimeters up the sides of the pan. Place on a high heat for 5 minutes and then turn the heat down a fraction.
• Meanwhile, mix the flour and baking soda together in a medium bowl. Slowly pour in the sparkling water, whisking continuously to form a smooth batter.
• When bubbles start to surface in the oil, test it by dropping some batter into the oil: if it sizzles, you are ready. (The oil should hover between 320 and 350 degrees Fahrenheit/160 and 180 degrees Celsius.)
• Lower a zucchini blossom into the batter, turning to coat completely, before carefully placing in the hot oil. Repeat, cooking a few blossoms at a time, adjusting the temperature between batches so they take about 30 seconds on each side to turn a golden brown. Use a slotted spoon to transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and then sprinkle with salt and the remaining 1/4 tablespoon sumac. Serve at once with the lemon wedges alongside.

BEEF-STUFFED ZUCCHINI

Steps:

• Cut zucchini in half lengthwise; cut a thin slice from the bottom of each with a sharp knife to allow zucchini to sit flat. Scoop out pulp, leaving 1/4-in. shells. , Place shells in an ungreased 3-qt. microwave-safe dish. Cover and microwave on high for 3 minutes or until crisp-tender; drain and set aside. , Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook beef, onion and zucchini pulp over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Remove from the heat; stir in the marinara sauce, egg, bread crumbs, salt, pepper and 1/2 cup cheese., Spoon about 1/4 cup into each shell. Microwave, uncovered, on high for 4 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Microwave 3-4 minutes longer or until a thermometer inserted into filling reads 160° and zucchini are tender. If desired, broil zucchini 3 in. from the heat for 3-5 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown. Serve with additional marinara sauce.

SAUSAGE AND CHEESE STUFFED ZUCCHINI RECIPE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F.
• Cut zucchini lengthwise in half; scoop out centers, leaving 1/4-inch-thick shells.
• Chop removed zucchini pulp; place in medium bowl. Add crumbled sausage, bread crumbs, Parmesan and garlic; mix well. Spoon into zucchini shells.
• Place filled shells in 13x9-inch pan; top with pasta sauce. Cover.
• Bake 45 min. or until heated through. Sprinkle with mozzarella; bake 3 min. or until melted.