From the Kitchen: Cheesy Italian Zucchini Bake (low-carb)

This was one of those meals I put together using what I had on hand—and it turned out to be a keeper! The roasted zucchini takes the place of pasta, while the ground chicken keeps the meat sauce a little lighter. Add mushrooms, plenty of melted mozzarella and a good spaghetti sauce, and you've got all those comforting Italian flavors without the noodles.

And if your garden is producing zucchini faster than you know what to do with it, here's another way to use a few of them! 🌱🍅🧀

From the Kitchen: Cheesy Italian Zucchini Bake

Ingredients

• Zucchini, quartered lengthwise

• Olive oil

• Farmhouse Blend, or your favorite all-purpose seasoning

• 1 lb. ground chicken

• Spaghetti sauce — jarred is perfectly fine, or use homemade

• Fresh mushrooms, sliced

• Mozzarella cheese, shredded

Directions

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Place the quartered zucchini in a baking dish or oven-safe skillet. Drizzle with olive oil and season generously with Farmhouse Blend.

Roast for approximately 15 minutes.

While the zucchini is roasting, brown 1 pound ground chicken in a skillet until completely cooked. Drain if necessary, then stir in enough spaghetti sauce to make a nice, saucy meat mixture. (I used my homemade garden veggie spaghetti sauce, but your favorite jarred sauce works just fine.)

In a separate skillet, sauté the fresh mushrooms until tender and lightly browned.

Remove the zucchini from the oven and carefully drain off any liquid that has accumulated in the pan.

Spoon the chicken and spaghetti sauce mixture over the roasted zucchini. Top with the sautéed mushrooms, then cover generously with shredded mozzarella cheese.

Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F and return the dish to the oven. Bake until everything is hot and bubbly and the mozzarella has melted and begun to brown.

Serve hot and enjoy!

From the Kitchen • From the Farm • From the Heart