Stuffed Zucchini

{Meatless Monday}

I am becoming increasingly forgetful about taking any shots of the ingredients.  It has been a while since I have leisurely cooked anything!  It seems I am always up against the clock to get our dinner on the table.  Oh well, I guess that's just how life is...I will try to accept it.  I just DO NOT understand how the Pioneer Woman can homeschool her 4 kids, blog about 6 posts a day, bake and cook up a storm, go out and brand a few cattle, and still take a picture every 6.5 seconds to document it all!

Here's what you need for these VERY YUMMY stuffed zucchinis:

 4 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise
1 T olive oil
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
ground pepper
7.5 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, halved

Preheat oven to 475*.  Using a small spoon, scoop out zucchini centers to form "canoes", leaving a 1/4 inch border.  Roughly chop centers.  Set aside.

Arrange zucchini cut sides down on baking sheet.  Bake 15 minutes.  

Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium.  Add onion and 1/2 tsp. pepper.  Cook for 3-5 minutes.  Add chopped zucchini, and cook about 8 minutes, until liquid is mostly evaporated.  Remove from heat and let cool slightly.  Stir in feta and tomatoes.

Turn zucchini canoes cut side up and fill with mixture and bake until top is lightly browned, about 20 minutes.   Before cooking:

And after cooking:

These were so flavorful...of course, I absolutely love feta cheese! You could substitute another soft cheese.  Really small cubes of pepper jack would be yummy...maybe I'll have to try that!

I spent about $4 on one little container of grape tomatoes and next time I think I would just buy the cheapest tomatoes and chop them into small pieces.  It wouldn't be quite as pretty, but it would save a couple of dollars!

Enjoy!  Let me know if you try any super yummy variations!

Mexican Lasagna

{Meatless Monday}

Hawaii was amazing!!  I uploaded my favorite pictures onto my Facebook page.  It was so relaxing and wonderful.  We are finally getting back into regular life.

Here's a recipe we enjoyed a few weeks back.  It is a crock pot recipe...so you have to think ahead a little, but then all the work is done and you can go on with your day!  ; )

1 head cauliflower, chopped
3 plum tomatoes, chopped
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup frozen corn (I think I used one can, drained)
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
2 tsp. chili powder
2 tsp. cumin
3 1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese (or any mix you want)
1 16 oz. jar tomatillo salsa (couldn't find it anywhere...so I used a mild green chile enchilada sauce mixed with some homemade salsa)
6 flour tortillas
Sour cream (optional)

Combine in a bowl: cauliflower, tomatoes, beans, corn and cilantro.  Sprinkle with chili powder and cumin and stir to combine.

Spray crock pot with cooking spray.  Spread a scant 3 cups of cauliflower mixture over the bottom of crock pot, then sprinkle with 1 cup cheese and a generous 1/2 salsa.  Cover with 1-2 tortillas.

Repeat layering two more times.  Cut the last 1-2 tortillas into strips and scatter over top.

Cover and cook on HIGH for 3 hrs.  or  LOW for 5 1/2 hours.  Until cauliflower is tender.  Top with remaining cheese and cook another 20 minutes to melt cheese.  Let sit 10 minutes.  Scoop out and top with sour cream. 

I forgot to get a picture of the end result...but I don't think it would have been very photogenic.  It was definitely something you just scooped out of the crock pot with a big spoon.

I really liked this recipe...easy, quick, and a little different than what I've made before.  My husband doesn't love cauliflower...so it was not his favorite! ; )

Hope you all have a great week!

Off to Hawaii!!! (after we ditch the kids in CA!)

We are leaving this weekend for our trip to Hawaii!

And since I have a family of 7 to pack in the next 48 hours, I doubt I'll have time to post the two Meatless Mondays that I'll miss.

I should have started packing and planning days ago, but I have been trying to finish up a project that keeps going awry.  I am staining a headboard and footboard....and I am sick of it!  The stripper, the sandpaper, the messy stain...and then doing it all over again because it didn't turn out.  And now I LOVE the footboard, but not so much the headboard, so I might sand it down and redo it and pray it turns out like the footboard!  But now I have to abandon the project until after Spring Break, because I REALLY cannot put off packing a minute longer!  (Grrr....I hate leaving things undone!)

I'll be back with a really yummy Meatless Monday on April 19th!  Stuffed Zucchini....mmmm....they were even better than I thought they would be!  (And my family liked them way more than the Indian-Spiced yellow split pea soup--they all said it looked like "poo".  ; )  Just wait 'til you see the pictures!)

Have a Happy Spring Break....I know I will!!!