Chile-Beef Stuffed Zucchini

We actually made this meal last weekend, but I just haven't had time to post! This was our dinner on Saturday night. Since we had planned ahead, we had made extra beef when we made this recipe earlier in the week, so that we had less work to do on Saturday.

This is a really simple recipe. It's different than anything we've ever made before, and the flavors were good together. Plus, it's filling and (relatively) healthy! Not to mention a great way to use up any extra zucchini you have lying around.

Other than using the beef from the Mexican Pizza recipe, we didn't make many changes to this recipe. We did use a fresh jalapeno rather than pickled ones, however. I'll include the recipe exactly the way we made it, but if you want the original, you can click through to Melissa's blog.

Melissa said that she thought hers came out dry, but we didn't have that problem. It may have been due to the different recipe for the beef? Not sure. If yours is dry, you can top with salsa and sour cream.
Chile-Beef Stuffed Zucchini
(Source: Adapted from Delicious Meliscious)

Ingredients:
- 1/2 lb. ground beef
- 1/2 small onion, diced
- homemade taco seasoning
- 2 zucchini, halved lengthwise and seeded
- 1 tomato, seeded & chopped
- 1 jalapeno pepper, diced
- Mexican style shredded cheese

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

2. Arrange the zucchini cut side up in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Add 1/2 cup water to the dish, cover with foil and bake until the zucchini begins to soften, about 15 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium heat and cook the ground beef until brown; drain. Return to the heat and add the onion, taco seasoning and water. Continue to cook for several minutes, until cooked through, stirring often. Stir in the tomatoes and jalapenos.

4. Uncover the baking dish, and pour off the water. Season the zucchini with salt. Fill with the beef mixture and sprinkle the cheese on top. Bake, uncovered, until the cheese is melted, about 10 minutes.