Zucchini Pizza Bites and Cheesy Baked Tomatoes

All on board the veggie train!

Okay...maybe I'm not there yet....but I am getting there. The whole turning-vegetables-into-mini-pizzas is really working for me. Hiding healthy veggies under cheese and pizza sauce is confusing my brain into believing that vegetables are yummy.

I know...I know... I can sense those of you who are veggie lovers shaking your heads at me.

I'm working on it!

Until I can rejoice in eating naked vegetables I will have to continue to dress them up with pretty (and tasty) toppings.

Zucchini Pizza Bites

Ingredients

1 medium zucchini

1/4 cup spaghetti sauce

4 Tbsp Parmesan cheese, shredded

1 mini turkey pepperoni, sliced thinly

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Slice zucchini into 1/4 to 1/2 inch slices. Using a melon baller (or teaspoon) slightly hollow out each slice. Discard the seeds you scoop out.

Place about 1/4 tsp of spaghetti sauce onto each slice. Top with about 1/2 tsp of shredded Parmesan cheese. Top with 1 or 2 tiny pieces of pepperoni.

Place on cookie tray and bake for about 20 minutes. Zucchini should be cooked but not soggy, cheese should be bubbly. (You can place under broiler for a minute or two if you want to brown the cheese.)

Remove from oven and serve hot. (Be careful! The middle of the bites can be extremely hot.)



Cheesy Baked Tomatoes

Ingredients

1 medium tomato, cut in half

2 Tbsp Mozzarella cheese

2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese

salt & pepper

pinch of dried parsley

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Place tomato cut side up on prepared cookie tray. Using a melon baller or teaspoon, scoop out a shallow hollow in each side. Discard seeds you scoop out. (You don't need to scoop out all seeds! Just enough for a little dimple in the tomato)

Sprinkle with cheeses and seasonings.

Bake until tomato is tender, about 20 - 30 minutes. (You can place under broiler for a minute or two if you want to brown the cheese.)

Remove from oven and serve hot.

As near as I can figure - using Fitday - the nutritional info is:

Tomato - 100 calories, 5 fat, 6 carb, 8 protein

Zucchini - 185 calories, 8 fat, 14 carb, 14 protein

That is for the entire recipe. That's the whole tomato and the whole zucchini. I thought that was pretty darn good! Eating a whole zucchini and a whole tomato is pretty filling. 

Well, at least for me.

I had this with a small ham steak for dinner and it was delicious.

I made the zucchini bites for my snack while watching a movie the other night and they were great. If you leave them just slightly undercooked (read: a little crunchy) then you can pick them up in your fingers and don't even need a fork.

Be sure to stop by Carole's Chatter for tons of fabulous links!