Stuffed Zucchini Squash

I've had an abundance of zucchini given to me from my Mom's Garden.  In the past we usually threw out the extremely large pieces thinking they weren't any good.  After trying them, I decided they were still good, they are only extremely large due to my Dad's awesome rabbit manure mix... Plus, my parents live in an area where there are not any rocks, so gardening is very easy for them. I've been trying to put the zucchini to good use & record what I've done with them so I can remember for next year.

I had seen something similar on Pinterest, taken from Kayotic Kitchen, so I decided to adapt the recipe to my liking.

After only two days, my mom would pick anywhere from 7-10 big suckers like these, And she only has two plants!!!

Ingredients

1 extremely large squash (pictured above, large green one about 12 inches long)

1 tsp Olive Oil

3-4 tbl minced garlic

1/2 c sliced onions

1 large tomato diced & drained or one can of diced tomatoes drained (I rinsed the juices off under water)

1 c sliced mushrooms

1/2 c chopped green chili drained

1 tsp McCormick vegetable seasoning

Salt & Pepper to taste

1 spoon full of sour cream

6-10 slices of cooked bacon diced

Mozzarella & Parmesan cheese to sprinkle on top

Preheat oven to 400˚F.

Clean and slice in half the large squash, leaving the ends for the cool look. Scoop out insides, leaving a little flesh in the boat & dice the insides. (If more detail is need, see Kayotic Kitchen's recipe, link above).

Sauté in a medium sauce pan: olive oil, minced garlic, onions, & squash insides for 5-10 minutes until onions are soft. Add mushrooms, tomatoes & green chili. Important to have the tomatoes and green chili drained of their juices because the squash is extremely juicy itself, otherwise will have a lot of juices left on the plate. If necessary, drain extra juice from pan then add vegetable seasoning, salt & pepper. Sauté for 1 minute longer, the remove from heat to cool.

Place zucchini boats in a baking dish, lined with foil and sprayed with non-stick spray.

Add sour cream & bacon to vegetables & mix.

Spoon mix into zucchini boats and top with mozzarella and parmesan cheese.

Place uncovered in oven for about 20 minutes or until cheese is browned and zucchini is forkable.