The Giant Zucchini Dilemma

Every morning, as I enter my vegetable garden and gather tomatoes, beans, okra, peppers, cucumbers, squash, and zucchini, I search through the foliage to find the ripened ones to pick. Once in a while I miss a zucchini or squash because it has grown, unbeknownst to me, under the stem or so close to it that it is well-camouflaged. One such zucchini escaped my picking for quite a while to grow to about a foot long before I finally saw it bulging from beneath the zucchini plant stem.

I try to pick my zucchini when it is small because the flavor and texture is so much better, however this one hid from view. When this happens, I know there will be lots of unappetizing seeds in the center of the zucchini, so I scoop them out.

This zucchini will be stuffed and baked.


Stuffed Zucchini

1 large zucchini, halved

½ cup zucchini, chopped

½ cup tomatoes, chopped

1 onion, chopped

1 small green pepper, chopped

2 cloves garlic, diced

½ cup panko crumbs

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350° F.  Scoop out seeds from zucchini halves. Bake halves on lightly greased pan for 30 to 35 minutes.

In the meantime, saute zucchini, tomatoes, onions, peppers, and garlic until soft.

Transfer to mixing bowl. Add panko crumbs and Parmesan cheese and mix.

Add mixture to baked zucchini halves.

Bake stuffed zucchini for 30 to 35 minutes or until zucchini halves are tender.

Note:  The amount of ingredients may vary depending on the size of the zucchini.

I am joining An Oregon Cottage for Tuesday Garden Party.

©Michelle A. Potter