Chicken Stuffed Zucchini Boats

Happy day after Independence Day! I hope everyone had a great holiday. In case you missed it, check out my Nutty ‘Naner Bread recipe I posted yesterday. Holy peanut butter….yum!

Now that I am done with the SCD intro diet and on to phase 1, it is time to begin incorporating cooked veggies. I scanned our fridge for dinner ideas the other night, and came up with a real winner winner chicken dinner! It is SCD friendly, super easy, and very satisfying.

I started by peeling three zucchini, cutting them in half lengthwise, and using a spoon to remove seeds and hollow out the middle. They look like little boats after you do this. I placed them in an oven safe glass dish, with about 3/4 cup water on the bottom of the pan and set them aside.

Next, I sautéed 1/2 of a white onion and 2 small garlic cloves in 1 teaspoon of olive oil. I then added leftover shredded chicken. I stirred this all together until the chicken was heated through. I seasoned with basil, oregano, salt and pepper.

Divide chicken mixture into zucchini boats and sprinkle with parmesean cheese.

Bake in a 350° oven for 25 minutes. Zucchini should be slightly softened, but still have a little crunch. Lastly, broil for 2-3 minutes or until the top of the boats begin to turn lightly golden brown. Remove from oven and enjoy!

These had great flavor all by themselves but they would also be really good with a marinara dipping sauce.

Speaking of red sauce, I also made SCD Homemade Ketchup (not that I would put ketchup on the zucchini boats). I used a recipe from this site. I modified it only slightly; here is the recipe I made:

  • 1- 46 oz. bottle of tomato juice
  • 3/4 cups white vinegar
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1/2 medium onion, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1/16 tsp paprika
  • 1/4 cup honey

This was actually incredibly simple, the process just took a little time. I boiled all of these ingredients together except for the honey.

Stir frequently and continue to boil over high heat. The water will begin to cook out and the ketchup will thicken. Once about half of the water has cooked out, reduce heat to medium and continue to boil. When ketchup is at desired consistency, remove the bay leaf, and use an emersion blender to puree the ketchup. Then add your honey, cook for a few more minutes and there you have it!

Homemade SCD ketchup!

I do love my ketchup so I am excited to have found a way to continue to eat it while following the SCD! I feel like I have been spending a WHOLE LOT OF TIME in the kitchen lately due to all of this extra food prep involved in the diet. I keep telling myself it is all worth it though. It will be! I am continuing to feel better.

I’m off to enjoy the day! Catch up with you soon!

This Post Has 13 Comments

  1. paleoinportland

    Homemade ketchup is the best, but definitely time consuming. It takes me 45-60 minutes to make it with the juice, but gosh it’s so good! I love it on scrambled eggs or on top of meatloaf (the meatloaf in the Breaking the Vicious Cycle book is delicious!). One thing you can do to shorten the time is make it with strained tomato puree. I like the Bionaturae brand (an Italian brand – Whole Foods sells it). Also, your ketchup looks beautiful in that bottle 🙂 At the beginning of the SCD, I felt like I spent tons of time in the kitchen prepping stuff too (and I did), but eventually it becomes normal and less frequent if you plan things out right. I totally feel ya though!

    1. beautifullynutty

      I was thinking that the ketchup would be really good in a meatloaf! Even a turkey meatloaf. NUM! I do feel like Suzy Homemaker lately but I know it will get better. I think I am going to try making some almond flour banana muffins today. Last night I made hubby and I banana softserve. I am having fun being creative, but also feel like I’m in a tricky phase/stage and I’m not 100% sure of what I should be eating. I am not a huge meat fan so that makes it all the more challenging. Keep the advice coming–I love it and really appreciate it. 🙂

      1. paleoinportland

        Yes, turkey meatloaf is really good! I can understand the meat thing … I was actually a long-time vegetarian before the SCD. I stuck with being a vegetarian for the first month of the SCD, but it was too hard for me to get enough protein, so I made the choice to start eating some meat and I haven’t looked back. You may learn to enjoy meat more being on this diet, especially because there are some really wonderful recipes out there. Also remember that it’s for the good of your body and health.

        Almond flour muffins are very tasty. I love ’em with blueberries and you can’t go wrong with banana either! The banana soft serve sounds good too. Did you make it with mashed banana and SCD yogurt? Frozen ripe banana blended in the food processor with a little yogurt, cinnamon and honey works well in a pinch too.

        Yes, the phases thing is tricky because it’s all individual. I stayed within the first couple phases (after the intro phase) for a long time before I moved on – seriously, it was months. I maybe could have progressed, but didn’t want to go to fast and overwork my system. It’s all a matter of experimentation, but I say give each phase at least a couple weeks or more before trying any foods from the next phase. It’s not meant to be moved through quickly. I’m really glad you find my advice helpful! I’m happy to keep sharing my experiences with you and will be sure to do so 🙂

      2. Tom

        Where did u get the bottle for your homemade ketchup?

        1. Tom

          Can u add stevia to the ketchup instead or in addition to the honey?

          1. Melanie

            I would omit the stevia. Talk to you more about it tonight! Also, I got the bottles at Bed Bath and Beyond. They’re olive oil and vinegar bottles and have the pour spout on the top, but we had a stopper that just so happened to fit on the top of the bottle. I have no idea where it even came from! Love you!!

  2. Hi Melanie! I read this on my phone while I was in the store today…And then remembered the 2 Zucchini I had sitting at home that I really didn’t want to sautee up like we usually do (along with an onion, some garlic, and chicken.. How perfect!), so I made these!! I ended up adding in some red peppers to the mix, and it added another great flavor. Thanks so much for the idea, and for the delicious dinner!

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