Stuffed Zucchini, Southwest-Style

Good day, everyone!  I hope the weather is nice and beautiful for you all, like it is here!

I get asked a lot what my best advice for people looking to get healthier/lose weight is, and here is the most important piece of information I may be able to give you:

STOP EATING WHEN YOU STOP FEELING HUNGRY.  Not when you feel full.  Not when you feel stuffed.  When you stop feeling hungry.  You will likely feel full in 10-20 minutes.  And if you're not, you can eat a bit more.  No matter what food you're eating, this rule will help you with control.  And, you know, you don't have to feel really uncomfortable for the next couple of hours while all that extra food shifts around and digests!

On with the recipe!  I have a really bad habit of not writing down recipes while I make them, so this may be slightly off.

Ingredients:

4-5 medium zucchini, halved and scooped out
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 bell pepper, diced
1-2 chipotles in Adobo, minced (also, some sauce if you want more spice)
1 T. cumin
1 T. chili powder
1 t. salt
1 T. oregano OR epazote
2 T. sour cream
1-2 cups chopped canned tomatoes (depending on your tastes)
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.  Oil a glass casserole dish and place the zucchini "boats" into it, scooped-side up.

Heat a pan over medium heat (add oil if your meat is REALLY lean).  Add meat to the pan and begin to brown.  Once about half of the meat is browned, add the onion and garlic.  Cook until meat is fully browned and onion is cooked through.

Add bell pepper, chipotles, spices, and tomatoes and bring to a simmer.  Add in the scooped-out chunks of zucchini.  Cook until bell pepper is tender, about 10 minutes.

Right before pouring the sauce/stuffing over the zucchini boats, stir in the sour cream.  Pour into casserole and top with cheddar cheese.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30-40 minutes, until zucchini is tender (but NOT squishy).  For nice browned cheese, remove the foil about 10 minutes before it's finished and turn up the heat to 425.

I just served this on its own.  It's a pretty complete meal, but I think it'd be good with maybe a side salad or guacamole.


Finally reaching my goal "feel," very ecstatic!  I can't say weight, because my weight doesn't seem to be budging, despite clothes fitting better.  I think I'm building some muscle with my longer runs (Running a 10k by the end of this month, on my birthday!  Not a real 10k, just one around my neighborhood that I map out, haha).