Steel Cut Oat and Tomato Stuffed Zucchini

I am sooooo behind with the seasons.

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How is summer gone already? All of a sudden, the sun is setting before 8 pm, it’s cool in the morning, and our garden is done. The only thing left is the figs, which are coming in by the bushel.

Am I the only one who feels like summer slipped by, almost unnoticed? I don’t feel like it’s almost October. I still have late summer recipes to post – filled with zucchini and tomatoes (annnnnnd some recipes I’ve been hoarding since the spring…maybe those will wait since it’s definitely not pea or green bean season anymore). But now that it’s cooler and root veggies and pumpkin are all the rage again, I feel weird posting these.

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Please tell me you still want to see some zucchini recipes?!

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I’ve been getting creative in using our zucchini.

See, I didn’t even think I liked zucchini before last year. So why did we plant a whole row of them in the garden last year? I have no idea. I just wanted them…even though I had no idea what I would do with them. I hate zucchini when it’s cooked so long that it’s soggy, and I didn’t think I would ever eat it raw. But after having pounds of zucchini staring me down from the porch every day, I’ve finally found some ways that Nick and I both like it.

For easy dinner sides, I slice it, and brown it in a pan with some spices and garlic. Quick and easy.

I love love LOVE sliced raw zucchini dipped in hummus. Never thought I would say that.

A lot of our zucchini gets shredded and put into cookies or bread or frozen to use for breads in the winter.

But casseroles took me for a spin last year. Oh, I tried making casseroles with zucchini to use them up, but they were always too watery and didn’t even turn out exactly how I wanted.

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Finally, this summer, I conquered the casserole. Nick loves his casseroles, and when we’re in the middle of zucchini season here, we’re putting zucchini in just about everything.

It’s a good thing you guys weren’t in the kitchen with me when I was making this one, because I totally meant to grab bulgur to stir into the filling, and I poured in steel cut oats instead. Oats in stuffed zucchini?

Lucky for us – and our dinner – it worked.

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Steel Cut Oat and Tomato Stuffed Zucchini

Makes: 6 servings

Ingredients:

  • 4 medium zucchini
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1/2 pound lean ground beef
  • 2 cups crushed tomatoes
  • 3/4 cup steel cut oats
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 Tbsp dried oregano
  • 1 Tbsp dried parsley
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Slice each zucchini, lengthwise, and scoop out the center of each piece.
  3. Put the zucchini, cut side up, in a greased baking dish and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
  4. Roast at 375 for 10-15 minutes while you get the sauce cooking.
  5. While the zucchini is in the oven, heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.
  6. Toss the chopped onion and garlic into the skillet and cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes until the onion starts to soften.
  7. Stir in the ground beef, crumbling it with a spoon.
  8. Once the beef is browned, stir in the tomatoes, steel cut oats, water, oregano, parsley, salt, and pepper. Stir everything together and let it cook 5 minutes on medium heat.
  9. Take the zucchini out of the oven and spoon the sauce into the pieces of zucchini, pouring any extra around the zucchini.
  10. Top the zucchini and sauce with the shredded cheese.
  11. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-30 minutes until the cheese is melted and beginning to brown.

16 comments

  1. These have my mouth literally watering. Thanks so much for posting this. I wonder if this would work with turkey mince or not so much?

  2. Girl!!! I never got to congratulate you on your HUGE Dr. Oz news!!!!! I’m so so happy for you! :) Can’t wait to hear more!

  3. I’m still cooking with zucchini! :) These look amazing!!

  4. I’ll take zucchini recipes any time of year. But I’m total opposite, haha, I love it when zucchini is cooked to the point of being mushy. That’s my favorite way lol

  5. Brilliant, my friend! I have some steel cut oats in the pantry now. This is perfect to use them up!

  6. Well, I can definitely use some more zucchini recipes–my plants are still going strong! :) These stuffed zucchini look great!

  7. For REAL this is the first zucchini post I’ve seen in a long time that I want to run out and make immediately. SO brilliant.

  8. i could totally see how oats would be great here! fabulous use for zucchini. which, ironically, i did not get enough of this summer :)

  9. this looks SO good! i use zucchini year round – it’s one of my fav veggies :) i love the gooey cheese on top..looks so so yum!

  10. Brandi, I watched you on Dr. Oz and I have to try your recipes, my daughter and I have built a greenhouse and we’re hoping to have some year round produce. We still have zucchini and I keep trying different things so I have to try this, it really looks good, here’s another one you might want to try, it’s fantastic, http://www.food.com/recipe/mamas-spicy-zucchini-casserole-290038
    Who would have thought, chili seasoning and zucchini would go together so well, I even varied it and added italian sausage into it for a full meal once and it was great.

  11. Just found this recipe and made in for dinner the other day. I did use turkey instead of beef. My husband and I loved it!! Going to make it again real soon. This is now my favorite zucchini recipe!!!! Thank you very much!

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