Squash and Sausage Pizza Boats

A few years ago my friend Beth told me about her favorite way to eat those really huge zucchini that you find hiding in your garden. She makes them into Pizza bakes with ground meat, sauce and cheese. That sounded like a great idea to me and has been my go-to recipe for large squash for a while. The other day I got a hankerin' for some zucchini pizzas, but it's not even close to the right time of the growing season for large zucchini. I was able to find some medium sized ones at the Farmer's Market and decided to try those.

I usually have bulk sausage from our 1/2 pig in the freezer, but we're almost to the end of our pork and will have to wait a bit before the next one arrives. So I decided to try some other sausage I had in the fridge, Isernio's Breakfast Chicken Sausage. Breakfast sausage isn't just for breakfast anymore! These Pizza boats turned out great and I'll be sure to keep some Isernio's in the freezer to use in these type of sausage emergencies! :)

Squash and Sausage Pizza Boats

4 medium sized zucchini or yellow squash
½ onion

1 lb bulk sausage (I used Isernio’s breakfast chicken sausage)
2 Tbs bacon grease or coconut oil
½ C pizza or spaghetti sauce (I like Classico or Newman’s Own)
favorite pizza cheese (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Cut zucchini in half lengthwise then scoop out a bit of the center of each zucchini forming a boat like shape. Save the zucchini scooped out for use later. Dice onion then when bacon grease or coconut oil is melted in the pan add onion and scooped out zucchini. Sauté for a couple of minutes  then add sausage. Cover and cook for about 5-10 minutes until sausage is browned and onions are softened. When sausage mixture is cooked, spoon it into zucchini boats, top with pizza sauce and serve. (Alternatively, if you eat dairy, you can top with your favorite pizza cheese and pop the whole thing under the broiler to melt and toast the cheese.)