Stuffed Zucchini Boats

The hubs and I have recently decided to try out a paleo diet- we’ve gone dairy, gluten, sugar free (basically anthing non-baby and processed has been cut from our house). After dealing with issues from PCOS for the last few years, I am pretty desperate to find something that helps me feel myself again- and after doing a lot of research, I’ve found many women with PCOS have found success with a gluten free, dairy free diet.

It’s been a little challenging for me to give up my good friends bread and cheese, but as Orthodox Christians we are pretty used to giving them up for fasting periods during the year- and since we get to eat meat, it can’t be too bad, right? We love meat and veggies, but it is a bit hard to come up with a complete meal idea without a grain staple. I found a version of these boats online, and I’d love to share my adaptation with you! This is also a great way to use up your summer zucchinis (especially the ones that grow too large) and leftover ground beef/turkey/chicken.

To start, you’ll need:

Large zucchini

Leftover taco meat- either ground beef, chicken or turkey

Veggies and aromatics- any combo you like (I used onions, tomato, rosemary, basil, sage, garlic)

Preheated oven to 425

Baking sheet (line it with foil if it is a hard sheet to clean)

Since this is a really simple recipe, I’ll let the pictures do the talking. The only reccomendation I’d like to add is that if you would like a “softer” zucchini boat, you can bake it for about 10 minutes before stuffing it. We wanted one with a little more bite, so I just baked it for about 30 minutes with the fillings inside.

*for my quick taco seasoning, scroll to the bottom

For my taco seasoning, I don’t really follow a recipe- rather I chuck in a bunch of herbs and spices. Start with heaping spoonfuls of chile powder and ground cumin, onion powder and garlic powder (not garlic salt). Taste, and add any more of the above if you’d like. Next, build more flavor by adding in a little cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, paprika, parsley… you can make it as flavorful as you’d like (and without all of the salt pre-mixed taco seasonings come with).