Reviewed: Nov. 23, 2009

This was so good! A friend of mine has a garden and grows her own zucchini, I was so excited to get one from her and try this recipe. It was so tasty, using the italian sausage gave the dish so much flavor. I made it for a dinner party and everyone loved it.

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yensid

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Reviewed: Aug. 30, 2009

This was a delicious base! We used sausage and ground beef sauted with herbs, garlic and onions. We skipped the tomato soup and used canned diced tomatoes and fresh tomatoes (didn't have enough fresh to use only fresh) added to the meat mixture along with the scooped out zucchini. Warmed it through then filled the scooped out zucchini. Covered the halves with a combination of mozzarella and co-jack cheeses. Sprinkled a little Parmesan on top. Covered it loosely with foil (so it wouldn't mess up the cheese) and baked at 350 for 30 min. Next time we'll do 45 min. We all loved it and will be making this again soon!

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Anjaleck

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Mabank, Texas, USA

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Reviewed: Aug. 12, 2009

Awesome way to use up extra zucchini! I omitted the beef and used only sausage.

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Terilynn

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Durango, Colorado, USA

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Reviewed: Aug. 11, 2009

add mozz cheese, 2 cloves of garlic and a can of mushrooms. this is AWSOME.

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keith2120

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Reviewed: Jul. 9, 2009

This is a great ground beef meal; which I'm always looking for new ones! I of course made a few changes or else I don't think there would have been enough flavor for our taste (that's just how I roll). The biggest difference in how I prepared it is that I used a pound of ground beef/deer that was pre-cooked (I pre-cook about 6 lbs of it at a time, portion it and freeze it to save time). I would think that preparing it raw like a meat loaf would leave a lot of grease behind, but maybe that's just me. I added minced garlic, a pinch of salt and pepper and Italian herbs to the mixture. I omitted the sausage since I didn't have any on hand and honestly, there wouldn't have been room for it in the "boats". I also omitted the onions since my husband doesn't like them. I also added a pinch of sugar, salt, pepper, garlic powder and Italian herbs to the tomato sauce and next time to save me time I'll just use jar speghetti sauce which will probably taste better anyways. I also added a ridiculous amount of mozzerella cheese 30 minutes into baking and baked it until bubbly (about 10-15 min. more). This is a fantastic way to use up zucchini when you have an overabundance of it in the garden! Thank you!

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Gen 49:20

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Reviewed: Jul. 8, 2009

I'm giving this four stars because I felt like I had to make a lot of revisions for flavor, but after those it is most definitely a five and something I will make again for sure! As another reviewer said, this is just like meatloaf, but more interesting, tasty, and healthy! I did not use the sausage, just 1 lb of ground beef, and it barely all fit in 4 medium zucchinis. I don't know how 2 lbs of meat would fit - maybe my onion was really big and that made up for it? For flavor, I added 2 t of garlic, 1 t pepper, 1/2 t salt, and 1 T Italian herbs. Instead of tomato soup, I used a portabello/red wine chunky marinara sauce - highly recommended! The last 15 minutes, I added about a cup of mozzarella cheese on the top. I baked for an hour, because the onions weren't soft enough after 45 min - but it was still incredibly moist. I think one of the best parts of this was that you don't have to brown anything first, saving you the pan and the extra 20 min. Love how easy and delicious this is! Thanks!

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KrisMarie

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

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Reviewed: Jun. 2, 2009

This was a good recipe. I cut the recipe in half and used only hot Italian sausage. I omitted the tomato soup and water. I put some of the crushed tomatoes on the bottom of the pan, mixed most of it in with the meat, and poured a little over the top of the stuffed zucchinis. I also added some chopped garlic to the filling. Topped with a shredded Italian cheese blend and it was great.

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Heather R.

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Spring Lake, Michigan, USA

Living In: Jacksonville, Florida, USA

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Reviewed: Mar. 6, 2009

This was good! I will make again, maybe with a tastier tomato sauce, I didn't care for the way it came out. My husband is not a zucchini eater and this recipe did not change his mind. I still liked it though!

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taralynne

Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: Raleigh, North Carolina, USA

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Reviewed: Oct. 15, 2008

Used this for a giant zucchini that was hiding in my garden. Nice change of pace.

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KWEBB

Cooking Level: Expert

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Reviewed: Sep. 17, 2008

I'm giving this 4 stars because I changed a bunch. I did not use the "guts" that I scooped out, and I replaced the tomatoes and soup with my homemade marinara sauce. I also microwaved the zuchini for 5 minutes with a little water before "gutting" and filling. It turned out pretty good, a good and healthy way to use up those zucchini from the garden.

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princesslane

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Belfair, Washington, USA

Living In: Puyallup, Washington, USA

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Reviewed: Aug. 26, 2008

this recipe was wonderful. we had it for dinner last night. i made a few changes though. first, i used squash and zucchini. next, i omitted the tomatoes and soup. i instead used a large can of tomato puree and added garlic, oregano, basil and red pepper flakes to it. nstead of water, i used a dry red wine. it came out wonderful. we will definately be having this agin. i brought the leftovers to work and my co-workers all loved it as well.

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ADOWNING

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Reviewed: Aug. 7, 2008

I par boiled the squash, then scooped out the guts, drained the guts, patted the insides dry, added less than half the guts in to stuffing mixture - used ONLY bulk pork sausage (tastes like breakfast links), no tomato anything, garlic, more SEASONED bread crumbs, two eggs, and PARMESAN CHEESE to and on the stuffing after spooning back in the squash. Takes less time to cook, and tastes awesome!

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bikerchickie

Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: Walnut Creek, California, USA

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Reviewed: Jun. 22, 2008

I changed this recipe a little. I substituted marinara sauce for the crushed tomatoes and soup, added a sm, ground zucchini in place of seeds in the filling, added lemon marjorim and parsley,worcestershire sauce, garlic, and for the sausage I used spicy italian. I also cut and added half a wedge of monteray jack and colby cheese for the top. My dh loved it.

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Elaine210

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Reviewed: Apr. 13, 2008

This recipe was great. The zucchini at our store at the time was very small, not big enough to stuff so we just cut it up and put it in with the meat, like a casserole. We didn't use italian sausage either, the store was out so we subed charizo sausage.

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MAXSMOM1

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Schaumburg, Illinois, USA

Living In: Louisville, Kentucky, USA

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Reviewed: Mar. 2, 2008

Really great recipe, I make it once a week. I use vegetarian ground beef instead of the 1/2 beef 1/2 sausage mix and pasta sauce on top instead of the tomato mixture to avoid it from becoming too soupy. As long as you cover it in the oven, it doesn't dry out. As others stated there are no seasonings in the recipe so i suggest browning the meat with some garlic and adding some basil and oregano to the filling. I've had a lot of fun making it a little different each time I make it, but it's such a great base that it always turns out delicious.

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TheBean

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Chicago, Illinois, USA

Living In: Los Angeles, California, USA

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Reviewed: Jan. 29, 2008

I used lean ground turkey instead of beef and sausage. I also use 1tbs each of bread crumbs, wheat germ and freshly ground flax seed to give it a bit more fiber and 'good stuff'. I really liked it and even my kids ate their half of the zucchini. A keeper for sure!

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Regina

Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: Mountain View, California, USA

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Reviewed: Dec. 18, 2007

this is all in all a great recipe. i gave it 4 stars because there are a few changes i would make next time. i substituted tomato soup for tomato sauce, and next time i don't think i would add as much water, maybe 1/4 c. rather than a full cup. also, the meat was very bland, next time i will add some fresh garlic, definitely some salt, maybe some italian seasonings, etc. mozzarella or parmesan cheese would have given it a nice kick, too. i also had to bake it for about an hour and a half, turned the heat up to 400 after the 1st 30 minutes or so and covered it with foil the last 30 minutes. it wouldn't cook!! but my husband RAVED. he loved it!

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mama_arch

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Reviewed: Nov. 7, 2007

Definately doesn't need the tomato soup and water. I just used canned diced tomatoes and it didn't get "soupy" like other people said. I also browned the meat and onions together first so it cooked in 40 minutes, no problem. I added mozzarella to the top after 30 minutes. One of my family's favorites!

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