Cabin Cooking: Italian Stuffed Giant Zucchini

I used to plant zucchini in my floating garden, but they take up so much room. Now that I'm living almost full time at my cabin, I can use barrels for some of my plants. I bought two zucchini starts at the nursery and planted them in April in half of a 55 gallon plastic barrel. Now my plants have lots of leaves and fruits (yes, botanically they are fruits). If I don't pick them quick enough, some of them turn out to be "zucchinis gigantes," if you know what I mean. What to do with a zucchini of such proportions? Well, here's a tasty suggestion.

Italian Stuffed Zucchini

4 medium zucchini or 1 "zucchinis gigantes"
4 oz. hamburger
4 oz. Italian sausage
1 small onion chopped
1/2 bell pepper chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
3 tbsp. Italian seasoning herbs
salt & black pepper to taste
1 tbsp. olive or cooking oil
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese

Cut zucchini in half lengthwise. Scoop out pulp to create a boat to hold the meat mixture. Place zucchini halves in a pan of salted boiling water. Simmer for 5 minutes or until almost tender. Or heat them in the microwave. Place upside-down on a paper towel to drain.

Chop onion, pepper and garlic. Saute lightly in oil. Remove from pan. Take sausage out of their casings, break up hamburger and saute both together over moderate heat until browned. Spoon off any fat.

Return vegetables to the pan then add Italian herbs, salt, pepper and tomato paste. Cook on low heat and finally stir in a third of the cheese to help thicken the mixture.

Place the zucchini boats in a baking dish, fill with Italian meat sauce mixture and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes or until the zucchini are heated thoroughly and the filling has a lightly brown crust. Enjoy -- Margy