Quinoa & Sausage Zucchini Boats

The flavour profile on these is not unlike a stuffed pepper I made 4 (?!?!) years ago that I really liked. I would link to that blog post, but my blogging was atrocious back then and I will have to update. These were really delicious. They've got a little kick to them because of the hot Italian sausage and were super easy to make. I was inspired for them by seeing another recipe for zuchinni boats that I had none of the ingredients for, but I had a bunch of stuff in my fridge I needed to use. Happy cooking!

Quinoa & Sausage Zucchini Boats
Serves 2-4

Ingredients:
2 zuchinni
1/2 cup (dry) quinoa
1 cup chicken broth
2 spicy Italian sausage
1/2 onion or 1 full small onion, diced small
1-2 tomatoes (depends on size), diced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
s & p
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese (split)
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
olive oil

Preheat the oven to 425. Cut each zuchinni in half length wise. Using a spoon (easier with a grapefruit spoon that has the sharp edges, but will work with a regular spoon) scoop out the insides of the zucchini making sure not to go all the way to the bottom or sides. Put the insides of the zuchinni to the side and save for later. Put the zucchini boats in a baking dish, set aside.  Make quinoa as per package directions (mine were 1/2 cup dry quinoa into 1 cup of  boiling chicken broth - reduce heat to medium and cook for 12-15 minutes or until the broth has been evaporated). While the quinoa is cooking, in a pan over medium heat with a splash of olive oil begin to cook sausage. I removed it from its casing and as it cooked broke it down into small pieces. After the sausage has begin to brown, add in the diced onion. When the onions begin to soften and become translucent, add the tomato and zuchinni insides. The zucchini insides and the tomato may make it seem a little watery, so I cooked it for a while to soak up some of the liquid. Add in chopped garlic. Cook for another minute or two. Once the quinoa is done, add to the sausage-vegetable mixture and mix. Turn off heat. Add in 1/4 cup of parmesan. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Carefully add the mixture to the zuchinni boats. In a bowl, mix breadcrumbs and the remaining parmesan together. Sprinkle over the top of each zuchinni boat. Drizzle the top of each out lightly with olive oil. Cook for 20 minutes or until golden brown on the top.

Zoodle Ravioli

Zoodle Ravioli with Tomato Sauce

I would say this is me being "healthy", but the amount of ricotta cheese definitely makes it lean on the unhealthy side... but at least there is no pasta noodles?! Right?!
The zoodles were  incredibly hard to do. This is likely due to the fact that I didn't have the right tools. I tried to use a regular vegetable peeler, but it wasn't making them wide enough. I opted for my cheese slicer which worked surprisingly well most of the time. I wasted a lot of zucchini trying to make them (i.e., pieces being too thin, not wide enough or too thick). By using 3 zucchinis, I made 12 raviolis (so 24 strips). I'll get better at it... maybe I'll get a cooking mandolin. I feel like you're supposed to use one of those.

Ingredients for the zoodles: 
- 3 zucchini
- 475 g (one container) of ricotta cheese
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
- 1 cup of freshly grated parmesan

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a baking tray. Prepare your zucchini strips by slicing vertically down the length of the zucchini. Put them aside. Prepare filling - mix the ricotta cheese, 3 cloves of chopped garlic, 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil and 1 cup of freshly grated parmesan.

Place 2 strips across each other at a 90 degree angle and put a scoop of ricotta cheese in the middle where they intersect. Fold the ends over and in and place the "ravioli" on the baking tray seam side down. Repeat until you run out of zoodles or filling. Lightly sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Bake for 20 minutes.  Top with tomato sauce and enjoy!

Tomato sauce I made tonight was very simple - onions, garlic, basil, red whine, strained tomatoes, hot pepper flakes, s&p.

Baked Zucchini Fries

Well yummy! Both my brother and I were quite surprised at how good these were. They call them the "healthier alternative" to french fries. Now I would never cut french fries out of my diet... because I'm not psycho and I love potatoes. But I would certainly make these again. As my brother went for a second helping of zucchini fries he said quietly to himself  "these make me happy". Serve zucchini fries with marinara sauce. I just heated up a bottle we had in the cupboard because I didn't want to make one.

The chicken was also surprisingly delicious too. Marinated in olive oil, dijon mustard, garlic, s&p, thyme and oregano. Grilled on the grill pan for about 7 minutes aside. Poured white wine in the pan and stuck it in the oven for another 4 minutes. 



Zucchini Fries

3 small zucchini, or 2 large
1 cup panko crumbs
2 Tbsp Italian Seasoning (I just used a mix of basil, thyme and oregano)
salt & pepper
1/4 tbsp garlic powder
¼ cup shredded parmesan cheese
2 eggs

Preheat the oven to 425. Line a baking sheet (or two - you want them to be spread out) with aluminum foil. Spray with a little cooking spray (or lightly drizzle with some olive oil). Set aside. Start by cutting your zucchini. Cut off each end. Then cut the zucchini in half and then lengthwise. Set one piece on its end and cut it in half lengthwise. Cut that half in half. Cut that half in half. Stack the planks on top of each other and cut into strips. Basically just make them into french fry shapes. Combine panko crumbs, italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt/pepper and shredded parmesan cheese in a shallow bowl. Whisk the egg together in a shallow bowl and working in batches dip each zucchini strip into the egg and coat well in panko mixture. Set on a the cookie sheet. Bake for 12-15 until lightly brown.

They were actually pretty crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Like a real french fry! 

Summer Risotto

Well this was pretty similar to the primavera pasta I made with my sister a ways back, but in risotto form!

We were going to bbq the vegetables and then we found out there was no propane, so we fried them and made risotto to change it up.

Vegetables used: zucchini  yellow pepper, red pepper, onion, corn.

Goat's cheese for some extra creaminess. May have been a splash of lemon to brighten it up.

A nice 'summer' risotto with all the vegetables in it.

This is a boring post but has been sitting in my draft box and just wanted to publish it.

Chicken Primavera Pasta

My 100th blog post! Woooo! Last night I was feeling so fickle about what I wanted for dinner. All I knew was I wanted veggies. Lots of veggies. Grilled veggies. My sister and I headed to the grocery store and wandered around the vegetable section picking out a few things and discussing our dinner options. We decided we'd make our own version of Chicken Primavera Pasta, but with grilled veggies.

Now you can put any vegetables you'd like in a primavera pasta, but here is what we decided on: red peppers, yellow peppers, orange peppers, zucchini, purple cauliflower, corn, onions, spinach, kale and garlic. It was pretty veggie-tastic.

First we cut the vegetables into grill-able pieces and then we coated them in some olive oil and salt/pepper. Grilled them until they were ready, but with a slight crunch still remaining. We marinated chicken in olive oil, thyme, salt/pepper and garlic. Grilled that after the veggies were done. The chicken and peppers were cut into long strips, the zucchini into half moons, the cauliflower into bite size pieces and the corn shaved off. The vegetables were put into a bowl and tossed with some garlic.

We cooked spaghetti and before draining reserved 1/2 cup of pasta water. We drizzled a little lemon infused olive oil on the pasta, a big splash of white wine, the pasta water and chicken stock. Added the grilled vegetables, then the fresh spinach and kale, the chicken strips and mixed it around. Then we added some goat's cheese and mixed that in allowing it to melt and coat the pasta along with the liquid in the pot.

Lightly coated and packed full of yummy grilled vegetables and chicken, this was delicious. And a good change from our pastas full of heavy cream! The purple cauliflower and the corn were my favourite additions to this!