Sausage Stuffed Eggplant

After discovering how delicious the Zucchini "Pizza" Boats were, I thought I would give this a shot.

The combination of roasting and sautéing fresh vegetables makes me think this dish could be equally delicious if made without the sausage.

2 large eggplants cut in half lengthwise

1 zucchini, diced and steamed

1 lb Italian Sausage

1/2 onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 28oz can crushed San Marzano tomatoes (lightly salted)

2 T Olive oil

1/2 T dried oregano

5 basil leaves, chopped

1/4 cup low fat mozzarella

2T shredded parmesean 

Salt & Pepper

**COOKING TECHNIQUE when making any eggplant dish, I usually sprinkle the flesh side with salt and then place this side down on a paper towel for an hour. It helps to remove the bitterness from the eggplant and makes it more tender after roasting.

Preheat Oven 400F

Lightly coat eggplant flesh with olive oil, salt and pepper. Place in preheated oven for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, brown the sausage in a skillet. Add oregano, onions and garlic and sauté until onions are translucent. Add zucchini and tomatoes and sauté for 5 minutes on low-med heat.  

Remove eggplant from the oven and fill with sausage mixture.  Top each filled eggplant with cheeses and basil. Bake for 30 minutes until cheese is lightly browned.

Gluten Free Tailgate

Zucchini "Pizza" Boats

Having celiac and having to live gluten free is often more annoying than I would like for it to be, especially when everyone else is ordering takeout pizza and wings at halftime and I'm left with a bowl tortilla chips for dinner.  Over the years, I have gotten creative in the kitchen with a number of "Under 15 Minutes" recipes.  The Zucchini "Pizza" is not only gluten free, but it is also full of flavor AND HEALTHY!!!

Zucchini "Pizza" Boats

3 large zucchini

20-25 grape tomatoes (halved)

8-12 basil leaves

1 garlic clove crushed

8oz skim shredded mozzarella 

1/2 ball fresh mozzarella (cut into strips)

1/4 cup shredded parmesan 

2T olive oil

salt

pepper

Preheat oven to 425.  Cut zucchini in half lengthwise.  (You can cut in quarters if you want to make more portions) Scoop out seeds and discard.  Brush zucchini with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Add strips of fresh mozzarella half of the shredded cheeses to the top of the zucchini and bake for 10 minutes.  While baking, combine tomatoes, garlic, basil, salt and pepper to the remaining olive oil and toss lightly.  Remove zucchini from oven and top with tomatoes and remaining cheese.  Put back in the oven for 15-20 minutes.

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