Zucchini Boats
I make it a practice to have my kids eat "grown up" meals and not just give them nuggets and fries all the time (no shade if that's what dinner in your house looks like for your kids...trust me we have plenty of nugget and fries nights, and lunchable days). But I try to expose them to lots of different foods, and if they don't like it, that's ok. My 6 year old has to take as many bites as his age before he can be finished, if he absolutely doesn't like it. My 9 year old who is the pickiest eater ever, has learned to just eat the veggies first, and move onto the rest of the meal that he likes more after. My middle child...oh the middle child. I wish I had a success story about getting him to eat things he's not fond of. Unfortunately, his way of dealing with food he doesn't like it "accidentally" knocking the entire plate on the floor, sneaking it in the trash when I'm not in the room, or my favorite, holding it in his mouth. The silver lining is thankfully he eats most things with no problem. He's wiling to try anything, and he LOVES veggies and fruits.
That being said, I made these zucchini boats over the weekend for dinner, and my super picky eater devoured them! Since I got my picky sweet pea to eat them, I figured you all might like to know how to meal went down! I include steps on how to make this dairy free as well.
Ingredients:
3 Zucchini
1lb Ground Beef/Ground Turkey (whichever your prefer)
8oz Cream Cheese (leave this out if you have dairy allergies)
Taco Seasoning (you can get the packet, or for a great homemade taco seasoning, check out this one)
Salt to taste
Oil
1/2 Yellow Onion
Green Onions (to taste)
3/4 cup - 1 cup Mozzarella Cheese/Vegan Cheese
Directions:
1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees
2. Cut the ends off the zucchini, and slice the zucchini down the middle lengthwise
3. Use a spoon to scoop out the middle of the zucchini, save the insides and sit it to the side
4. Dice onions and chop up the zucchini insides that you scooped out
5. Add oil to a frying pan, and cook onions and zucchini insides for about 3-5 minutes
6. Season the ground beef or turkey lightly with salt, and add to the onion mixture until browned, breaking up the meat into small pieces until fully cooked
7. As the meat is almost done cooking, add taco seasoning, and a little water, mix well
8. Add the cream cheese and mozzarella to the meat mixture, and stir until fully mixed
9. Scoop the mixture into the zucchini boats, and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes
10. Top the boats with a bit more mozzarella cheese and green onions. Put back in the over for 5 more minutes or until cheese on top is melted
11. Enjoy!
****To make this food allergy friendly, leave out the cream cheese, and swap out the mozzarella for vegan cheese. I've come across vegan shredded cheddar cheese (at Whole Foods), and more recently vegan mozzarella cheese (at Winco). It's not as creamy obviously, but just as delicious!
