Creamy Chicken Stuffed Zucchini Boats

By ctaubenheim

Ingredients

• 2 Medium Zucchinis
• 1 1/2C pre-cooked chicken cut
• into cubes or shredded
• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 Med Onion Finely Diced
• 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
• 10 Cherry/Plum Tomatoes
• cut in half
• 1/2 C Parmesan
• 1 tsp Oregano
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• 3/4 C Heavy Cream
• 1/2 C Colby Jack Cheese (or
• Sharp Cheddar) grated

Details

Level of difficulty Average
Cost Average budget

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 400. Prepare a greased (avocado or olive) 9x13 baking dish. Trim off the stem ends from the zucchini and cut them in half, lengthwise. Use a small spoon to scoop the flesh and seeds out from the center. A fruit baller/fruit scoop or a measuring spoon will make things easier, but be careful not to go overboard and leave some space on the sides of the zucchini.

Step 2

Divide the zucchini flesh in half as we only need one part for the creamy filling. Place the zucchini flesh in a milk bag or wrap it in a kitchen towel and squeeze out as much water as you can before adding it to the sauce. Chop it up until finely diced.

Step 3

Place the zucchini on the baking sheet cut side up. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt, pepper. Transfer to the oven and bake for 15 minutes, until slightly softened. We will bake them again with filling later. Meanwhile, in a skillet over medium heat, saute diced onion until softened. Add tomatoes, chicken, zucchini flesh, Italian spices, garlic powder.

Step 4

Sauce for 2 minutes more and stir in the cream. Lower the heat, cook for 2-3 minutes, add parmesan and simmer again until the mixture has thickened slightly. Taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper if needed.

Step 5

Remove from heat, by this time zucchinis should be halfway softened and you can start distributing the chicken stuffing evenly among the zucchini boats. Just make sure to go over the zucchini boats with a kitchen paper towel to remove the excess water/oil. Sprinkle with cheese on top and bake for another 10 minutes until cheese is melted.

Step 6

Serve these creamy chicken stuffed with additional parmesan and fresh chopped parsley.

Step 7

NOTES:
Don't boil the cream in the skillet, take it to a gentle boil, and reduce the heat to low. Simmer the sauce until thickened. This will only take a few minutes after adding the parmesan.

Depending on how large zucchini's are, the baking time will need to be adjusted. For smaller and thin zucchinis 10 minutes of initial baking without the filling should be enough (will bake more once they are stuffed). For medium, 15 minutes or more is needed. Don' t suggest using large zucchinis - they could be tough.