I might live in the Midwest now, but I’m a Southerner at heart!
One of the reasons; besides, delicious cornbread, a warmer climate, friendly people and good food, and did I mention cornbread (?), is that Southern Living has been delivered in our mailbox ever since I was married ~ way back when Mom gave a subscription of it to me.
Which leads me to zucchini and this recipe!
The gardens are starting to fill up with the vegetable; consequently, this slightly adapted recipe from SL is perfect for the season!
They are tasty zucchinis stuffed with a delicious blend of corn, onions, garlic, cheddar cheese, chicken and spices. Choose squash that are uniform in shape so they will cook evenly. The best kind are long, straight and not too skinny.
I will admit there was one problem with my finished dish: I bought ready-made cornbread from the grocery store to speed up the process, unfortunately, I did not sample it first. Too late, I realized the cornbread was very sweet, sort of like Jiffy mix, cake-like. I’m not a fan of sweet cornbread, and seldom add sugar to the batter when I make it.
Southern cornbread is traditionally made with little or no sugar (I do claim to top it with butter and a swirl of honey at times) while northern cornbread is sweet and more cake-like.
In Bill’s opinion and mine also, this zucchini mixture would have been much better with savory cornbread, the finished dish was too sweet for us. And it was a touch on the dry side; the next time, I would add ½ cup chicken broth to the mixture, somewhere along the line. It's definitely worth another try!
Whether you get your zucchini straight from the garden, or the farmers’ market, stock up on it and enjoy this cornbread-stuffed zucchini.
Just pay more attention than I did as to what type of cornbread you make it with!
Enjoy!
Cornbread-Stuffed Zucchini
Cornbread makes everything better!
prep time: 20 MINScook time: 45 MINStotal time: 65 mins
INGREDIENTS:
- 3 cups coarsely crumbled cornbread (about 10 ounces)
- 4 zucchini
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
- 16 ounces ground chicken
- 1 small red onion, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced (2 tablespoons)
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon seasoned pepper
- 6 ounces cheddar cheese (about 1½ cups)
- ½ cup fresh corn
- 3 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 375°.
- Spread cornbread in a even layer on one end of a baking sheet. Cut zucchini in half lengthwise. Using a melon baller or spoon, scoop out zucchini pulp to equal 3 cups pulp, leaving a ½-inch shell intact. Coarsely chop 1½ cups of pulp, reserve remaining pulp for another use.
- Brush zucchini shells with 2 tablespoons of oil. Place shells on baking sheet with cornbread, and sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon of the salt. Place in 375° oven and bake until cornbread is lightly browned, about 10-11 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°.
- Heat remaining oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Add ground chicken to skillet, cook, stirring to crumble, until browned, about 6 minutes.
- Add onion, garlic, paprika, pepper, reserved 1½ cups zucchini pulp and remaining ¾ teaspoon salt to skillet, cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is tender, about 3 minutes.
- Transfer mixture to a large bowl, and stir in cornbread, cheese, corn and parsley. Divide chicken mixture evenly among zucchini shells. Place shells on a baking sheet.
- Bake stuffed zucchini at 350° until filling is lightly browned and zucchini is tender, 25 minutes.
- Serve
Created using The Recipes Generator
Your stuffed zucchini look wonderful!
ReplyDeleteI've noticed the red onion among your ingredients. Lately, I've become fond of red (sometimes called purple) onions. They are sharper in flavour than the white/yellow ones when eaten raw - but
milder, even sweet when cooked. Anyway, it's not only the flavor; in a veggie salad, rings of red /purple onions add nicely to its decoration.
Thanks, Duta! I really like red/purple onions. The flavor is great and it's colorful too. Take care and have a wonderful week!
DeleteHi, Pam! We've a few zucchini given to us by a neighbor; this sounds great! Like you, though, we are not fans of sweet cornbread, and add no sugar when I bake it. No flour, either, so it doesn't really have much of a cakelike texture. I must give this a try!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Nellie! It would surely be better with your cornbread, and no flour in it works for me also. Thanks for the visit!
DeleteI eat lots of zucchini at this time of year..this is a great recipe to use this summer squash. The cornbread filling sounds fantastic, Pam.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Angie! Zucchini is just one great thing about summer!
DeleteI have been following you for a while but never commented. There is a great line from a movie I saw (wish I remember the title) "One day you're gonna wake up and your cornbread is gonna be sweet and your tea ain't"
ReplyDeleteSounds delicious but I will use my "southern" cornbread recipe!
Hi Anne! Happy to "meet" you! That's a great movie line, wonder what the movie was! Bet your cornbread is great too! And I'm glad you commented, thank you!
DeletePam, My wife and I would agree with ya'll on the cornbread! Especially for this stuffed zucchini recipe, savory cornbread would definitely in order... Love the recipe and the concept! I'm adding this dish to our lexicon of meals to make for dinner... Take Care, Big Daddy Dave
ReplyDeleteIt's an easy dish to make, Dave and I hope you both like it! Savory cornbread rules! Have a wonderful rest of the week!
Deleteloves zucchinis and these look delicious !!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Gloria! I'm always on the lookout for zucchini recipes. Take care
DeleteI am fascinated by this recipe! I'm a GRITS (girl raised in the south) and have never had cornbread stuffed in a zucchini! How clever :) Love it!
ReplyDeleteGo, Tricia! I love grits too and even converted Bill! This is a good dish with cornbread! Thanks!
DeleteI love stuffing veggies! Your zucchinis look absolutely perfect!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Katerina! I do too, love the flavors! Take care
DeleteStuffed zucchinis with savory cornbread, that sounds delicious. My husband loves cornbread but won't eat zucchinis. Maybe I can turn him into a zucchini lover with this recipe.
ReplyDeleteHi Gerlinde! This just might work for your husband! The cornbread stands out, hope you try it! Take care
DeleteDear Pam, I like cornbread that is not too sweet as well. I love it with the honey as you do drizzled on top of the butter or cream cheese.
ReplyDeleteI love summer dishes like this one and I guess it is the kid in me but I love the zucchini boat filled and you can eat the dish too! Have a week and stay well my friend. xoxo Catherine
Yes, thanks Catherine! And cream cheese on cornbread, have to try that, sounds really good! Summer dishes are the best! Thanks for the visit and take care. xoxo
DeleteWhat a wonderful idea to use cornbread for stuffing in zucchini, I always reserve that for winter veggies, I need to be more creative, sorry it was too sweet. I am more of a savory person too!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Cheri! I can eat cornbread any time, year round! And I like savory too! Take care
DeleteHi Pam, your comfort food look so inviting and delicious. Nice pictures. It great to have a garden of vegetables and fruits where we can harvest fresh whenever we need it. Off course we have to put some hard work in order to get some return. :))
ReplyDeleteHave a nice day, regards.
Amelia
Hi Amelia! There's nothing better than a garden full of veggies and fruits! Unfortunately, we have way too much shade in the yard for a garden now, and I miss having a garden. Dad always had gardens too and it was great!
DeleteYou have a wonderful rest of the week!
I love cornbread and I had no idea that there was a difference. I think I might be a northerner. lol. The next time we are house browsing in Tenn I am going out for cornbread!!!!
ReplyDeleteHi Leslie! Yes, there's a big difference in cornbread. TN would be a great place to live, we've thought about it! Take care
DeleteI will certainly try this and I would have to make my own bread as I have never seen it in the shops here. We have masses of all veggies in the garden at present including zucchini! Take care Diane
ReplyDeleteHi Diane! Ready made cornbread is in all the grocery stores here, and I imagine it's all sweet like the one I bought. Lucky you with the garden! That would be great. Take care
DeleteLove corn bread, and I'll eat the Northern kind but much prefer the Southern. Anyway, what a neat recipe -- just loaded with flavor. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThanks, John! Yes, to cornbread! With the veggies it was just a little too sweet this time though. :-) Have a great day!
DeleteWe love stuffed veggies at our house. Your stuffed zucchini looks great! The addition of cornbread is quite creative. I grew up in the Midwest on the Jiffy mix. I moved to Memphis for a few years and received quite an education on Southern cornbread (and of course the debate about yellow vs. white cornmeal). Looks like you and Bill had a great dinner (even with the sweet cornbread)!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Cali, we did! Southerners definitely know how to debate cornbread and cornmeal too! And then there's finely ground or stone ground... 😌 And I bet you had all kinds of good barbecue in Memphis! Thanks for the visit!
DeleteThe cornbread stuffed zucchini looks yummy. But I agree with you I would rather have a savory cornbread than sweet in a recipe like this. I really love recipes for stuffed zucchini, it a great way to use the zucchini in the garden.
ReplyDelete