Baked Monster Zucchini

We are growing zucchini for the first time this year in our garden. I've heard stories about mass quantities of zukes and how big they get. But, I figured people just weren't harvesting them, and that's how they got overgrown. Oh, how wrong I was! We will go out one day and see a tiny zuke, and think, okay in a couple of days it'll be ready to harvest. But then the zucchini fairy comes while we're all asleep and sprinkles special tnt powder on it to make it explode into a giant zuke the very next day! We've seen this time and again, so watch out for that sneaky fairy. So, one day we got this especially humongous zucchini, a monster if you will, that actually hung down to the ground. I thought it would be put to good use by baking it. I came up with my very own recipe, and I'm very proud of it, I might say! For the stuffing and for the cheesy sauce, I tried to think of good flavors, and I think it came out good enough to share with you. Now, I must confess, my children are regular kids, vegan or not, and they were not too thrilled with seeing a giant stuffed zucchini on the table as their dinner. However, they did like the stuffing and the sauce, so I got a passing grade there. One thing about super big zukes is their skin has toughened. I might recommend peeling your monster zucchini after washing it, and that might make for a more tender dish. Anyways, enjoy the pics and the recipe below!

Baked Monster Zucchini

JK, 3 y.o., trying to hang on to the monster zucchini in the garden. It was very heavy for him, but my super hero managed to do it for Mommy.

What the scooped out zucchini looks like. These are on a cookie sheet and completely take up all the room!

The stuffing smashed in the hollows and topped with the cheesy sauce.

With the red sauce right before being popped into the oven.

A hearty slice of Baked Monster Zucchini with some more cheesy sauce drizzled on top, with a simple pasta dish on the side with olive oil, garlic and parsley. Mm-mmm.

Baked Monster Zucchini
Ingredients:

1 super large, monster zucchini
Olive oil spray

Tofu Stuffing:

3 pkgs. extra firm tofu, frozen the night before and completely thawed
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 Tbs. chili powder
1 Tbs. dried basil
1 tsp. onion powder
1 Tbs. garlic powder

Cheesy Sauce:

2 and 1/2 cups of water
2 Tbs. corn starch
1/2 cup of nutritional yeast
1/8 cup of soy sauce
2 Tbs. Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. garlic powder

1 28oz. jar of Classico Spicy Red Pepper Sauce

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Wash and trim the zucchini. Slice down the middle lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds, being careful to leave the zucchini flesh in place on either end. This will serve as a barrier for the stuffing mixture. Lightly spray a large cookie sheet with olive oil and place the zucchini halves on it.

For the stuffing: Take the tofu out of their packages and press with your hands all the water out of them. This will be fairly easy to do once they're thawed. It doesn't matter if you squeeze them, since they will be mashed anyways. Place in a medium bowl with the rest of the stuffing ingredients and mash with a potato masher until thoroughly mixed. Take a spoon and fill the zucchini halves with the stuffing. All three packages will fit into one large zuke. I had to take my fingers and really mash it in, but it all fit, and you'll appreciate all that good stuffing.

For the cheesy sauce: In a medium pot, whisk together the water and corn starch. Turn heat onto medium and add the rest of the cheesy ingredients. Whisk frequently, until sauce comes to a boil. Turn the heat down to medium low and whisk constantly for two minutes, or until the sauce has thickened. Drizzle half of the cheesy sauce over the zukes, and leave the other half for the table.

Pour the jar of Classico sauce over the zucchini halves. Bake for one hour. The smells will ignite your taste buds! Let the zucchini rest on the stove for about five minutes. This will give you time to reheat the rest of the cheesy sauce. Transfer the Baked Monster Zucchini to a serving platter to make a nice presentation. Serve with a simple pasta dish. Feeds five hungry vegans for a few meals.