That's amore! Zucchini Pizza Boats!

I'm in love! All the goodness of pizza with no crust! I know that if my mother had made these for me when I was a child, I would have asked to have these every day of the week. The concept is simple. Hollow out zucchinis, fill them with your favorite pizza topping and bake. Voila! Atkins-friendly, gluten-free pizza. Experiment with different toppings and go nuts. The kids will love these and be eating their vegetables too! Enough writing, I have to go make these again! Yum!

Ingredients

• 4 medium zucchinis
• 1 lb. hot Italian sausage
• 1/4 cup pizza sauce or Demitri's Bloody Mary Mix
• 1 lb. good-quality mozzarella cheese, grated
• 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Method

1. In a sauté pan over medium heat, brown the sausage for 10-15 minutes. Sausage should be cooked through.
2. Remove sausage from heat and set aside.
3. Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
4. Slice each of the zucchinis in half lengthwise end-to-end.
5. Using a small melon baller, hollow out each zucchini half being careful not to break the skin.
6. Tear off a large section of heavy-duty foil about twice the width of a rimmed baking sheet.
7. Place the foil on the sheet folding ridges the length of the baking sheet every inch and a half until you have about four or five ridges formed and all the foil fits onto the baking sheet (see below). The troughs created by the foil ridges will keep the zucchinis from tipping over while baking.
8. Place the zucchinis skin side down in the foil troughs in the baking sheet.
9. Place a tablespoon or two of sauce into each of the zucchini boats.
10. Carefully spoon the sausage into each of the zucchini boats.
11. Top the zucchini boats with the mozzarella cheese, then layer on the parmesan cheese, and finally top with the cheddar cheese.
12. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes until the cheese is brown and bubbly.
13. Serve at once!

Serves four as a main course, eight as a snack.

Zucchinis hollowed out in their foil troughs.

Sauce and meat in place!

Topped with the cheeses, ready for the oven.