It is that time of year again – the time of year when home gardens, supermarkets, and farm stands all are busting their seams with zucchini. And those of us after great deals, can’t resist buying (or picking) all that zucchini and trying to find new ways to incorporate them into our meals. My favorite way to use zucchini is in this Lime Couscous recipe.  But I’ve been told I need to branch out find more ways to use up these wonderful fruits of the vine.

To that end, I have been working on recipes that use the zucchini as a vessel for a savory filling. Sometimes, like in this case, there’s more zucchini in the filling. That’s a bonus use for the prolific plant. Today’s recipe tosses some cooked chicken in the mix along with sweet bell pepper and yellow squash, two other fruits that are very abundant right now!

Chicken & Veggie Stuffed Zucchini

Chicken and Veggie Stuffed Zucchini (adapted from bhg.com)  Serves 4, Prep Time: 25 minutes, Bake Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 5 8-ounce zucchini, divided
• 1 1/2 cups (8 ounces) cooked chicken, chopped
• 1 yellow summer squash, chopped
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• 1 orange bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped tomato (1 medium)
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1/2  teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2  teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2  teaspoon dried parsley
• salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

Seed and roughly chop 1 zucchini, the yellow summer squash, and the pepper. Add the roughly chopped red onion and steam all the veggies for 6 minutes, or until they are fork tender.

Steam the cup up veggies.

Preheat the oven to 400º F. In a large saucepan, cook the remaining zucchini, whole, in a large amount of boiling, lightly salted water for 5 minutes. Drain the pot and cool the zucchini slightly. Cut the 4 zucchini in half lengthwise and using a spoon, carefully scoop out the pulp, leaving about 1/4-inch-thick shells.

Cook the whole zucchini in lightly salted water.

In a medium bowl, stir together the cooked chicken, steamed vegetables, tomato, 6 tablespoons of the Parmesan cheese, and the seasonings.

Combined the steamed veggies with the chicken and cheese.

Spoon the filling into the zucchini shells. Place the filled zucchini in a shallow baking pan.

Add the filling to the zucchini.

Sprinkle them with the remaining 2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese.

Top the stuffed zucchini with the remaining cheese.

Bake the zucchini for 10 to 15 minutes or until the cheese has melted and the filling is heated through.

Lots of Summer goodness is in this dish!

Bring on the zucchini!  ~Linda

Chicken and Veggie Stuffed Zucchini (adapted from bhg.com)  Serves 4, Prep Time: 25 minutes, Bake Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 5 8-ounce zucchini, divided
• 1 1/2 cups (8 ounces) cooked chicken, chopped
• 1 yellow summer squash, chopped
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• 1 orange bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped tomato (1 medium)
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1/2  teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2  teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2  teaspoon dried parsley
• salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

Seed and roughly chop 1 zucchini, the yellow summer squash and the pepper. Add the roughly chopped red onion and steam all the veggies for 6 minutes, or until they are fork tender. Preheat the oven to 400º F. In a large saucepan, cook the remaining zucchini, whole, in a large amount of boiling, lightly salted water for 5 minutes. Drain the pot and cool the zucchini slightly. Cut the 4 zucchini in half lengthwise and using a spoon, carefully scoop out the pulp, leaving about 1/4-inch-thick shells.

In a medium bowl, stir together the cooked chicken, steamed vegetables, tomato, 6 tablespoons of the Parmesan cheese, and the seasonings. Spoon the filling into the zucchini shells. Place the filled zucchini in a shallow baking pan. Sprinkle them with the remaining 2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese. Bake the zucchini for 10 to 15 minutes or until the cheese has melted and the filling is heated through.