One of the greatest responses I get when I ask people about their children being picky eaters (or from comments on a recipe saying ‘I wish my picky husband would try this), is that it is equally difficult to get their husband to eats the dish as it is the kids. That stinks.
I went to work on this issue! My first response would be to say ‘Mister, you eat that dinner with a smile on your face in front of those kids or your socks will be so stiff with dirt that they could walk on their own’. Alas, I suspect most don’t want to take that route and most men would not appreciate the response so let’s try a more gentle approach.
How do you think some beer, sausage, pizza and a promise to have the remote work? exactly. well, no, it is not that easy but let’s give this a try.
Fine toss in some paper plates as well.
Pretend the stores were out of pizza dough, and you had no flour to make dough and uh, the bread was all moldy so couldn’t use that for a base. Plus, hide the phones so he can’t call the pizza parlor. Oh well, looks like Zucchini boats it is.
Chicken Sausage Zucchini Pizza Boats
Ingredients:
2 zucchini
~1/2 cup marinara sauce
1 chicken sausage (I used Trader Joe’s), chopped
~1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
shredded Mozzarella
salt & pepper
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Rinse the zucchini, pat it dry and cut it in half lengthwise.
2. Using a spoon, scoop out most of the flesh onto a cutting board and set it aside.
3. Line a baking sheet with foil if you wish to spare yourself the clean up and place the zucchini halves, scooped side up, onto the sheet.
4. Now, roughly chop up the zucchini flesh followed by the chicken sausage and place them in a bowl. Toss in the marinara sauce, garlic powder, salt and pepper and mix well.
5. Fill up the ‘boats’ with the mixture, top with some mozzarella and place in the oven for approximately 20 minutes.
You can cook the boats longer if you want a softer texture but I preferred to have a sturdier zucchini. You know a strong ‘man boat’.
Good Luck!
How do you incorporate veggies into your families diet?
Danielle B. says
So good!!!! I never liked meat on my pizza, so I just left that part out. They turned out great! I ended up eating 1 1/2 zucchini on my own, oops :). Good thing it’s a veggie! Thanks for the awesome, easy recipe!
patsy says
I’m going to give this one a try… I’ve tried serving zucchini many ways, but the kids just won’t budge on it… maybe covered up like a pizza will do the trick!
Kristina Vanni says
What a fun recipe! Everything I love about pizza but in a healthier form. Thanks for posting!
Angie says
What a fun dish, looks very tasty!
Brittany of Suburb Chic says
Those look delicious (for the health nut in me), fun (for the finger eating kiddos), and slightly manly (enough for my very manly husband). Haha. Can’t wait to try! Love the site…found it on Twitter from another user.
Lindsey Johnson//Cafe Johnsonia says
This is seriously the best idea ever. I’m totally making this for my family. They are going to go wild!
Aggie says
ya know…I really like this. It would satisfy my craving for pizza during the week…I wonder if my kids would try it. I will work on it.. 🙂
Really looks delicious!
Jennifer says
Thanks for the added bonus reminder of low carb. And thanks for coming by!
Jennifer says
Hi Dara! The kids thoguht it was ‘okay’ (stinkers!) but my hubby enjoyed it. 🙂
Georgia Pellegrini says
Love these and that they’re low carb!
Cookin' Canuck says
This is a great way to get kids to eat veggies. Fun dish, Jennifer!
brandi says
i LOVE making zucchini boats in the summer! so easy, and it helps get rid of all the extra zucchini we have 🙂
Kathleen says
Girlfriend, you are very clever! These sound so delicious even the pickiest eaters would love them!