Get your lasagna fix without the carbs! Delicious zucchini boats stuffed with meat sauce and cheese.
Course Dinner, Main Dish
Cuisine Italian
Keyword gluten free, low carb
Prep Time 5 minutesminutes
Cook Time 40 minutesminutes
Total Time 45 minutesminutes
Servings 4
Ingredients
1poundlean ground beef
1small onion,diced
1/2green pepper,diced
1clove garlic,minced
2teaspoonschopped fresh basil,divided
2teaspoonschopped fresh parsley
1(8-ounce) cantomato sauce
1(14-ounce) canpetite diced tomatoes
3tablespoonstomato paste
3/4teaspoonsalt,divided
1/2teaspoonpepper,divided
4zucchini,the wider the better
Olive oil
1cupcottage cheese
1egg,lightly beaten
1/2cupshredded mozzarella,divided
1/2cupshredded Parmesan,divided
Instructions
Place a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and add ground beef, onion, and green pepper. Saute until most of the pink in the ground beef is gone, breaking beef up with a wooden spoon as it cooks.
Add I cube each of garlic, basil, and parsley. Stir for 30 seconds to help melt the cubes and mix everything together.
Add tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and tomato paste plus 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
Let simmer until most of the liquid has evaporated and sauce is nice and thick, about 10 minutes. Check for seasoning and add additional salt and pepper if desired.
Trim about a 1/4-inch off the end of each zucchini. Cut zucchini in half lengthwise. Using a spoon, scoop out seeds and as much zucchini flesh as you can without making the zucchini shell too weak. Discard what was scooped out.
Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat and drizzle with olive oil. Place zucchini on pan cut side down. Turn heat down to medium and grill zucchini (just on that 1 side) for about 5-6 minutes. Take a few peaks at underside of zucchini while cooking to make sure heat is not too high.
Remove zucchini from grill pan and sprinkle insides of zucchini with salt and pepper.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a medium bowl mix together cottage cheese, egg, and half of mozzarella and half of Parmesan. Add I Dorot basil cube. Use back of spoon to break it up if still frozen and mix it into cheese mixture.
Place zucchini cut side up in large baking dish. Spread a little sauce mixture in the bottom of each. Top with cheese mixture and another layer of sauce.
Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 15 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle remaining cheese on top and bake for 5 more minutes.
Notes
Cooking time may vary based on size of zucchini. Add extra time for large zucchini. Ricotta cheese may be substituted for cottage cheese.