Pizza Zucchini Boats

I saw this prepared on the Today show and  I had all the ingredients thanks to a wonderful summer garden, so I thought I's give it a try.  I tweaked the recipe a bit by not using the zucchini pulp and instead of brushing the boats with plain olive oil, I used fat free Italian dressing. I also used shredded cheddar instead of mozzarella. It was VERY yummy!  Enjoy!

Ingredients

• • 4 medium zucchini
  • 2 tablespoons unrefined, cold pressed, extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling OR 2 tablespoons of Italian dressing
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • ½ sweet bell pepper, diced OR 2 Banana peppers
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 large or 2 small tomatoes, diced
  • A few basil leaves, chopped
  • 1/3 cup grated pecorino OR parmesan cheese
  • ½ cup shredded mozzarella OR shredded cheddar (optional)
  • 1 cup marinara sauce (optional)
  • 1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lightly grease a baking dish or line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
    2. Trim the stem end of the zucchini and slice the zucchini in half lengthwise. Carefully scoop out the soft center flesh with a spoon and set aside. Place the zucchini halves on the baking dish and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
    3. Finely chop the scooped zucchini flesh and reserve. ( didn't use this in my version)
    4. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat and sauté the zucchini flesh, onion, pepper and garlic until soft, tender and translucent. Add the tomatoes and a sprinkling of salt and pepper and sauté until the tomatoes are soft and have released their juices. Turn off the heat and stir in the basil and parmesan cheese.
    5. Spoon the mixture evenly into each zucchini boat. Top with marinara sauce and cheese, if desired.
    6. Bake for 15-20 min until cheese is melted and zucchini is tender.
    Cooks note: You can add other ingredients to the mixture such as olives, chopped artichoke hearts, or cooked spinach. I think that adding some ground beef or Italian sausage to this would really kick it up a notch!